The Department of Housing and Urban Development has enlisted the help of Ernst & Young to simplify the agency's financial management processes through the implementation of robotics process automation software, Federal News Network reported Monday.
Irv Dennis, chief financial officer at HUD and a former EY executive, told the publication in an interview that the partnership used RPA to shorten a manual procedure from 2.6K hours to 65 hours.
Dennis noted that the technology has potential application to as many as 60 processes, such as those relevant to funding oversight in accordance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
“What we did with the project management organization out of the CFO is we looked at the reporting process of the CARES Act, the programs that received CARES Act funds, and we identified opportunities in that complete processes where we could convert from a manual to a robotics process," he added.
Bill Colbert, an EY partner, said the company helped drive business automation efforts at HUD via the department's center of excellence.