At Trintech, we have long thought that robots have been misrepresented in larger society. Whether in automotive, manufacturing or movies, robotics is often seen as both a cure-all and a curse. However, robotics is so much more nuanced, and Forbes recently published an interesting perspective on how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is evolving the office of finance with their Technology Council opinion section.

The article begins by identifying the anchor holding back many corporate finance teams: manual processes. Due to legacy processes, these teams spend about 80% of their time on spreadsheets and a mere 20% on higher-level tasks that can grow their company’s office of finance[1]. Simply programming software to repeat monotonous tasks only lessens the workload slightly, but innovation is here.

Some executives may see AI as replacing human diligence, but according to Oversight Systems’ CEO, Patrick Taylor, robotics help humans be better:

“RPA doesn’t just automate operations – it allows you to redesign and improve processes and even help educate humans about better ways to work more efficiently and make spending decisions.” When handling multi-million-dollar accounts, every bit of information is valuable.

As we mentioned in a previous article “Taking Your Financial Close to World-Class”, Robotic Process Automation redirects your financial focus toward growth opportunities such as research and problem-solving, not manual spreadsheets.

Taylor continues, “In this way, AI can help teach employees to see patterns they’re not aware of and to understand the implications of their behaviors and transactions, so they make better financial decisions in the future.”

To see more, click on the banner below to download our insights piece which examines how you can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your financial close process with Robotic Process Automation.

Written by: Chelsea Downey

[1] Full Steam Ahead: Finance on Board with Automation. (2017). Retrieved May 4, 2018. Adaptive Insights.

To read the Forbes article in full, please click here.