How accountants can diversify their skills when working alongside robots

ACCOUNTANTS have been slow to adopt technology in recent years, although sophisticated software, tools, and solutions are now on the verge of reinventing the profession entirely.

If accountants want to keep their edge, they need to learn to use technology — at least to automate simple tasks and put them back in the driver’s seat when it comes to managing the organization’s financial strategy.

RPA or robotic process automation is one technology they can quickly benefit from. It’s easy to implement, affordable, and very effective.

The technology could easily make repetitive, monotonous tasks redundant and free them up to get involved with data interpretation and management, allowing them to investigate errors and anomalies in data which requires their time, energy, and attention and has the potential to save the business money.

RPA can also work alongside accountants by streamlining tasks that require little thinking capacity but a high concentration – skills that can be mimicked by robots – which would save operations valuable time.

While accountants focus on other high-skill tasks that are more diverse and motivating in nature, robots can run in the background, constantly auditing or making data entries. These robots can then present streamlined data for accountants to follow through with the investigation, analysis, and further processing.

If this is maintained, a progressive and highly productive ecosystem can be established. Not to mention, a healthy relationship that is engaging and supportive can be nurtured between accountants and robots.

Another important key to RPA deployment is the fact that it can eliminate errors which would improve the overall workflow and quality of work. Higher focus on follow-up tasks that are free of errors will also bring bigger revenues to the operation.

In solidifying a work environment that is enriching and satisfying, accountants and other key players in the financial industry must adopt an automation-first mentality. For financial institutions especially, providing tools that can help improve workflows and elevate the skills of accountants must be a priority.

It is vital, in a highly automated world, to see robots as helpful collaborating partners that will add value to daily working tasks.

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