Transforming legacy systems to unlock long-term value

They achieved their aims with the help of EY teams with proven people and technology solutions for business transformation. EY approached the project by presenting an infusion model, a methodology that would leverage the client’s existing innovation lab and transform it by introducing automation technology at its core. This would deliver many key benefits and become a change agent for the organization.

The project’s aim was to help the client be at the forefront of technology and data innovation, and also leave a legacy of technology knowledge and skills in-house.
 

Designing the route to success

The first stage began by examining the existing work environment where all critical business processes were linked to the client’s legacy systems. We identified several gaps at these touch points - gaps that were the major cause of inaccurate data, causing inefficiencies across the organization.
 

Our alliance with Blue Prism , who are specialists in enterprise process automation, enables EY to combine the power of automation tools and technologies with our sector expertise, so that our clients can automate complex, end-to-end operational activities.
 

Instead of applying individual techniques and tools to processes, we saw the potential to automate the existing front-, middle- and back office processes, allowing tangible results within weeks and months. We used the enterprise robotic processes automation (RPA) software created by Blue Prism to reimagine processes for the stock exchange client.
 

We created a collaborative work environment with the stock exchange’s innovation centre where the tools and solutions offered could be tested before implementing them on a large scale.  
 

A governance structure is critical for an organization to reposition their business model. It was therefore essential to establish an intelligent automation (IA) Centre of Excellence with delivery methods, roles and responsibilities, process prioritization and benefits tracking. Without this comprehensive governing body, various business processes would face challenges in terms of scalability, and availability of accurate data to make fact-based decisions.
 

To seed this new capability, a successful IA proof of concept was needed. The finance function was selected for the pilot.
 

Transformation in action

Daily scrum and stand-up meetings were conducted to manage bot delivery, testing and deployment in the production environment. The bots were dynamically scaled with client demand.
 

The implementation of bots made it possible to significantly automate the banking reconciliations across 350 bank accounts in the finance department. This allowed the client to save 25% of the resource time in the initial phase of the implementation.
 

During the production phase, benefits were tracked against the cost, which was realized in terms of employee time, morale and faster turnaround of process. EY helped - as part of the governance framework - to set up a methodology for tracking the benefits post automation. This aided the innovation lab to succeed and generate more demand for automation.
 

The success of the pilot allowed the client to then engage across business lines in an organic way. It was a critical move as it involved a shift in the organization’s culture towards the adoption of technology at scale.
 

Ensuring innovation remains a way of life

EY was focused on delivering immediate value as well as providing a solution with longevity. Through various phases of collaboration, the client was empowered to continue on a tech-enabled business transformation journey, that would support them over the long-term. This was evidenced as the IA Centre of Excellence worked in partnership with the various teams through knowledge sharing sessions and seamless handovers.
 

The robotics team successfully leveraged the governance model - the Process Automation Assessment (PAA) method to prioritize the processes to be automated across the business units.
 

Other business units that participated in this automation project were: Markets, Operations and the HR on boarding team.
 

As the bots were implemented to enhance accuracy and promote error free results, in-house coaching was conducted to train the client in automation and the overall new function of the processes. This included on-job IA training in the implementation of agile methodologies.
 

Over a short period of time, EY’s role shifted to that of a support team, while the client independently handled their automated processes.
 

A legacy of knowledge and an upskilled workforce was delivered to ensure that the organization could remain at the forefront of technology and data excellence.