Automation
What comes to mind when you hear the term ‘automation’? Do you ever think of how many processes in your daily life are automated? Automation is used pretty much every day in our lives. How many times do you run to an ATM for cash, or how often do frequent a “Redbox” for DVD rentals, or maybe you’re in a hurry at the supermarket and decide to use the self-checkout lane? What about new technology used for home automation, such as thermostats and home alarm systems controlled through your mobile phone? Or maybe automation in vehicles, such as park-assist? Each of these processes are automated by a computer system.
Auto-ma-tion \ o-tə-ˈmā-shən \
As defined by Merriam-Webster, Automation is the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate, to work or happen without being directly controlled by a person.
What makes automation beneficial is that it provides convenience, saves time and labor, and in turn, improves quality, accuracy and precision.
From a Banking Perspective
The benefits of automation can also be beneficial for financial entities and their customers. ATMs are not only convenient but they are very accurate as well. Other breakthroughs that bring convenience and accuracy are automated deposits. How great is it to take a photo of a check and automatically deposit it into your account?
You also have the ability to transfer funds from one account to another using a phone application — very convenient, if you ask me — and you save a lot of time in not having to drive to the bank just to make the transaction. We are able to implement automation on the front end of a customer relationship but what about the back end?
“If a person were to manually monitor a bank’s activity, it could take them weeks or maybe months to identify specific thresholds or patterns while a computer can take seconds or minutes.”
Imagine the possibilities of automating other internal processes such as tracking regulatory change management or maybe even monitoring risks.
With the implementation of Dodd-Frank, we do see financial entities having difficulty in keeping up with regulatory changes. Automation can definitely make regulatory change management feasible and scalable, aka, regulatory compliance software. If you have keen tools in place to track regulatory updates and report needed requirements in real time, it would make change management more efficient which in turn, enables you to be more proficient and resourceful in implementing changes, new processes or requirements.
Benefits of Automation
The idea of implementing automation tools can be a bit discouraging. However, it is helpful to keep the resulting benefits in mind: it is convenient, it saves time and labor, improving quality, accuracy and precision.
- Convenience by providing the ability to conduct tasks that would be difficult or impossible to do.
- Efficiency by saving time and optimizing processes, resulting in reduced costs and error rates.
- Precision by offering more time, better flexibility or more feasible options to adjust to changes effectively
The financial services industry is a highly regulated business with many reporting requirements. These requirements include “knowing your customer” and monitoring their transactions. Today, we have several resources that automate the monitoring process with the ability to identify specific transactions at a real-time perspective. Whether its BSA AML management, SOX compliance, CRA compliance or FATCA management, automation would take away your regulatory woes with pin point accuracy and timely alerts.
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