It would seem that RPA has a clear role to play in the enterprise compliance space, as businesses delve ever deeper into digitisation strategies.

How can robotic process automation contribute to compliance modernisation?

1. Basic human error is often the starting point of a compliance breach, therefore it makes sense to tackle this issue at the source. In a previous article, we outlined a number of key benefits of robotic process automation, one of which was the minimisation of the risk of error by relieving employees of monotonous, repetitive and ultimately error-prone functions (think data entry).

Combine this with RPA’s inherent improvements to data accuracy and you have a solid framework for reducing common compliance headaches.

2. Reliance on software robots for data management provides an efficient method for data collection, registration and administration for compliance purposes. According to Sean Tinney, Vice-President Finance & Accounting Services at Sutherland Global Services, RPA allows for sensitive data to be accurately anchored to a certain time.

Further, it makes it easy to track - e.g. to know at at all times who has accessed what data, and when it was accessed, changed or removed from a system. All these are necessary steps for data security.

3. As a mechanism that warrants data integrity, robotic process automation provides a useful tool for stricter controls over sensitive information, such as customer financial data, credit card details or account credentials.

Sean Tinney gives a simple explanation: when software robots are around, no human needs to have access to highly sensitive data. It can all be managed by robots and deleted after usage. RPA can therefore contribute to lowering the risk of fraud.