Four workflow patterns — chaining, parallelization, routing, orchestration — applied to reconciliation, credit review, and regulatory synthesis.
Most agentic use cases in finance decompose into one of four patterns. Naming the pattern up front makes the build faster and the result easier to audit.
Step 2 depends on Step 1's output, run in fixed order. E.g.: extract invoice data → validate against PO → check budget → route for approval.
Independent sub-tasks run at the same time, then results are merged. E.g.: screen a new counterparty against sanctions lists, adverse media, and credit bureau data simultaneously.
A classifier step sends the request down the right path. E.g.: an incoming query is routed to the AML agent, the expense-policy agent, or the reporting agent based on topic.
A coordinator agent spawns and manages several sub-agents to complete a larger goal. E.g.: a month-end close orchestrator calls a reconciliation sub-agent, then a variance-commentary sub-agent, then a reporting sub-agent.
A commercial credit memo touches multiple domains at once — financial ratios, collateral valuation, industry risk, and compliance screening. Rather than one agent trying to do all four sequentially, a parallelization pattern runs four specialist checks simultaneously, then a routing step decides whether the memo needs a senior credit officer review or can proceed to standard approval.
Preparing a regulatory return often means pulling numbers from several source systems, checking each against the prior period, and assembling commentary. An orchestrator agent can coordinate: a Data-Pull sub-agent (per source system), a Variance-Check sub-agent, and a Commentary-Draft sub-agent — with the orchestrator responsible only for sequencing and handoff, never for approving the final return itself.