Course Outline
Welcome and Training Objectives
A live assessment of current artificial intelligence adoption rates and an evaluation of participant Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing tiers to ensure the training pace and case studies align with the audience’s capabilities.
Copilot for Finance – Transitioning from Occasional Use to Consistent Daily Practice
Sessions Overview
• Feature Comparison: Distinctions between Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot, including specific features included in each edition for government operations.
• Application Across Platforms: Leveraging Copilot within the Microsoft 365 applications most critical to finance teams.
• Premium Capabilities: Identifying additional functionalities provided by the Premium edition and determining when the upgrade provides operational value.
• Workflow Integration: Establishing a sustainable daily routine for utilizing Copilot.
Hands-on Exercise (Identical for Basic and Premium licenses)
• Participants will audit their current finance workflows to identify immediate opportunities for Copilot integration.
Advanced Prompt Engineering for Financial Tasks
Sessions Overview
• Prompt Architecture: Structuring prompts to ensure financial accuracy and precision.
• Contextual Inputs: Providing Copilot with appropriate context, constraints, and parameters.
• Refinement Techniques: Iterating on inputs to improve output quality.
• Error Mitigation: Strategies for avoiding common inaccuracies in numeric outputs.
Hands-on Exercise (Identical for Basic and Premium licenses, conducted in Copilot Chat)
• Participants will refine weak prompts into optimized instructions using relevant finance scenarios and compare resulting outputs.
Excel – Data Reconciliation and Cleaning
Sessions Overview
• Anomaly Detection: Using Copilot to identify mismatches and irregularities in data sets.
• Data Standardization: Cleaning and normalizing unstructured or messy datasets.
• Automation Capabilities: Automating repetitive validation checks (available exclusively in Premium).
Hands-on Exercise (Dual Workflow)
• Premium Users: Reconciling a two-source dataset directly within Excel using integrated Copilot.
• Basic Users: Uploading an .xlsx file to Copilot Chat to generate a mismatch report, then applying corrections in Excel based on provided guidance.
• Common Output: A documented, reusable process for immediate implementation at the work station.
Excel – Forecasting and Budgeting
Sessions Overview
• Scenario Development: Constructing forecast models with Copilot assistance.
• Assumption Testing: Validating budget assumptions through simulation.
• Variance Explanation: Generating plain-language explanations for financial variances.
Hands-on Exercise (Dual Workflow)
• Premium Users: Building and adjusting a simple forecast model directly in Excel, testing two distinct scenarios using Copilot.
• Basic Users: Uploading the model to Copilot Chat to generate and compare scenarios within the chat interface, then transferring the results back into the Excel model.
Financial Reporting and Executive Communication
Sessions Overview
• Report Generation: Converting raw analysis into clear management reports for government stakeholders.
• Stakeholder Summarization: Condensing financial results for non-finance audiences.
• Executive Commentary: Drafting executive-ready narratives with Copilot assistance.
Hands-on Exercise (Dual Workflow)
• Premium Users: Drafting an executive summary directly within Word using integrated Copilot.
• Basic Users: Generating commentary in Copilot Chat and finalizing the document in Word.
• Common Output: A one-page executive summary derived from a dataset used earlier in the session.
Closing Recap, Knowledge Verification, and Personal Action Planning
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
• Construct consistently effective prompts for financial tasks.
• Reconcile and clean data more efficiently using Copilot, regardless of license tier.
• Develop and test forecasting and budgeting scenarios with AI support.
• Produce clear, executive-ready reports and summaries for government leadership.
• Determine the specific capabilities available with their current license and assess the justification for upgrading to Premium.
• Implement a personal action plan and apply reusable prompt examples immediately upon returning to their duties.
Requirements
- A current Microsoft 365 business or enterprise subscription that includes access to the Copilot Chat application is required for all attendees, regardless of whether they hold a basic or premium tier.
- While not mandatory, participants may optionally enable a Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) license within Excel, Word, and Outlook to support in-application workflows tailored for government operations.
- Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel is expected, specifically regarding the use of formulas, data tables, and pivot tables.
- Fundamental familiarity with artificial intelligence chat interfaces is required.
- A reliable internet connection is necessary, as the training session is conducted remotely.
Audience
This program is designed for finance professionals who currently incorporate AI into their duties, such as financial analysts, FP&A specialists, controllers, and accountants. It accommodates a diverse range of experience levels, from those who use these tools occasionally with confidence to daily users seeking to advance their capabilities.
Testimonials (2)
i already have some reports that i know, i will use some of the prompts that looked at today
Kelly Cotham
Course - Copilot for Finance and Accounting Professionals
Learning and creating of agents.
