Perspectives 2019 2020 Public Sector

Citi Perspectives 73 Digital Government: Key Steps to Automating Transactional Activity Dimitrios Raptis Laura Gibson Digital disruption, often described as the fourth industrial revolution, and defined by Artificial Intelligence, big data, robotics and other emerging technologies, is transforming businesses and economies around the globe. Over the past decade corporates and multinationals have embraced this wave of digital revolution, driven either by the desire to innovate and transform their business models or by the competitive pressure of new, start-up digital disruptor firms entering the markets in which they operate and promoting the need to adapt and evolve at speed to retain market share. Governments and other public sector entities have not been compelled to take action in the same way, given that they don’t face similar competitive threats, however, more recently the evolving expectations of the citizens and businesses which they serve and a more global playing field, in terms of attracting large capital and talent flows, have encouraged governments to fundamentally question how they operate and whether they can enhance existing processes and intragovernmental structures to exploit the benefits and cost savings that digitization can promote. Central government departments control numerous processes that could be streamlined and improved through automation, including those in Finance, Treasury and Procurement. Automation promises to deliver higher levels of efficiency and productivity, reduced operating costs, fewer human errors and a safer operating environment, with less room for fraudulent activity. Many areas of Finance and Treasury, in particular, can be streamlined, including: cash payments and collections, particularly across borders, budgeting, financial planning and risk management, for example, through foreign exchange hedging based on net positions across governmental departments. Automation can help through the integration of diverse processes and information, as well as through the centralization of data collected. This allows for faster replication and interpretation of that data, presenting the ability to highlight any potentially fraudulent transactions and also where additional changes might be implemented to further enhance efficiency gains and cost savings.