We recently hosted a round-table event for our network of senior finance professionals exploring the benefits of Robotic Process Automation and how it can solve common workplace issues.
Our panel of thought-leaders used their own shared experience of 60 years to demonstrate the benefits and drawbacks of RPA, how to build a case for change and how logistically it can transform their finance function but while we discussed the exceptional benefits of an RPA solution, is it always the right solution?
It is a relatively low-cost solution if implemented correctly but it requires your participation and your patience. If you do not have faith in your processes, data integrity or governance, then you might not be ready for an RPA implementation as it cannot merely sit on top of broken processes but rather, it requires a clean state to get to work.
There were a number of guests who had offshored operations or had outsourced their operations in lower cost countries as a way of getting tasks completed quicker for less. While this is an undisputable solution from many respects, bots are deemed to be an even better alternative and, as one Finance Transformation Leader jested, Robots do the work for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and requires no annual leave or toilet breaks.
Our speakers concluded that RPA is an exceptional tool but it is no the quick-fix needed to solve your organisational problems. It can be a component of an end-to-end process improvement and therefore be a larger piece of work or continuous improvement but it cannot be seen as the solution to underlying issues such as poor quality of data.
It would be great to hear from you to see if you have also weighed up the pros and cons of implementing RPA and if so, I'd love to hear your deciding factors. 
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