Case Studies
Case Study 1: Small accounting firm new to automation technology implementation
Size:
Small
Technology Readiness:
No previous experience with automating processes
This accounting firm implemented RPA to automate their account payable invoicing and financial reporting processes. One of their main challenges was to upskill their staff’s digital literacy.
In view of this challenge, this accounting firm spent additional time and resources in training up their bookkeepers, starting from basic digital literacy training to more advanced RPA training, with the goal to independently maintain their own RPA scripts.
While on-the-job experience is further required to be fully independent in RPA management, training has equipped the bookkeepers with skills to start their journey.
Interested in the training the accounting firm has taken? Visit our Training Roadmap section here.
| Key Tasks Automated | Key Results |
|---|---|
| Generation of management report | Increase task efficiency by ~60% |
| Payment through internet banking | Increase task efficiency by ~40% |
| Data entry for AP invoicing | Increase task efficiency by ~80% |
| Digital training for staff (Basic Digital Literacy, RPA basic training and RPA implementer training) | Uplifted digital skills for staff to be able to maintain and make minor adjustments to the RPA scripts |
Feedback from pilot firm: “The training have provided a solid foundation for our staff to understand and execute the RPA script.”
Case Study 2: Mid-tier accounting firm furthering their digitalisation with key automation
Size:
Medium
Technology Readiness:
Multiple digital projects implemented
This accounting firm implemented previous automation through OCR within their accounting software. Unlike the other accounting firms in the pilot project, the focus here is to really see how RPA can help to improve the process with the use of their existing accounting software.
RPA was implemented to quicken the process for the generation and reformatting of management reports, where bookkeepers need only to resolve discrepancies at the end of the reporting process.
Before integrating automation (manual process throughout):
After integrating automation:
| Key Tasks Automated | Key Results |
|---|---|
| Generation of management report | Increase efficiency of task by ~70% |
| Payment through internet banking | Increase efficiency of task by ~45% |
| Data entry for AP invoices | Decrease efficiency due to current process of double checking the RPA output |
Feedback from pilot firm: “Without the assistance of the project, we would not have a working and tested RPA script, as well as a trained personnel in such a short period amount of time. We will continue testing and developing to improve our script and processes.”
Case Study 3: Small accounting firm implementing RPA to automate their XBRL
Size:
Small
Technology Readiness:
Processes are largely manual
As accounting firms have clients who are submitting most of their invoices in hardcopy, this firm opted to automate their XBRL filing instead of their AP invoice data entry. They also implemented automation for management reporting.
Even though the XBRL filing process does not happen as frequently as AP invoicing, it has been highlighted as a major pain point for the bookkeepers. The automated process is as follows:
| Key Tasks Automated | Key Results |
|---|---|
| Generation of management report | Increase efficiency of task by ~40% |
| BizFin Upload | Increase efficiency of task by ~50% |
Overall Outcomes from the Pilot Studies
Increased Effectiveness
Bookkeepers are now able to carry out their tasks more effectively with the assistance of the RPA scripts.
Value-Add to Job Role
Bookkeepers can now focus on validating data that has been extracted accurately by RPA tools, reducing the need for data to be keyed in manually.
Upskilled Workforce to Expand Automation Capabilities
With the training provided, bookkeepers are upskilled in using RPA scripts and are more prepared in adopting automated processes in future.
