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AP automation using OCR and RPA: The future of finance 💼🤖.

The Future of Finance: OCR and RPA Revolution in Accounts Payable Automation 💼🤖 The supplier invoice reconciliation process (AP) involves a seemingly never-ending list of tasks, and errors can incur significant costs. It’s a complex process involving many steps. Automating AP using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the answer to the growing challenges faced by finance departments. It allows freeing up employees’ time to focus on more strategic tasks. With digital technology, they can improve decision-making, minimize risk, and predict future financial results. According to Prophix’s 2023 Finance Leaders Survey, over 65% of financial leaders aim to automate half of their tasks by the end of 2023. However, they need the right tools. 📊📈 What Is AP Automation? The AP automation process enables the Accounts Payable reconciliation team to process invoices digitally, utilizing OCR and RPA technology instead of manual input. This eliminates monotonous and time-consuming tasks associated with manual data entry, contributing to improved efficiency and error reduction. Why Should You Automate Accounts Payable Reconciliation? Automation of the Accounts Payable reconciliation process offers numerous benefits: ⏰ Time Savings: Eliminating manual invoice processing speeds up the entire process. 💪 Increased Efficiency: Shorter approval times and improved productivity. ✅ Enhanced Accuracy: Reduced errors, especially in payments. 📝 Compliance Implementation: Building robust audit trails. 🤔 Fewer Queries: No inquiries about payment status since the robot informs about all statuses upon completion. Which AP Tasks Can Be Automated? Automation can handle many tasks in supplier invoice reconciliation, resulting in savings of both time and cost: 💻 Data Entry: Automating data entry eliminates errors associated with manual data input. 🧾 Invoice Matching: Three-way invoice matching allows for quick and accurate invoice alignment with other documents. 📊 Invoice Coding: Automation enables setting rules that automatically add the correct code from the general ledger to each invoice. ✅ Approval: Automatic approval submissions to all necessary approvers expedite the process. OCR and RPA technologies are revolutionizing how companies manage their finances. It’s not just about saving time and money but also achieving more efficient and accurate payment control and building better relationships with suppliers. This investment shapes the future of the company’s finances. 🚀💰 Learn more and schedule a free consultation to discuss automation possibilities for your company! Author: Monika Serafin, Service Delivery Manager  

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Unlocking efficiency: Robotic Process Automation in accounting audits

Utilizing process automation in accounting audits 🤖💼 Today’s world poses increasing challenges for accountants as audits become more complex and demanding. Accountants actively dedicate a lot of time to tasks based on repetitive procedures and rules. In such a situation, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology emerges as a crucial tool in streamlining audit processes and enhancing their efficiency. Authors of the scientific article “Prototyping and implementing Robotic Process Automation in accounting firms: Benefits, challenges and opportunities to audit automation” present various audit scenarios involving four accounting firms. They analyze the potential that RPA brings in terms of improving the efficiency and accuracy of tasks performed. Additionally, they outline automation strategies and the challenges that arise when implementing RPA in accounting audits. Diverse Applications of RPA in Accounting Audits 📊📑 1. Document verification automation 📂 One example of RPA application is the automation of the document verification process. RPA is capable of automatically retrieving documents from various sources such as email, file servers, or document management systems. It then processes these documents, recognizes and categorizes different types, and performs preliminary content analysis. This allows auditors to focus on more complex tasks, such as financial analysis, instead of spending time on manual document processing. 📈 2. Account balance verification automation 💰💳 Another example is the automation of the account balance verification process. RPA can automatically fetch data from various sources, including accounting systems, spreadsheets, or databases. It processes this data, identifies and corrects errors, and conducts preliminary account balance analysis. 🤖 3. Real-time data monitoring 🚨 Yet another example is continuous monitoring of accounting data and notifying users when specific risk thresholds are exceeded. If a risk threshold is crossed, RPA can automatically send notifications to users, such as auditors or managers, prompting them to take appropriate actions. 📊 Benefits of implementing RPA in accounting audits 📈🔐 Implementing RPA in accounting audits brings numerous benefits, including increased efficiency, improved accuracy, reduced costs and time, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Furthermore, through the automation of audit processes, data security is maintained in accordance with applicable safeguards. 🤖🔒 In summary, RPA technology has become an indispensable tool in today’s accounting audits. Thanks to it, auditors can focus on more valuable tasks, and processes are more efficient and accurate. 📚👨‍💼 Contact us to discover how XELTO DIGITAL can assist you in financial automation. Author: Monika Marczyk, Project Manager

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