Robotic Process Automation - : Friend or Foe For Your Risk Profile?
Robotic Process Automation - : Friend or Foe For Your Risk Profile?
the major driver for the initial adoption of RPA – but what
about the risks? | March 2016
Robotic Process
Automation –
friend or foe for
your risk profile?
pwc.com.au/rpa
What is Robotic
Process Automation?
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the
automation of processes using technology
and involves the use of software ‘robots’
that are easy to configure, require little IT
expertise and can be quickly ‘trained’ and
deployed to automate manual tasks. They
differ from traditional software by working
at the user interface level, replicating the
exact actions a human user would take and
creating, in effect, a virtual BPO.
Activities might include performing double
data entry, copying and pasting data
between computer systems, reconciling and
cross-referencing data between different
systems and implementing high-level
decision making at key points along the
business process.
The automated nature of RPA can ensure a high level of compliance. The APRA Prudential
Practice Guide CPG 235 ‘Managing Data Risk’ principle notes that ‘automation (where viable) is
used as an alternative to manual processes’. Unlike humans, who may skip a process step, or not
be consistent in the processing of a transaction, the robot performs the task without bias or any
variation. This gives support to the automation agenda to manage and minimise risk.
In addition, for those tasks where humans are making repetitive simple decisions based
on data or criteria, RPA has the ability to perform these types of exception management
tasks. Most of the time, the scenarios people are faced with to execute these exception
processes are limited in quantity. As long as the decision matrices can be documented,
RPA can handle them and significantly relieve the repetitive burden and risk of error from
the human resources performing these tasks. Implemented correctly, RPA can support
consistent application of rules and adherence to control frameworks for decision making as
the robots are programmed to follow the standard operating procedure and hence perform
the task in exactly the same way, every single time.
Training costs of compliance drop substantially with RPA as well, as RPA allows for precise
process execution without the ongoing effort and cost of training a human workforce.
Endnotes
1. See regulations 88 – requirements of assurance engagement, and 249 – Contents of assurance report.
2. MAS Technology Risk Management Guidelines, regulation 6.4.2 – 6.4.4, http://www.mas.gov.sg/~/media/MAS/
Regulations%20and%20Financial%20Stability/Regulatory%20and%20Supervisory%20Framework/Risk%20Management/
TRM%20Guidelines%20%2021%20June%202013.pdf.
3. https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/legislation-and-guidelines/overview.
4. https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/advisory-guidelines/advisory-guidelines-on-key-concepts-in-the-pdpa-
(revised-8-may-2015).pdf?sfvrsn=2.
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