RPA in CPA firms

The benefits of bots

RPA offers many benefits for CPA firms including increased efficiency and cost savings through the automation of manual (and time-consuming) tasks. Staff is freed to focus on analysis and insights — bringing greater value to clients.

Handing over repetitive
tax processes
As many tax processes tend to be manual and repetitive, there’s great opportunity for businesses and firms to increase efficiencies with RPA—so tax professionals can focus on strengthening their advisory roles and becoming a strategic business partner. Technologies can be used for a breadth of tax processes including:

Gathering and entering data, and improving data accuracy

Preparing tax returns

Accounting for taxes

Addressing certain types of tax inquiries

Evaluating risks, such as how a court would rule in a tax scenario

Leveraging RPA to become
trusted advisers
COVID-19 is putting increasing pressure on businesses to do more with less. Companies recognize the value RPA offers and are looking for guidance on how to implement the technology and identify risks. CPAs can provide advisory services and become the trusted adviser to their clients, not only during crises
but after. Bringing efficiencies to
audit processes
Audit bots help firms gain efficiencies in automating audit procedures. These bots can:

Copy data across different audit files without risk of human fatigue or error

Run calculations to determine financial statement accuracy, internal consistency and tie-outs of prior-year amounts

For high-risk areas, such as revenue recognition, RPA is perfect to automate parts of the audit that do not require human judgment.

For high-risk areas, such as revenue recognition, RPA is perfect to automate parts of the audit that do not require human judgment. This eliminates tasks from the auditor to focus on analysis. You can also use RPA for analytical procedures and dual-purpose procedures. The audit processes that are best for RPA are those that have defined and repetitive tasks and do not require auditor judgment.

Challenges auditors may encounter when clients automate processes
RPA implemented by your client could affect the auditor's risk assessment procedures in understanding the client’s processes and controls. RPA does not work well in a changing environment, so changes in disclosures, business processes or accounting standards will not be captured in the RPA rules.This means an additional consideration by the auditor is required. If RPA is implemented for a process that impacts financial reporting, then the procedures related to internal controls may need to be addressed as different risks of material misstatement may be identified.