Robotic Process Automation in Public Accounting

What is it about?

This paper studies how accounting professionals are implementing robotic process automation (RPA) in accounting. Results from interviewing firm experts show that RPA has been implemented in all areas of the firm but has gained the most traction in tax services, followed by advisory services and assurance services. Interviewees report that bot implementation has increased quality and resulted in stunning increases in efficiency, firms report improved processing times by 70 to 80 percent and reductions of over one million human work hours in 2017. Although bots are more efficient, respondents report that bot implementation is not reducing headcount, but it is decreasing offshoring and increasing employees' job satisfaction and upward career mobility. In addition, respondents provide perspective on skills that will be needed to succeed in an accounting profession that melds RPA and human judgments.

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