Identifying risks and controls when implementing RPA solutions in a SOX environment

Robotic process automation (RPA) has gained popularity in recent years due to its ability to automate mundane and repetitive tasks and drive efficiencies in the workforce’s day-to-day activities. These digital workers are frequently used to perform tasks traditionally performed by humans, such as data entry, data manipulation, and transaction processing. Their ability to work 24/7 without rest creates opportunities for companies to find cost-effective efficiencies and focus their human workforce on more meaningful and fulfilling tasks.

What does the introduction of a digital workforce mean for your Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance program? When used correctly, RPA can help organizations streamline and automate key processes, reducing the risk of errors and improving the accuracy of financial reporting. It can also help organizations improve the quality of their internal controls, reduce the risk of fraud and increase the speed and accuracy of audit processes. Companies must ensure that their RPA implementation is appropriately supervised, audited and controlled to minimize the risk of errors, fraud or misuse. With the right supervision and control measures in place, RPA can be a valuable tool to achieve SOX compliance objectives.

Robotic process automation – digital workforce:

Over the last 10 years, labor productivity in the U.S. business sector has increased about 15% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – what’s driving that change? Firms are investing in technology and upskilling their employees, making them more productive. Robotic process automation aims to do just that – by streamlining workflows and automating redundant tasks, RPA solutions, such as those offered by UiPath or Blue Prism, are being used to create digital workforces to augment traditional labor inputs. Companies use bots, or digital workers, to perform an ever-growing number of tasks, from managing system integrations, to automating previously manual workflows, to data entry of sales orders and vendor invoices. As digital workers become more pervasive, companies are bringing them into SOX processes and these bots are able to create user-friendly outputs. However, this new digital workforce should not be viewed as a “magic” solution to your workforce challenges. A thoughtful approach should be taken when implementing an RPA program. When considering risks relevant to RPA in a SOX environment, management should understand and evaluate:

1. Controls over source data including non-traditional RPA inputs and the transfer of data between systems