The Trusted Adviser The Rise of Digital Staff: Nick Perrett on AI Workflow Automation at Yarra Lane
Aug 14, 2025
Nick Perrett, CEO of Yarra Lane Group who leads AI and RPA adoption across financial planning and tax. He describes bots like Henry and Grace running inside Microsoft to handle review prep and data entry. Topics include how bots are built and scheduled, security and auditability, cultural change and redeploying staff, and measuring ROI with dashboards.
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Keep Bots Inside Your Secure Tenancy
- Yarra Lane keeps all automation inside its Microsoft tenancy and selects partners with SOC/ISO certifications.
- That approach ensures client data never leaves the firm's controlled environment and mirrors employee access rules.
Which Tasks To Target First
- Nick highlights two ripe automation types: tasks that take a long time per client, and short tasks repeated daily.
- He avoids automating low-value tasks that occur only once a month until later.
Grace: Annual Review Prep In Action
- Grace prepares annual review packs by pulling reports, updating PowerPoint, and populating X-Plan and other systems five days before meetings.
- This leaves advisors time to add a personal touch while ensuring consistent, timely preparation.