IER-08-03-01-pp007--2082-Szmajser,Kedzior,Andrzejewski,Swietla 2022, Vol. 8, No. 3 10.15678/IER.2022.0803.01 Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness assessment Rafał Szmajser, Marcin Kędzior, Mariusz Andrzejewski, Katarzyna Świetla A B S T R A C T Objective: The aim of this paper is to explore accountants’ views on the usage of Robotic Process Automation technology (RPA) which brings efficiency increase. Research Design & Methods: An online survey has been addressed to over 500 respondents from interna- tional companies, where 160+ complete answers were received from the most important types of organiza- tions in the business services industry. The non-parametric rho Spearman correlation coefficient and the non- parametric Kruskal-Wallis test and business case for the RPA implementation efficiency were used. Findings: Based on the research results obtained, it should be emphasized that robotization technologies which raise the efficiency of financial and accounting services make an important impact on the efficiency of modern business services sector. Application of RPA assumes replacing work of an existing employee with the use of dedicated software (software robots) to support activities, primarily repeated and uncomplicated, char- acterized by a low number of exceptions. Implications & Recommendations: RPA application is commonly used in modern business services, particu- larly in the areas of Finance, Accounting, IT and Human Resources Management. By utilizing RPA technol- ogy, the effectiveness of operations increases while reducing workload, minimizing possible errors in the process. The greatest efficiency resulting from the RPA implementation was observed in the Accounts Pay- able department, to a lesser extent in the General Ledger department and in the Tax section. The assess- ment of managers in terms of the effects of RPA implementation is unequal, while for Business, IT Process Outsourcing companies (BPO / ITO), Shared Service Centers (SSC), Consulting / Advisory companies and their customers no significant differences were found. Contribution & Value Added: The article presents an assessment of the effectiveness of the use of Robotic Process Automation in Process Outsourcing companies (BPO / ITO) and Shared Service Centers (SSC) operating in Poland. It is one of the first studies of this type for enterprises operating in Poland. The article uses a rela- tively large number of responses (160+) from the respondents. In the previous studies in the literature, the answers obtained came from a much smaller number of respondents and were conducted in the form of direct interviews. In the article, the group of respondents consists not only of managers of outsourcing companies, but also auditing companies and clients of outsourcing companies. The article also presents a financial simu- lation of the effectiveness of BPO / ITO and SSC using Robotic Process Automation, which additionally validates the responses obtained in the questionnaire. Article type: research article Keywords: robotic process automation; business process outsourcing BPO; IT outsourcing; com- pany efficiency, Poland, questionnaire JEL codes: O310, M150, G290, G300 Received: 12 April 2022 Revised: 16 June 2022 Accepted: 28 June 2022 Suggested citation: Szmajser, R., Kędzior, M., Andrzejewski, M., & Świetla, K. (2022). Implementation of new technologies in ac- counting and financial processes: An effectiveness assessment. International Entrepreneurship Review, 8(3), 7-21. https://doi.org/10.15678/IER.2022.0803.01 International Entrepreneurship Review RI E 8 | Rafał Szmajser, Marcin Kędzior, Mariusz Andrzejewski, Katarzyna Świetla INTRODUCTION Employees from financial and accounting departments curry out financial processes during unprece- dented technological changes that take place in the profession (Borrego et al., 2020). Specialists working in financial departments have long been subjected to the process of accelerated computerization, and more and more advanced information technologies are also used to an increasing extent (Borrego et al., 2020). The implementation of high-quality financial services also necessitates the digitization of account- ing processes. This phenomenon intensified especially during the pandemic (Kaka, 2020). The use of more and more advanced technologies is, on the one hand, becoming a necessity, on the other hand, it facilitates the work of financial services, increases the quality of accounting information and its credibility (Özdoğan, 2017). The growing need to dematerialize accounting and tax processes, as well as the more and more common use of accounting applications necessitate the development of a greater use of infor- mation technology in financial processes (Gulin et al., 2019). In economic practice, technologies such as Internet of Everything, blockchain, Big Data may be used, but most of all in the financial services sector – automation of accounting processes and artificial intelligence and (Rîndașu, 2017). Given the recent technological advancement, an increasing range of services rendered by enter- prises and institutions alike is provided in digital format (Andrzejewski & Dunal, 2021; Sieja & Wach, 2019). It is largely possible thanks to the automation of corporate business and operational processes (Osman, 2019; Ribeiro et al., 2021). The modern view on automation of business processes is a solution designed to help optimize human activities during the performance of tasks. Using the latest technol- ogies, an increase in effectiveness of the operations takes place while reducing workload and errors. It should also be noted that digitization as a continuous process of convergence between the real and the virtual worlds is becoming a major drive of innovation and change in most sectors of the economy. Regardless of how the use of modern information technology is assessed, there are also some doubts as to whether it should replace human activities. The use of RPA in the creation of state-of-the- art services may reduce the need for human labor, making it possible to limit the costs of labor in a highly effective way (Kaya et al., 2019). This study provides a perspective on this issue. Robotic automation processes are a technology consisting of software agents, so-called “bots”, which imitate human work through a series of applications when performing specific activities in business practice (Syed et al., 2020). RPA provides a class of software for automating business pro- cesses. It assumes replacing an existing employee with the use of dedicated software (software ro- bots) to support activities, primarily repeated and uncomplicated, characterized by a low number of exceptions. The operation of robots consists in imitation of human activities within a specific pro- cess. RPA can act as another employee in the organization, who does not require holidays or breaks. RPA allows an employee to focus on more complex, discretionary processes, which bring greater added value to the organization. RPA is one of the latest technological solutions. RPA is actually becoming a must when it comes to doing business for many enterprises across the world. It creates added value for companies (Madakam et al., 2019). The aim of this paper is to explore accountants’ views on usage of Robotic process automation tech- nology which brings efficiency increase. The key advantage of using RPA in handling processes previously carried out by human beings has become fast implementation while reducing errors and no need for large financial investments. By using RPA, a rapid flow of information is introduced throughout the com- pany internal network along with its external and internal customers, which allows for proper analysis of the surrounding economic environment. The application of this class of solutions usually does not require modifications to the already existing IT systems of the company. This is because RPA tools operate at the level of the Graphical User Interface (GUI), i.e. in the same way as human operators do. The business logic is embedded within automated applications, which solves the problem of its restoration which oc- curs in the traditional systems integration model. In addition, different than in the case of IT transfor- mation using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), the use of RPA does not require significant investments made by organizations or substantial interference with existing systems. RPA can be deployed in organi- zations in a relatively short time, as it requires relatively low cost of investment. Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness… | 9 We believe that our study contributes to the body of literature mainly because we investigate a large sample of finance and accountant experts in a relatively unexplored area. We plan to continue our research to assess the impact of automation on the area of risk and security of financial pro- cesses as well as the impact on the change of the desired skills of accountants. In addition, most of the research projects addressing the issue in question make use of direct interviews while our study involved a questionnaire-based survey. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT RPA can be applied in a great many branches of the economy (Madakam et al., 2019). The application of RPA is particularly widespread in the areas of Finance, Accounting and Human Resources Management. This is largely due to the high repeatability of processes and the relatively low number of exceptions. Due to the fact that robotization is becoming more and more popular and common, organizations are begin- ning to use increasingly mature knowledge-based automation methods, which, thanks to the constantly expanded database of cases and exceptions from the standard process, allow to use automation also in those processes with much more exceptions. Typical examples of knowledge-based automation are Cus- tomer Service processes, where robots analyze and categorize types of queries from individual custom- ers. By identifying key words, they search for the right information in the various IT systems of the com- pany. Then, based on the response templates they provide specific information in the form of e-mail messages (e.g. if and when an invoice with a specified number was paid). RPA is most useful in situations of an increase in the volume of error-free transactions and when it comes to monitoring such transactions. Operations proven to be particularly ineffective so far can be- come profitable again, and experts in a particular field can focus on operations which are the most strategic and important for the client (Kaya et al., 2019). Companies should continuously monitor their process in order to identify and optimise those that would benefit from RPA. High-volume tasks and low-complexity tasks are the most RPA-adaptable (Ribeiro et al., 2021). Another important feature of RPA technology is the lack of need to implement new advanced and costly IT tools, as automation is most often carried out on platforms already used by business entities. Gotthardt et al. (2020) highlight the potential of time and financial savings to be made thanks to the implementation of RPA. But there are also many limitations and potential problems related to the quality of data fed into and coming from the system. A gradual implementation of RPA in many ac- counting and auditing firms seems to be a good idea. Companies should adopt RPA as a tool that can support and be useful to their employees. It should not be considered a complete replacement of hu- man resources (Madakam et al., 2019). Extensive research on the automation of tasks was conducted by Engberg and Sordal (2012), who stressed that it has aroused interest for more than a century. RPA is regarded as key, as it allows taking over repetitive, monotonous tasks previously performed by humans. RPA promotes the use of tech- nology reducing costs while increasing the competitiveness of the beneficiary entity. In their study, conducted research involved 11 respondents, where characteristics of their positions were analyzed according to their: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. The result of the study was an indication that employees perceived the impact of the application of RPA on all the features of their job positions except feedback (Engberg & Sordal, 2012). A similar theme was taken up by Szmajser et al. (2019), who also noted that RPA is increasingly being used in financial service entities, performing certain tasks previously assigned to people and thus replac- ing employees. The activities of robots consist in imitation of activities hitherto assigned to humans dur- ing certain processes. According to the authors, RPA robots, thanks to appropriate programming, per- form activities of a certain level of complexity in an autonomous manner. These activities are predomi- nantly characterized by repeatability as well as a certain number of exceptions to the rule used in the algorithm. An example of this is, when robots log on to data handling programs from which they retrieve information that is then processed and afterwards they store the results in specific databases or systems. As pointed out by the authors, the use of robots happens where the integration of many systems is too time-consuming and expensive, and all the possible functionality of the systems has already been used. 10 | Rafał Szmajser, Marcin Kędzior, Mariusz Andrzejewski, Katarzyna Świetla Thanks to this use of the latest technology, it is possible to significantly increase the profitability of the processes assigned to the robots, as the cost ratio of an robot/worker can be as high as 1/9. Among the benefits, the infallibility of the robot (provided, of course, that it is properly programmed), the lack of stress and the possibility of continuous operation should be noted (Szmajser et al., 2019). The positive impact of the application of RPA on profitability was also proven by Seasongood (2016). Research on the automation of accounting processes was also conducted by Fernandez and Aman (2018). The results were used to understand the impact of RPA on the development of global account- ing services. The research was based on a comprehensive analysis of one of the largest global institu- tions providing accounting services, and the published findings indicate that RPA has a key impact on organizations changes happening in them. At the very outset it causes reductions of tasks performed by humans, thus reducing employment. The authors also noticed a certain way in which people “can’t compete” with robots. This was particularly the case with regard to disciplinary problems, staff produc- tivity, human resources shortage, and wage growth expectations (Fernandez & Aman, 2018). Eikebrokk et al. (2020) conducted 24 interviews with individuals engaged professionally with such industries as production, finance, and mining. They noticed that in the case of industries offer- ing standardized products, characterized by little differentiation, the greatest advantages of the use of RPA are effectiveness and reduced labor costs. The phenomenon is typical of industries where cost leadership is a significant success factor. Van Looy (2020) stresses that companies make use of robotization of business processes to an increasing extent. Based on 48 interviews, the authors of the study notice that most employees, mainly those highly skilled and highly qualified, speak positively of the performance of robot – including robots with advanced cognitive abilities. Employees tend to say that they are ready to accept working with robots if their work is supervised accordingly. Managers tend to accept working with robots to a greater degree if their work involves carrying out simple, repeatable tasks, which are often labor-in- tensive. The general preference is to leave the more demanding, complex, difficult tasks, which require creativity and interpersonal interaction, to humans. Apart from the obvious benefits of RPA implementation, some challenges or difficulties in this re- spect deserve to be distinguished. Accountants believe that the level of their knowledge of the practi- cal application of information technologies is at most average (Rîndașu, 2017). A large part of account- ants is also unaware of the time savings resulting from the use of advanced technological solutions, such as, for example, RPA (Zenuni et al., 2014). In economic practice, there are often inappropriate business models in enterprises, which make it difficult to implement RPA technologies. Only in enterprises that focus on innovative investments, are flexible and open to changes, the implementation of modern technological solutions is possible (Soni et al., 2019). Employees of accounting firms are aware of technological barriers that are not easy to overcome. Hence, there may be a natural reluctance to implement advanced technologies (Brooks et al., 2020). Many accounting firms do not attach much importance to innovation in the accounting pro- fession, despite the fact that advanced technologies allow to a large extent to improve the manage- ment efficiency of accounting firms. It may be necessary to develop an appropriate organizational cul- ture based on technologies and innovation (Lee et. al., 2019). Cooper et al. (2019) draw attention to the actual difficulties and coordination of RPA implementa- tion responsibilities between accountants and specialists from the IT department. The question that needs to be answered is whether bots should be programmed by accountants or IT specialists. Each of the solutions has both positive and negative aspects. In the opinion of Kokin and Blanchette (2019), the wider introduction of RPA in accounting departments is rather implemented in a small or medium scope. As a result of RPA implementation, new problems may arise related to the realization of internal control, as well as new types of risk. Enterprises must determine to what extent bots will be responsi- ble for the recording of processes and to what extent accountants. Appropriate segregation of duties can redefine the accounting profession. Often also the complexity of individual accounting processes can be a significant barrier to RPA implementation. In addition, there are objective technical problems in the RPA implementation process, necessitating very high involvement of IT departments, which in Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness… | 11 turn is costly and labor-intensive. The authors also point out that numerous processes are not easy to standardize, which can significantly reduce the profitability of RPA Regardless of how the use of modern information technology is assessed, there are also some doubts as to whether we should replace human activities in the implementation of the automation in business processes. The financial benefits associated with the implementation of RPA may in fact vary significantly. As calculated by Szmajser et al. (2019), apparently similar business processes per- formed in different geographical locations may in fact require the programming of completely dif- ferent, independent robots. The authors also point out that another often overlooked aspect of mass automation is that the implementation of a robot in the financial process “freezes” the possibility of modifying the process from the point of view of its simplification. This makes further standardization of the automated processes more difficult, as any change in the way the process is performed re- quires modification of the robot’s performance. The reactions of employees to the implementation of RPA could be described quite often as full of concern and uncertainty, including fear of becoming redundant. But the more recent studies reveal a slightly different sentiment among employees (Asatiani et al., 2020). The authors decided to conduct a study to verify the reaction of employees of accounting firms to the adoption of RPA. Their response was surprisingly positive. Some employees appeared to be really enthusiastic about and interested in a new technology. Therefore, the potential escalation of concern among employees was uneven, highly diversified. The authors conclude that the adoption of RPA may even have a positive impact on the atmosphere at work (Asatiani et al., 2020). It seems reasonable to stress that robots performing simple, repeatable operations in finance-accounting departments relieve employees from the need to handle these unpleasant and unambitious obligations. This way, they actually improve the atmosphere at work and the quality of life of employees (Madakam et al., 2019). Thus, it seems very important to promote the positive image of RPA when it is to be implemented (Madakam et al., 2019). Different opinions about the processes related to RPA are a matter raised also by Cooper et al. (2021). The authors conducted 14 interviews with representatives of the Big 4 auditors – with both top managers and lower-rank employees. The survey focused on the impact of RPA on the performed work, on the level of job satisfaction, and on the opportunities of development. It was proven that there is a difference as to how the benefits resulting from the implementation of RPA are perceived by managers and lower-rank employees. Both groups of respondents agree that RPA has a positive impact on the work of an accountant, but lower-rank employees did not report any significant impact of RPA on the level of their job satisfaction – unlike managers. This may stem from the fact that lower-rank employees still work within the same time frames and the same number of hours despite the time savings made thanks to RPA. Others authors believe that the adoption of RPA in private companies is accompanied by layoffs, or at least suspended recruitment of new employees (Eikebrokk & Olsen, 2020). The implementation of new RPA technologies makes it necessary for accountants to expand their competences in the field of information technology (Stancheva-Todorova, 2018). Therefore, the improvement of the ef- fectiveness of economic processes carried out by companies from BPO / ITO will result in the neces- sity to expand professional competences among employees of accounting departments. Account- ants who will not be able to do this may be more exposed to potential problems in the labor market. The phenomenon concerns also qualified employees, whose work is based on knowledge. The situ- ation is different in the public sector, where a greater emphasis is put not on making savings through staff reductions, but on the quality of the public services provided, of the recorded data, on effective migration of data between systems, etc. To facilitate the above process, employers should conduct advanced training in the use of advanced technologies in the work of BPO / ITO centers (Shaffer et al., 2020). Often the accountants themselves are not aware of the benefits of using advanced RPA technologies (Zel & Kongar, 2020). RPA implementation will be easier if it is accepted by the account- ants themselves. The role of an accountant is changing, who will not only be responsible for the records of repetitive operations, but will rather create value or manage strategic finances of the company. However extensive cooperation between accountants and specialists from the IT depart- ment seems also indispensable here. 12 | Rafał Szmajser, Marcin Kędzior, Mariusz Andrzejewski, Katarzyna Świetla Considering the different points of view, the authors put forward the following main hypothesis and two sub-hypotheses: H: The proper implementation of RPA in the sector of modern business services increases the operational efficiency of organizations. H1: There is a relationship between the job position and the perception of the impact of RPA on individual benefits of organizations. H2: There is a relationship between the type of company in the business services industry and the perception of the impact of RPA on individual benefits of organizations. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Survey An online survey has been addressed to over 500 respondents from international companies, where 160+ complete answers were received from the most important types of organizations in the business services industry, i.e. Business and/or IT Process Outsourcing (BPO/ITO), Shared Service Centers (SSC), Consulting/Advisory and their customers. Survey results were provided by representatives of the po- sitions in their organizations: Members of the Board, Directors, Managers and Experts/Specialists. The non-parametric rho Spearman correlation coefficient and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test and business case for the RPA implementation efficiency were used. The introduction of automation of financial processes increases the efficiency of Business, IT Pro- cess Outsourcing (BPO / ITO), Shared Service Centers (SSC). It is worth noting, however, that it is the highest for relatively simple, repeatable processes carried out in the accounts payable section, lower efficiency was observed for the general ledger, the lowest and the least predictable for tax services. Moreover, there are some differences in opinions on the potential efficiency resulting from the auto- mation of processes among employees holding various positions in the company (Executive Board, Director, Senior Manager, Expert / Specialist). There were no significant differences in the perception of the effectiveness of the implementation of accounting process automation in various entities oper- ating in the financial services sector (Business, IT Process Outsourcing (BPO / ITO), Shared Service Cen- ters (SSC), Consulting / Advisory and their customers). Due to the fact that the survey was addressed to respondents of international companies located both in Europe and on other continents, the authors decided to conduct the survey using CAWI (Com- puter Assisted Web Interviews). The survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey, a professional survey tool which has extensive mechanisms for defining questions, the way they are answered, their analysis and visualization of results. The survey was addressed to the international group of LinkedIn participants, mainly from the modern business services industry or being their current or potential customers. As a result of a personalized online survey addressed individually to over 500 respondents from international companies, 162 complete answers were received from the most important types of or- ganizations in the modern business services industry, i.e. BPO/ITO, SSCs, consulting/advisory and their clients. Answers were provided by representatives of diverse roles in their organizations: board mem- bers, directors, managers and experts/specialists. In addition, the survey was further supplemented by an in-depth interview, where respondents were invited to supplement their position with additional comments and observations. Statistical Tools The statistical analysis used is the IBM SPSS Statistics software. The non-parametric rho Spearman corre- lation coefficient and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test were used. The Spearman rho correlation coefficient was used to determine whether for variables measured at the level order (ranks) a statistically significant correlation occurs. Three levels of statistical significance were assumed: p < 0.001, which was determined ***, p < 0.01, which was determined ** and p < 0.05, which was determined *. If the corre- lation is at least at the level of p < 0.05, then the rho correlation coefficient shown in the table should be interpreted as statistically significant. Negative values mean that as the value of one variable increases, Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness… | 13 the value of the other variable decreases. Positive values, on the other hand, indicate that the value of one variable increases with the value of the other. The coefficient indicates the existence of a linear cor- relation but does not indicate which variable is the effect and which one is the cause. The Kruskal-Wallis test is used to determine whether the values obtained in two or more groups differ statistically significantly. In the tables, the following designations are used: M – the arithmetic mean, Me – the median, SD – the standard deviation, H – the Kruskal-Wallis test statistics, “p” – the significance of the Kruskal-Wallis test. Three levels of statistical significance were assumed: p < 0.001, which was determined ***, p < 0.01, which was determined ** and p < 0.05, which was determined *. In each of these three cases, the discrepancy between at least two groups can be defined as statistically significant. In the case of this test, it is also necessary to establish exactly which groups differ from each other significantly. It occurs when the test shows a significant difference of at least p < 0.05. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Empirical Findings The analysis included the responses of 162 respondents from various types of organizations: BPO/ITO – 31, SSCs – 52, consulting/advisory – 41, client of a company providing BPO/SSC services – 9, others - 29 and those performing various roles in their organizations: management board – 47, director – 36, senior manager – 53, expert/specialist – 26. The respondents were asked to assess the impact of ben- efits related to the implementation of RPA on particular benefits. Each benefit was evaluated on a 5- point scale, where 1 is low, 2 is moderate, 3 means medium, 4 is high, and 5 is very high. On this basis, the mean (M), the median (Me) and standard deviations (SD) for the different advantages were calcu- lated. The higher the average and the median on a scale of 1-5, the higher the assessment of the impact of the benefits associated with RPA implementation on individual benefits of organizations. Table 1 compares the responses from different organizations and the respondents’ respective roles therein in terms of answers to individual questions. Table 1. Comparison of the opinions of respondents with different roles in the organization in terms of as- sessing the impact of benefits associated with the implementation of RPA Rank the impact of the following benefits behind RPA on implementation on: Position in the organization Kruskal- Wallis Test Executive Board Director Senior Manager Expert/ Specialist M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD H p Productivity improvements 3.83 4 1.03 3.92 4 0.97 3.85 4 0.82 3.88 4 0.65 0.430 0.934 Reduction of operating costs 3.21 3 1.04 3.39 4 0.99 3.57 4 0.93 3.23 3 0.99 4.036 0.258 Increased compliance with standards and procedures 3.51 4 1.08 3.33 3.5 1.07 3.79 4 0.97 3.35 3 1.06 6.059 0.109 Increase in customer satisfaction 3.17 3 1.09 3.06 3 1.15 3.30 3 0.89 3.23 3 0.91 0.669 0.880 Revenues growth 2.47 3 1.12 2.31 2 1.24 2.91 3 1.06 3.04 3 1.04 10.568 0,014* Decrease in the number of errors 3.98 4 87 3.69 4 1.04 3.89 4 0.91 4.12 4 0.95 3.779 0.286 Process acceleration 4.02 4 92 4.00 4 0.89 4.08 4 0.94 4.31 4 0.68 1.800 0.615 1 – low, 2 - moderate, 3 – medium, 4 – high, 5 – very high Source: own study based on the survey questionnaire (n = 162). The Kruskal-Wallis test showed statistically significant differences between respondents depend- ing on their role in the organization in terms of assessing the significance of RPA implementation for revenue growth. Managers and senior managers assessed it as more important for the growth of rev- enue than directors did. Among other groups, there were no statistically significant differences. There were also no statistically significant or close differences regarding other benefits. Thus, the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the job position and the perception of the impact of RPA on indi- vidual benefits of organizations in relation to revenues growth was confirmed. 14 | Rafał Szmajser, Marcin Kędzior, Mariusz Andrzejewski, Katarzyna Świetla In the next question, the respondents were asked to specify the level of benefits they expected from the implementation of RPA for particular financial processes. Each process was evaluated on a 5-point scale, where 1 means no or low (0-10%), 2 is moderate (11-25%), 3 implies medium (26- 50%), 4 is high (51-75%), and 5 is very high (76-100%). On this basis, M, Me and SD were calculated for the expected level of benefit in relation to a given financial process, as shown in Table 2. The higher the average and the median on a scale of 1-5, the greater the expected benefit of implement- ing RPA for financial processes. Table 2. Comparison of the opinions of respondents with different roles in the organization in terms of the expected level of benefits associated with the implementation of RPA on individual financial processes The expected level of ben- efits associated with the implementation of RPA on financial processes Position in the organization Kruskal- Wallis Test Executive Board Headmaster Senior Manager Expert/Specialist M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD H P Accounts payable 3.28 3 1.15 3.86 4 0.91 3.87 4 0.86 3.88 4 0.82 9.025 0.029* Accounts receivable 3.26 3 1.06 3.54 4 0.95 3.42 4 0.82 3.69 4 0.93 3.792 0.285 Travel and expenses 3.13 3 1.20 3.53 4 0.86 3.35 3 0.99 3.62 4 0.75 3.376 0.337 Intercompany GL 3.11 3 1.11 3.38 3 1.10 3.45 3 1.05 3.35 3 0.80 2.404 0.493 General ledger 2.73 3 0.96 2.88 3 1.15 3.10 3 0.88 3.54 4 0.86 13.042 0.005** Cash flow management 2.49 3 1.06 2.65 3 1.10 2.78 3 0.90 3.15 3 0.92 6.468 0.091 Management accounting 2.67 3 1.11 2.71 3 0.94 2.86 3 0.87 3.12 3 1.11 2.979 0.395 Taxes 2.31 2 1.04 2.49 2 1.09 2.76 3 0.93 2.77 3 1.03 5.974 0.113 1 – low, 2 – moderate, 3 – medium, 4 – high, 5 – very high Source: own study based on the survey questionnaire (n = 162). The Kruskal-Wallis test showed statistically significant differences between respondents depend- ing on their role in the organization in terms of assessing the significance of RPA for accounts payable and the general ledger (table 2). Significantly higher expectations for the benefits of accounts receiva- ble were expressed by managers and senior managers than members of the board. Among other groups, there were no statistically significant differences. In turn, experts and specialists have signifi- cantly higher expectations of benefits related to general ledgers than board members and directors. Among other groups, there were no statistically significant differences. In addition, the difference close to statistical significance refers to the expectations related to cash flow management. Clearly higher expectations in this regard were expressed by experts and specialists than board members. No statis- tically significant or close differences were noted regarding the other expectations. Table 3. Comparison of the opinions of respondents from different types of organizations in terms of as- sessing the impact of benefits from RPA implementation Rank the impact of the following benefits be- hind RPA on imple- mentation on: Organization type: Kruskal- Wallis Test I II III IV V M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD H p PI 3.93 4 0.80 3.74 4 1.00 3.77 4 0.96 3.98 4 0.82 4.11 4 0.60 1.905 0.753 ROC 3.31 3 1.07 3.16 3 0.97 3.50 4 0.94 3.37 3 1.07 3.56 3 0.73 2.446 0.654 ICSP 3.48 4 0.95 3.26 3 1.18 3.56 4 1.06 3.68 4 1.04 3.89 4 0.78 4.686 0.321 ICS 3.14 3 1.09 3.13 3 1.09 3.27 3 1.07 3.10 3 0.80 3.67 4 1.00 3.128 0.537 RG 2.76 3 1.18 2.58 3 1.09 2.60 3 1.21 2.73 3 1.14 2.78 3 0.97 0.509 0.973 DNE 3.69 4 0.85 3.81 4 1.19 3.98 4 0.90 3.98 4 0.82 4.22 4 0.97 4.586 0.332 PA 3.93 4 1.07 3.94 4 1.03 4.21 4 0.82 4.15 4 0.69 4.00 4 0.87 2.130 0.712 PI- productivity improvements; ROC- reduction of operating costs; ICSP- improving compliance with standards and pro- cedures; ICS- increase in customer satisfaction; RG - revenues growth; DNE- decrease in the number of errors; PA- pro- cess acceleration; I-Other, II- BPO/ITO, III- SSC, IV-consulting/advisory, V-BPO/SSC customer; 1 – low, 2 – moderate, 3 – medium, 4 – high, 5 – very high Source: own study based on the survey questionnaire (n = 162). Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness… | 15 The Kruskal-Wallis test showed no differences between respondents’ opinions from different organ- izations in terms of assessing the impact of benefits from RPA implementation (Table 3). Partial hypoth- esis (H2) that: There is a relationship between the type of company in the business services industry and the perception of the impact of RPA on individual benefits of organizations, was thus not confirmed. In the next step, a comparison of responses from different types of organizations was performed in terms of the expected level of benefits associated with the implementation of RPA on individual financial processes as shown in Table 4. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed statistically significant differences between respondents from various organizations regarding the expected level of benefits coming from intercompany settlements. Signifi- cantly higher expectations for these settlements were expressed by respondents from other organiza- tions than those from BPOs/ITOs. Among other groups, there were no statistically significant differences. In addition, the difference close to statistical significance refers to the expectations related to the general ledger. Clearly higher expectations in this regard were expressed by respondents from organizations that are customers of companies providing BPO/SSC services than respondents from BPOs/ITOs. No statisti- cally significant or close differences in the expectations of others were noted. Table 4. Comparison of the opinions of respondents from different types of organizations in terms of the ex- pected level of benefits associated with the implementation of RPA on individual financial processes The expected level of benefits associated with the implementa- tion of RPA on a finan- cial process Organization type: Kruskal- Wallis Test I II III IV V p M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD M Me SD H p AP 3.68 4 0.90 3.71 4 0.97 3.66 4 1.10 3.68 4 0.93 4.00 4 1.00 1.047 0.903 AR 3.46 4 0.84 3.19 3 0.98 3.52 4 1.01 3.56 4 0.90 3.33 3 1.00 3.335 0.503 ABT 3.25 3 0.80 3.45 3 0.96 3.16 3 1.07 3.65 4 1.10 3.33 3 0.71 7.328 0.120 IS 3.61 4 0.92 3.00 3 1.03 3.53 3 1.04 3.05 3 1.12 3.56 4 0.53 10.011 0,040* GL 3.14 3 0.89 2.68 3 0.75 2.94 3 1.11 3.21 3 1.08 3.44 4 0.73 8.551 0.073 CFM 2.89 3 0.96 2.42 2 1.06 2.73 3 1.09 2.87 3 0.95 2.67 3 0.71 4.538 0.338 MA 3.29 3 1.05 2.65 3 1.14 2.78 3 0.96 2.72 3 0.92 2.56 3 0.53 7.715 0.103 TX 2.86 3 1.04 2.39 2 1.05 2.42 2 1.03 2.69 3 1.03 2.67 3 0.71 4.528 0.339 AP-Accounts payable; AR- Accounts receivable; ABT-Accounting for business trips;IS- Intercompany settlements; GL-General Ledger; CFM- Cash flow management; MA-Management accounting; TX-Taxes; I-Other, II- BPO/ITO, III- SSC, IV-consult- ing/advisory, V-BPO/SSC customer; 1 – low, 2 – moderate, 3 – medium, 4 – high, 5 – very high Source: own study based on the survey questionnaire (n = 162). During the study, respondents identified the expected level of process automation (calculated in %) depending on the type of financial process. To verify that the expected level of automation provided a positive return on investment (ROI) and check the level of savings after 12 months of implementation, financial simulation was carried out. During the simulation, the following assumptions were adopted: − Three financial processes in the area of accounts payable, general ledger and taxes were selected, where the level of expected percentage of automation is different. − For the group of processes adopted, an automation compartment indicated by the largest share of respondents was adopted (range underlined in Table 5). The simulation was performed for both the smallest and the largest level of automation in the selected processes in Table 5. For the purposes of simulation, next assumptions were indicated below: − The level of complexity of the robot implementation (low, medium and complex) directly affects the programming time of the robot. − Time-consumption: it was assumed that each of the selected processes is performed by four em- ployees with 2-3 years of experience in the workplace. − Personnel costs for each job are shown in Table 6 on the basis of the average monthly cost per employee. 16 | Rafał Szmajser, Marcin Kędzior, Mariusz Andrzejewski, Katarzyna Świetla Table 5. Automation compartment indicated by the largest share of respondents Process None or low (0-10%) Moderate eng. Moderate (11-25%) Aver. eng. Mod- erate (26-50%) High eng. High (51-75%) Very high eng. very high (above 75%) Num- ber of respon. % N % N % N % N % N AP 0.68 1 13.61 20 19.05 28 45.58 67 21.09 31 147 AR 1.36 2 17.01 25 25.85 38 44.90 66 10.88 16 147 TE 2.76 4 15.86 23 33.10 48 35.86 52 12.41 18 145 I 2.78 4 17.36 25 37.50 54 26.39 38 15.97 23 144 GL 4.90 7 23.08 33 39.86 57 25.17 36 6.99 10 143 Tr 11.81 17 29.17 42 34.03 49 21.53 31 3.47 5 144 MA 9.03 13 29.86 43 34.72 50 22.22 32 4.17 6 144 Tx 14.48 21 35.86 52 29.66 43 16.5 24 3.45% 5 145 AP- Accounts payable; AR- Accounts receivable; TE- Travel and expenses; I- Intercompany; GL- General Leder; Tr- Treasury; MA- Management accounting; Tx- Taxes; % - % of responses; N - number of responses Source: own study. Table 6. Personnel costs per job position Position Average monthly cost per employee Min Avg. Max Personnel costs per employee handling processes from the Payables; Accountant 2-3 years of experience 1 092 1 310 1 528 Personnel costs of employee supporting processes in the GL group (incl., taxes, ledger); Accountant 2-3 years’ experience 1 310 1 474 1 638 Personnel costs: IT specialist 983 1 168 1 354 Personnel costs: IT senior specialist 1 092 1 441 1 790 Personnel costs: IT expert 1 747 2 402 3 057 Personnel costs of developer 1 965 2 838 3 712 Source: own study. On the basis of data received from the IT and finance departments, it was established that the cost of 1 robot includes the following components: 1. Cost of making the robot (one-time): cost analysis of the process, the cost of robot design, robot programming costs, the costs of collection and transfer of robot for use. 2. Cost of robot maintenance (monthly): software license costs, IT maintenance costs and infra- structure costs. 3. The cost of UiPath license is equal to 2696 EUR per year. One licence can operate 4 boots. Furthermore, an important element is IT maintenance costs emerging in the values indicated in Table 7. Additionally, the costs of designing and software together with the costs of process analysis, collection and transfer for use are provided in Table 8. It was assumed that the costs of IT infrastructure are at the level of EUR 75,000 a year and they can handle up to 100 robots. The cost of infrastructure per robot is therefore EUR 750/year/robot (EUR 75,000/year for 100 robots). The value of savings was determined by: ����� �� � �� = ��� ����� �� � ��������� − − ������� �� � �� ����� �������������� −monthly IT support costs − − monthly license cost (1) Based on the major assumptions, calculation was made concerning the period of ROI in months and the value of savings after 12 months, as shown in Table 9. Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness… | 17 Table 7. IT maintenance costs + RPA license costs Position Cost per boot (employee) in EUR Quan- tity Unit of Measure- ment Definition Annual cost in EUR Method of calculat- ing the fee RPA license cost (robot per vir- tual machine) 2 695,65 25 License 6 7391,30 Yearly IT specialist (standard queries) 1 168,12 2 1 employee 2 336,24 Monthly IT senior specialist (medium complexity queries) 1 441,05 2 1 employee 2 882,10 Monthly IT expert (complex queries) 2 401,75 2 1 employee 4 803,49 Monthly IT infrastructure costs 750,00 100 BOT 75 000,00 Monthly Total 152 413,13 Cost per 100 robots No. of robots 100 No. of pieces Monthly cost per 1 robot 127,01 EUR/m Source: own study. Table 8. Costs of design and software per robot together with the costs of process analysis, collection and transfer for use The components of the cost of robot designing and software The level of complexity of the robot Simple Medium Complex The time needed to create a robot: analysis, development, testing, documentation (workdays) 20,00 30,00 40,00 Average labor cost EUR/day 98,00 142,00 186,00 The cost of building 1 robot 1 965,00 4 258,00 7 424,00 Source: own study. Table 9. Period of ROI in months and the value of savings after 12 months Financial process Accounts Payable General Ledger Taxes Number of employees involved in the process (currently) 4 4 4 The expected level of time reduction associated with the implementation of the robot (min/max) 51% 75% 26% 50% 11% 25% The level of complexity of the robot Medium Complex Complex Number of employees involved in the process (target) 1.96 1 2.96 2 3.56 3 The level of reduction in time consumption (number of people) 2.04 3 1.04 2 0.44 1 Monthly personnel costs per employee 1 310 1 310 1 474 1 474 1 474 1 474 Costs of the design and development of single robot 4 258 4 258 7 424 7 424 7 424 7 424 The number of robots to handle 4 4 4 4 4 4 Monthly IT support costs/robot 508 508 508 508 508 508 Monthly license cost/robot in EUR 449 449 449 449 449 449 The payback period per robot (months) 3.00 2.00 13.00 4.0 - 22.00 The value of savings after 12 months 16 324 31 416 -518 16 460 -11 130 -3 191 Source: own study. As the calculations show, the payback period is diametrically different ranging from two months for the accounts payable process with 75% savings (in this case value of savings after one year at 31,416 EUR) and in the extreme case for the process taxes implementation and maintenance costs exceed the savings resulting from the use of the robot. 18 | Rafał Szmajser, Marcin Kędzior, Mariusz Andrzejewski, Katarzyna Świetla DISCUSSION Similar research results were obtained by Cooper et al. (2019). Research participants (large audit com- panies) confirmed that the implementation of accounting processes based on RPA causes a very sig- nificant increase in the efficiency of accounting companies. Bots can work full-time, reduce the time of a given process by about 30-40%, and also provide continuous work for clients. The authors also emphasize that the implementation of RPA for tax services is the most difficult; consulting and assur- ance services are slightly closer to practical implementation. Employing accountants with basic ac- counting knowledge may be limited in the future. On the other hand, the robotization of accounting processes may result in a greater balance in professional work and private life. Similar results were obtained by Kokina and Blanchette (2019). However, the authors believe that only some of the pro- cesses that are properly prepared for RPA, moreover, are repeatable and rules-based can be imple- mented by bots. This is in line with the Task-Technology Fit and Technology-to-Performance Chain. RPA will be most effective if the processes are time-consuming, large-scale, digitized, and used by a variety of systems. In this situation, RPA provides cost savings, a more effective flow of documentation, accounting errors are reduced, processes are valued more reliably, and financial reporting is improved. CONCLUSIONS In summary, the results of the statistical analyses carried out with regard to revenue growth confirmed the correctness of the hypothesis that there is a correlation between job position and the perception of the impact of RPA implementation on individual benefits of organizations. Its importance for reve- nue growth was rated in a statistically significantly greater manner by managers and senior managers than directors. The differences between respondents on the other job positions were not so signifi- cant. This may be due to the greater practical knowledge of managers who, due to the nature of their work, have closer contact with operational issues than directors and are able to control the impact of RPA implementation on the generation of additional sources of income on an ongoing basis. Against this, the authors claim that the partial hypothesis (H1) that there is a correlation between the job position and the perception of the impact of RPA on individual benefits of organizations in relation to revenues was confirmed. It was different in the case of the partial hypothesis (H2) that there is a correlation between the type of company in the modern business services sector and the perception of the impact of RPA implementation on individual benefits of organizations. In this case, no statistically significant differences or any close to the statistical significance were noted between respondents from different organizations. Thus, the adopted partial hypothesis (H2) could not be confirmed. Thus, it was not possible to unequivocally confirm the main hypothesis H0 in its wording: Proper implementation of RPA in the sector of modern business services increases the operational efficiency of organizations. This does not, however, complete the research conducted at this stage. Due to the fact that during the re- sponse to the survey, the participants were able to add comments on other benefits resulting from the implementation of RPA, the issues raised in this article will be analyzed in further research. Two further areas that the authors intend to verify during the research will be directed to seek answers to questions about the limitations and barriers associated with the implementation of ro- botization and the impact of RPA implementation on changing work characteristics and employee com- petencies. This will enable RPA implementation not only in the area of finance and accounting but will also foster a holistic approach to the functioning of a business entity in all its areas. The introduction of automation of financial processes increases the effectiveness of Business, IT Process Outsourcing (BPO/ITO), Shared Service Centers (SSC). It is worth noting, however, that it is the highest for relatively uncomplicated, repeatable processes realized in the accounts payable section, lower efficiency was observed for general ledger, the lowest and least predictable for tax services. Moreover, there are some differences in the potential efficiency resulting from automation of account- ing processes among employees holding various positions in the company (Executive Board, Director, Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness… | 19 Senior Manager, Expert/ Specialist). 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Dumas (Eds.), Business Process Management (pp. 435-452). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58666-9_25 Zel, S., & Kongar, E. (2020). Transforming digital employee experience with artificial intelligence. In 2020 IEEE/ITU International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Good (AI4G) (pp. 176-179). IEEE. Zenuni, B., Begolli, T., & Ujkani, M. (2014). Impact of information technology in the accounting profession. Pro- ceedings of the 5-th International Conference “Information System and Technology Innovations: “Projecting trends to New Economy”. Authors The contribution share of authors is equal and amounted to 25% for each of them. Rafał Szmajser Seasoned finance executive with 20 plus years of diverse experience acquired across a range of industries including: Insurance (Shared Service Center Zurich Insurance Company – Head of Delivery Center); petrochem- ical industry with BP and Slovnaft-MOL (CFO and Board Member), Business Process Outsourcing through the Capgemini (Senior Director). His recent experience includes role of Head of Finance Operations in HEINEKEN Global Shared Service where he was responsible for team of approx. 800 finance specialists. He holds PhD in Finance (University of Economics in Krakow) and MBA from Oxford Brooks University. Rafal has got proven records of continuous improvement (Lean Six Sigma Black Belt), Business Controls, Risk & Compliance (Internal Auditor – ISO 9001 certification), RPA and project management (PMP). Correspondence to: dr Rafał Szmajser, e-mail: rszmajser@gmail.com ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6040-3467 Implementation of new technologies in accounting and financial processes: An effectiveness… | 21 Marcin Kędzior Associate Professor, Department of Financial Accounting, Institute of Finance, Cracow University of Economics (Poland). Habilitated doctor in economics (2016). PhD in economics (2009). Master of Science in economics (2002). Member of the board of an Polish Accounting Association, branch in Cracow, chairman of the Corpo- rate Finance and Accounting Commission (CUE). His research interests include: capital structure, managerial accounting, IFRS, Corporate Social Responsibility, corporate finance. Correspondence to: Prof. UEK, dr hab. Marcin Kędzior, Department of Financial Accounting, Cracow University of Economics, ul. Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Kraków, Poland, e-mail: kedziorm@uek.krakow.pl ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8836-7218 Mariusz Andrzejewski Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Financial Accounting, Institute of Finance, Cracow University of Economics (Poland). Habilitated doctor in economics (2013). PhD in economics (2001). Master of Science in Automatics and Robotics (1995). Master in Accounting (1996). Master of Science in Informatics (1997). His research interests include financial audit, corporate finance, financial and managerial accounting, computer- aided techniques in accounting. Correspondence to: Prof. UEK, dr hab. Mariusz Andrzejewski, Department of Financial Accounting, Cracow University of Economics, ul. Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Kraków, Poland, e-mail: andrzejm@uek.krakow.pl ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1014-4396 Katarzyna Świetla Associate Professor, Department of Financial Accounting, Institute of Finance, Cracow University of Economics (Poland). Habilitated doctor in economics (2015). PhD in economics (2001). Master of Science in economics (1996). Director of postgraduate studies “Financial Accounting CUE-ACCA”. Her research interests concern outsourcing of modern accounting as well as capital groups and consolidated financial statements. Correspondence to: Prof. UEK, dr hab. Katarzyna Świetla, Department of Financial Accounting, Cracow Uni- versity of Economics, ul. Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Kraków, Poland, e-mail: kswietla@uek.krakow.pl ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7796-9379 Conflict of Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relation- ships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Copyright and License This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution – NoDerivs (CC BY-ND 4.0) License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ Published by Cracow University of Economics – Krakow, Poland