Robotic process automation in banking: x2 boost in regulatory compliance efficiency

Innowise has integrated RPA into the banking ecosystem to automate SOX and ITGC controls, reducing the need for manual effort.

Customer

Industry

Fintech, Banking

Region

Client since

2021

Our customer is a large American bank operating in the financial sector. Founded 50 years ago, the customer offers personal accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and loans to individuals and businesses.

Detailed information about the client cannot be disclosed under the provisions of the NDA.

Challenge

Complicated and cumbersome regulatory compliance the required human supervision

Banking is inextricably linked to a multitude of mandatory regulations that determine banks’ eligibility to operate and provide qualitative services. Specifically, all American banks must comply with SOX (U.S. federal law requiring public companies to establish internal controls over financial reporting) and ITGC (basic controls applied to computers, operating systems, databases, and supporting infrastructure, ensuring the integrity and security of data).

In our customer’s ecosystem, these controls were complex and volumetric, requiring rigorous human oversight to ensure efficiency and accuracy. Besides increasing compliance risk, manual execution consumed valuable resources that could be better utilized for more value-added activities. Moreover, the bank faced difficulties extracting data from documents needed for SOX and ITGC compliance, requiring a laborious manual entry that posed a significant risk of error.

As a result, the bank wanted an integrated RPA solution to automate the execution of SOX-relevant controls, streamline data extraction, and integrate seamlessly with its existing applications.

Solution

RPA in banking to automate regulatory compliance and free up human resources

Drawing on our expertise in the domain, our project team proposed a comprehensive RPA solution encompassing intelligent features to address the bank’s challenges effectively.

Automated control execution

Initially, we meticulously analyzed the client’s existing control activities to identify potential candidates for banking automation. Using Workfusion’s RPA platform, we developed new automation workflows tailored to the client’s specific SOX-relevant controls. Through RPA, our software engineers ensured a consistent and error-free control execution process, thus reducing compliance risks and improving audit outcomes.

Automated data extraction

Another significant challenge for the client was manually extracting data from various documents such as financial statements, invoices, and audit reports. As a perfectly fitted solution, we utilized optical character recognition (OCR) to recognize and convert text from scanned documents, images, or other visual content into editable and searchable data. Then, our vetted specialists seamlessly incorporated the extracted data into the relevant control execution workflows, ensuring accuracy and consistency and improving the automated processes’ reliability.

RPA scripts

Our team developed a comprehensive set of RPA scripts to execute each specific SOX control efficiently and deliver tailor-made automation without human oversight. We collaborated closely with the client’s teams throughout the development phase to gather mission-critical data and validate the scripts’ functionality. Through an iterative development process, we fine-tuned the RPA scripts to adapt to any changes and updates to the customer’s control activities.

RPA debugging

In pursuing a smooth and error-free automation experience, our team diligently monitored and addressed any errors encountered during the RPA runs. We implemented comprehensive error-handling mechanisms to identify and diagnose potential issues within the RPA scripts. By continuously monitoring the automated processes, we swiftly addressed any anomalies, mitigating the risk of compliance lapses and ensuring consistent control execution.

Integration & documentation

We achieved a cohesive and efficient workflow by integrating the RPA platform with the customer’s financial systems, proprietary software, and other platforms. With this seamless integration, the automated processes uninterruptedly interact with the bank’s core systems, leveraging existing data and functionality.

Additionally, our team created comprehensive documentation covering the RPA workflows, scripts, OCR integration methods, and system interfaces to ensure knowledge transfer and long-term sustainability. As a result of this concise and clear documentation, the bank’s internal teams were able to understand and maintain automated processes effectively over a long distance.

Technologies

Back-end

Python, Java, Groovy, RegEx, Bash, PowerShell

Front-end

JavaScript, HTML, CSS, JQuery, XML

RPA

Workfusion

Integrations

REST, SOAP, Oracle, SharePoint, Jira, Confluence

Web

Selenium, XPath

Cloud

S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service)

Document processing and data extraction

ODF, Apache POI, OCR

Process

During the development process, we applied the Agile methodology to ensure a flexible and iterative approach, dividing the scope into several stages with deliverables for the client at each stage.

During the discovery phase, our project team conducted initial meetings with the bank’s stakeholders to understand their pain points and requirements. As a result, our business analysts created a document describing the proposed solution’s key features and ensuring its technical viability.

Afterward, we collaborated with the bank’s product owners to design new banking automation workflows and gather data for the RPA scripts, streamlining SOX control execution, data extraction, and system integration. Programmatically, our experienced developers selected Java and Workfusion as a robust foundation for RPA implementation in banking, coupled with the ODF framework for efficient data extraction from documents. Also, we employed Selenium and XPath to seamlessly automate web-based and desktop processes, while HTML, CSS, JS, and jQuery facilitated front-end development and user interface enhancements.

Prior to deploying, our team conducted extensive simulations of real-world scenarios to identify and address potential issues. For task tracking and project management, we utilized Jira, enabling seamless collaboration and ensuring everyone was on the same page with the project vision. Our specialists stayed open and transparent with the bank’s stakeholders throughout the development process, organizing regular meetings, establishing email communication, and holding video conferences to discuss progress, address concerns, and receive feedback.

As of now, Innowise provides post-launch support with minor bug fixing and consulting.

Team

Business Analyst

RPA Developers

DevOps Engineer

QA Engineers

Results

64 work hours saved weekly after robotic process automation in banking

Following the successful implementation of our solution, the bank witnessed significant improvements in its SOX control execution and compliance processes. Consequently, Innowise delivered a one-of-a-kind RPA in banking solution that automates mundane regulatory compliance and frees up valuable human resources.

Thus, robotic process automation reduced the number of defective significant SOX-relevant control executions by an impressive 50% while simultaneously boosting the bank’s overall operational efficiency. In addition, the RPA automation in the banking industry enabled our customer to save more than eight full-time equivalents (FTEs), allowing for more well-balanced resource allocation.

In conclusion, our comprehensive automation solution provided the bank with an effective, accurate, and streamlined approach to SOX compliance, resulting in improved audit results, reduced costs, and enhanced resource allocation.

Project duration

November 2021 - Ongoing

work hours saved weekly

boost in regulatory compliance efficiency

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