Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a kind of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It automates repetitive tasks by interacting with other IT applications to execute business processes that may need human resources. But RPA and Industrial Robots are not the same thing. It is used to reduce the number of human workers in the manual accounting process. Though it is considered as the replacement for Human replacement, it is far from it.
Actually, RPA can best assist the accounting department in accelerating their assignment. It can be used as a helping hand for the finance team to motivate them. In a word, RPA Software cannot replace an employee, but it can increase the productivity of an employee.
How does RPA work?
The Software Robots are also called Clients or Agents. It can log into applications, move files, copy and paste items, enter data, execute queries, do calculations, maintain records and transactions, upload scanned documents, verify information for automatic approvals or rejections, and perform many other tasks.
Uses of RPA
- To automate portions of transaction reporting and budgeting in the accounting area.
- To help accountants to automate manual transactions, and leave accountants more time to follow up the important issues.
- Financial institutions can use RPA to automate account opening and closing.
- Insurance companies use RPA to automate the claims process.
- RPA can be used by the Supply Chain Department for procurement, automating order processing and payments, monitoring inventory levels, and tracking shipments.
Benefits and limitations of using RPA
Benefits:
- Code is not required for the Robotic Automation Process
- The RPA software robots follow the existing security, quality, and data integrity standards.
- To use RPA, it is not needed to know programming, coding, and deep IT skills.
Limitations:
- Robots are not error-free. Like other machines, their reliability is not 100%. Poor-quality data can produce unreliable reports.
- Robots cannot replicate human reasoning, they can only follow highly methodical instructions.
- Robots have no common sense.