Introduction

In the world of finance, budget management is a critical yet often time-consuming process, bogged down by repetitive and manual tasks. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) offers a revolutionary solution, enabling finance teams to automate these tedious activities, such as data entry, report generation, and variance analysis. By deploying software robots to handle these tasks, professionals can free up valuable time to focus on strategic analysis, forecasting, and informed decision-making. This shift not only increases efficiency and accuracy but also allows finance departments to become more agile and responsive to business needs.

This comprehensive 5-day training course is specifically designed for finance and accounting professionals looking to harness the power of RPA in their budgeting workflows. You will gain a deep understanding of how to identify automation opportunities, design and implement RPA solutions, and measure their impact on efficiency and accuracy. The program provides a practical, hands-on approach to building a business case for RPA, selecting the right tools, and overseeing the successful integration of automation into your organization's financial planning and analysis (FP&A) processes.

Duration: 5 Days

Target Audience

• Financial Analysts and Managers
• Budgeting and Forecasting Specialists
• Accountants and Controllers
• Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Professionals
• Business Process Owners
• IT Professionals Supporting Finance
• Operations Managers
• RPA Developers and Analysts
• Senior Finance Executives
• Project Managers

Objectives

• Understand the fundamentals of RPA and its specific applications in finance.
• Learn to identify manual, repetitive tasks suitable for automation.
• Design and document an RPA solution for a budgeting process.
• Build and configure a basic RPA bot to perform a financial task.
• Evaluate the ROI and business impact of RPA implementation.
• Manage an RPA project from conception to deployment.
• Ensure data security and compliance within automated processes.
• Monitor and maintain RPA bots for continuous improvement.
• Develop a strategy for scaling RPA across the finance department.

Course Modules

Module 1: Introduction to RPA for Finance

• What is RPA and how does it work?
• The benefits of RPA: efficiency, accuracy, and compliance.
• Common RPA use cases in budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
• Key concepts: bots, workflows, and process mapping.
• The RPA journey: from pilot to full-scale deployment.

Module 2: Identifying Automation Opportunities

• Analyzing current budgeting processes for repetitive tasks.
• Using a structured framework to evaluate potential RPA candidates.
• Creating a business case for RPA in finance.
• Estimating the time and cost savings of automation.
• Prioritizing automation projects based on business value.

Module 3: RPA Solution Design

• Detailed process mapping and documentation for automation.
• Designing a bot's workflow and logic.
• Integrating different systems and applications.
• Handling exceptions and error management.
• Best practices for building robust and scalable solutions.

Module 4: Building Your First RPA Bot

• Introduction to a leading RPA platform (e.g., UiPath, Automation Anywhere).
• Hands-on lab: building a simple bot for data extraction.
• Configuring a bot to perform data entry and reconciliation.
• Creating an automated report generation workflow.
• Testing and debugging your automation solution.

Module 5: Implementing and Managing RPA

• The role of an RPA project manager.
• Managing stakeholders and change management.
• Deploying bots and scheduling automated tasks.
• Monitoring bot performance and measuring success.
• Developing a governance framework for RPA.

Module 6: Advanced RPA Concepts and Best Practices

• Using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) for invoice processing.
• Introduction to AI and machine learning integration with RPA.
• Security considerations in RPA implementation.
• Creating reusable components and libraries.
• Scaling RPA across different financial functions.

Module 7: The Future of Finance Automation

• The impact of intelligent automation on the finance role.
• The finance professional of the future.
• Integrating RPA with analytics and planning tools.
• Case studies of large-scale RPA implementations in finance.
• Developing a long-term automation strategy for your organization.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org Tel: +254 702 249 449

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Skills for Africa Training Institute Training Centre. We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, airport transfers, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Skills for Africa Training Institute certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org Tel: +254 702 249 449

Terms of Payment: Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 7 working days before commencement of the training.