Automating the Order-to-Cash Process with RPA (Class 3/4)

Why is this important?

Most business processes require the integration of multiple software systems. In accounting and business contexts, critical activities such as invoice matching, data reconciliation, and report generation frequently span enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, spreadsheets, web portals, and document management platforms. These cross-application processes are typically repetitive, time-consuming, and prone to error when executed manually. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) offers a scalable solution by enabling the development of software bots that replicate human actions across disparate systems without the need for complex APIs or custom integrations. This class motivates the use of RPA not only as a tool for operational efficiency but also as a mechanism for standardizing processes, enhancing auditability, and reducing operational risk. Importantly, RPA extends automation capabilities to environments where systems do not natively communicate, creating opportunities for rapid deployment and measurable returns on investment.

What will we do?

We will build RPA bots that enable the transfer of data between systems that do not natively integrate. Specifically, we will automate tasks that require navigating multiple software interfaces, extracting relevant data from one system, and entering it into another. These are common challenges in accounting and finance environments, where data must flow between platforms maintained by different vendors. Our focus will extend beyond task automation to include the development of governance and auditing functions through metadata tagging, enabling process transparency suitable for process mining and compliance reporting.

Review and Extension:

In previous classes, we have considered automation at the software level, using Excel as a proxy for structured data environments. This class extends our automation logic to more complex scenarios involving multiple software platforms, where manual data transfer is both labor-intensive and error-prone.

In this class, we will examine how automation strategies must adapt when processes span multiple systems that do not natively communicate. These scenarios often involve software produced by different vendors or legacy systems lacking standard data export capabilities. We will explore how RPA tools replicate human actions to move data across these environments and introduce the use of metadata tags to build process visibility and governance into our automations. These governance features not only support auditability but also lay the foundation for future process mining and analytics initiatives.

Materials and Suggested Seating:

Case: Pure Reformed Oils (Swindler and Simpson: The path to redemption) Case, Continued
Case: Billing Bot (background) Case
Slides: will be available for download by the beginning of class in either powerpoint or pdf formats.
Data: A data update may be required for this class. To ensure your files are the most up-to-date, navigate to ACCTG528_Labs folder and run the command git pull.
Automation Tools: UIPath: All tools from last class, plus introduction of additional flow chart logic using Decision Flows.

Suggested Pre-Class Preparation:

1. Students should be familiar with the Pure Reformed Oils Case started in the prior class.
2. Students should feel comfortable with read/write functions in UIpath to move data from an input to an output, see the videos on the course video page for examples of how to do this using the billing bot case as an example.

Class Plan:

1. After a brief review and PollEverywhere check in, we will continue working on the Redemption of Skylar and Victoria Case.
2. Students should be ready to make the connections between the various activities to create a workflow, their design should be modular based on prior classes allowing them flexibility to modify their workflow.
3. The goal of today's class is to complete all or most of the base level order-to-cash cycle that triggers updates to their simulated customer management and accounting systems.