Lesson 83 - Advanced Accounting Course

Lesson 83: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in Audit and Compliance

🔍 What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) refers to the use of software robots (or "bots") to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks that were previously performed by humans.

These bots do not have physical forms — they work on computers to handle structured tasks like:

• 🧾 Data entry
  
  

• 📊 Report generation
  
  

• 📥 Email processing
  
  

• ✅ Transaction verification
  
  

They mimic how a human interacts with digital systems — fast, accurate, and 24/7.

🧑‍💼 Why Is RPA Important in Audit and Compliance?

In auditing and compliance, professionals deal with huge volumes of repetitive tasks, tight deadlines, and manual processes that are prone to error.

RPA helps:

• 🚀 Increase speed
  
  

• 🎯 Improve accuracy
  
  

• 💰 Reduce costs
  
  

• 🧠 Allow humans to focus on analysis and judgment
  
  

🏦 Key Areas Where RPA Supports Audit & Compliance

✨ Real-Life Example

Imagine an auditor manually checking thousands of expense claims for policy compliance 😵‍💫.

With RPA:

• The bot scans all claims
  
  

• Flags ones outside policy
  
  

• Logs them in a dashboard for auditor review
  
  

➡️ Result: 90% time saved, 100% coverage, and fewer mistakes.

📊 Benefits of RPA in Audit & Compliance

🧠 How RPA Fits into an Audit Workflow

1. 📤 Data Collection: Bot gathers data from ERP systems, spreadsheets, or emails
   
   

2. 🔄 Processing & Validation: Bot applies rules (e.g., "if > $5000, flag for review")
   
   

3. 📋 Reporting: Bot prepares summaries and sends alerts or dashboards
   
   

4. 📦 Archiving: Results and evidence are saved and backed up automatically
   
   

🛠️ Common RPA Tools Used in Audit

🚧 Challenges & Risks of RPA 

📘 Summary

• RPA uses bots to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks
  
  

• In audit & compliance, RPA improves speed, accuracy, and consistency
  
  

• It reduces costs and manual errors, while enhancing audit quality and compliance monitoring
  
  

• Tools like UiPath, Blue Prism, and Power Automate are leading the way

📝 Bonus Table: 📊 Manual vs. RPA in Audit Tasks