Finance and Accounting Process Complexity and Automation Likelihood

According to a paper by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is identified as the top emerging technology that will have the greatest impact on the finance and accounting (F&A) profession:

1. Robotic Process Automation (34.4% of respondents)

2. Artificial Intelligence (22.7%)

3. Data Science (14.1%)

4. Budgeting, planning, and forecasting tools (12.1%)

5. Blockchain (6.6%)

6. Data visualization (5.8%)

7. Others (0.9%)

8. Unsure (3.5%)

This is not surprising since many of the F&A processes are repetitive and rule-based — two of the most important criteria in identifying good RPA candidates.

In fact, an overwhelming majority of F&A professionals (95.6%) concur that their processes can benefit from RPA. After all, many processes — for example, accounts payable and accounts receivables, bank reconciliations and payroll — have relatively low complexity and high automation potential.

Nevertheless, given finance’s stewardship role, it is important that any digital transformation initiative being contemplated, regardless whether it is RPA or something else, must demonstrate a clear business case and an appropriate level of Return on Investment (ROI).

In this regard, we have helped many of our clients prepare a ROI report which they can then present to their management or board for investment approval. To request for your own customized copy of the ROI report, feel free to reach out to us using the link below:

Request ROI Report

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