COSO Issues Guidance on Robotic Process Automation

Joel Lanz, CPA, CISA, CISM, CISSP, CFE

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) continues to proliferate in organizations. Responding to governance challenges and impacts on financial reporting, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) recently issued a guidance publication, “Achieving Effective Internal Control Over Robotic Process Automation.” Per the press release accompanying the guidance's issuance, it “presents an RPA governance framework designed to help organizations maximize RPA benefits while mitigating risks through an effective internal control framework. Drawing from extensive research and professional feedback, the framework identifies key governance areas and control requirements to address common challenges associated with RPA, including security vulnerabilities, process knowledge loss, and uncontrolled bot proliferation” (https://tinyurl.com/3p5pm5n5).