What is RPA?
Robotic process automation (RPA) simply involves using software – known as a ‘robot’ – that is programmed to perform high volume, rules-based repetitive tasks that are normally carried out by people interacting with a computer.
Common applications include:
Simple applications | Advanced applications |
Opening emails and attachments |
Following if/then decisions/rules |
Logging into web/enterprise applications |
Collecting social media statistics |
Moving files and folders |
Extracting structured data from documents |
Copying and pasting |
Making calculations |
Filling in forms |
Connecting to system APIs |
Reading and writing to databases | Scraping data from the web |
Business benefits of RPA
RPA is increasingly being applied to support businesses across all sectors, but is particularly applicable to the financial sector and to compliance risk management. It can identify and report exceptions and patterns, and is most useful in processes that are high volume, low complexity and currently very manual.
Bots automate processes by accessing user interfaces in the same way as a human being and they can work across existing and new systems. This means RPA takes a relatively short time to implement and does not require fundamental changes to core technology platforms.
The main drivers behind RPA adoption are:
- decreased costs and increased profits – robots can work 24/7, help to eliminate manual processes, increase processing efficiency and decrease processing time
- freeing up skilled staff – allowing them to focus on more complex, strategic and value-adding tasks, such as product or service innovations
- providing an alternative to outsourcing and offshoring – processes are less prone to manual error, data is kept in-house, there is less need for ongoing training, and they can provide a higher degree of compliance with internal control frameworks
- improving customer service and experience – for example, by speeding up the rate at which customer enquiries can be processed.
The limitations of RPA
RPA bots, which are at the more basic end of robotics technology, may take over low complexity, repetitive jobs. Professor Leslie Willcocks, professor of technology, work and globalisation at the London School of Economics, has spoken about RPA having the ability to "take the robot out of the human".
Although RPA has the potential to work alongside machine learning and other artificial intelligence tools to help it deal with greater complexity, it is unlikely to replace human analysis and judgment.
Moving forward with RPA
Awareness and deployment of RPA is growing across a wide range of business sectors, although financial services have seen the highest rate of adoption.
Deloitte’s Annual Global Robotics Survey for 2017 found that 53% of global business respondents had already “embarked on the RPA journey” and a further 19% planned to adopt RPA in the next two years.
As the volume of data increases, and finance professionals are increasingly asked to do more with fewer resources, RPA potentially offers a tool to improve the quality of information needed to support business decisions, inform strategy and ensure compliance.
Find out more
Learn more about robotic process automation by completing ICAEW and Deloitte's eLearning module. This resource includes more details on RPA and its implementation, including exercises to help you understand where the technology could best support your organisation.