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January 14, 2022 | 3-minute read (574 words)
Robotics are transforming the way finance and accounting firms do business. While robotics may still be considered an emerging technology in this sector, physical robotic systems first appeared about 60 years ago, when they began automating production plants.
Within just a few years, output at these newly automated plants increased dramatically, and human labor changed to a different set of tasks. Now the robots are at it again, but this time, they’re reimagining how companies perform digital tasks.
In the process of robotic process automation, virtual bots execute simple, repetitive activities. RPA can be used for an array of office functions, such as data entry and form creation and filing.
Once the RPA has been programmed to respond to a "trigger," such as a customer requesting a new bank account online, the RPA immediately begins a sequence of automated operations that would normally take an employee several minutes to perform, and without human error. For example, the RPA would create the customer's file, send them a welcome email, conduct a credit check, and add their name to the banker's follow-up list.
RPAs can essentially duplicate the labor of people for computer-dependent activities, at a fraction of the expense of hiring an employee. These systems may be set up to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing organizations to handle data and automate processes around the clock. This enables faster order fulfillment, prompter automated responses and fewer customers that receive no follow-up.
Accounting
Finance
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