Robotic Process Automation: a Case Study of the Impacts on Employee Skills

EasyChair Preprint 4443

Abstract

Organizations use a variety of automation tools to simplify their tasks. One of the most popular automation tools in the world today is Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA is defined as a business process automation system that uses software tools to interact with existing applications and replace people to simplify and increase the productivity of their jobs. RPA is gaining popularity by large organizations, especially in the finance and accounting sectors. This is because RPA has the potential to boost the productivity of the organization, reduce costs in terms of reducing the workforce involved, improving the accuracy and speed of the work process, reducing human negligence issues and enhancing organizational competitiveness. This paper is intended to understand the impacts of RPA towards the employee skills in finance and accounting unit. To achieve this objective, this study was conducted using semi-structured interviews in the world largest oil and gas company that has been implementing and using the RPA technology for four years. The result of the study showed that there are five main skills that are crucial after the implementation of RPA which are value-added skills, analytical skills, interpersonal skills, computer and IT skills, and also finance and accounting skills. The study suggested that it is important for the employees to upskill themselves in order to keep up with the new technology and to excel in the finance and accounting profession.

Keyphrases: Accounting, Finance, Robotic Process Automation, accounting profession, accounting skill, case study, skills

@booklet{EasyChair:4443,
  author    = {Dahlia Fernandez Mohd Farid Fernandez and Aini Aman and Siti Sarah Omar},
  title     = {Robotic Process Automation: a Case Study of the Impacts on Employee Skills},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 4443},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2020}}