AI for Finance with Microsoft Copilot Training Course

Welcome and objectives

Live poll on current AI usage and a check of each participant's Copilot license type to tailor the pace and examples.

Copilot for Finance – From Occasional Use to Consistent Daily Practice

Topics

• Copilot Chat vs. Microsoft 365 Copilot: benefits of each edition

• Copilot across the Microsoft 365 apps most used by finance teams

• Where the Premium edition adds capability and when upgrading is worthwhile

• Establishing a personal daily usage routine

Practical exercise (identical for Basic and Premium)

• Participants audit their everyday finance tasks to identify immediate opportunities for Copilot application

Advanced Prompting for Finance Tasks

Topics

• Prompt structure for financial accuracy

• Providing Copilot with the right context and constraints

• Iterating and refining results

• Avoiding common errors in numeric outputs

Practical exercise (identical for Basic and Premium, conducted in Copilot Chat)

• Participants rewrite weak prompts into strong ones using their own finance scenarios and compare the outputs

Excel – Data Reconciliation and Cleaning

Topics

• Using Copilot to identify mismatches and anomalies

• Cleaning and standardizing messy datasets

• Automating repetitive checks (full functionality available only in Premium)

Practical exercise (dual workflow)

• Premium: Reconciling a two-source dataset directly in Excel using the in-app Copilot feature

• Basic: Uploading the xlsx file to Copilot Chat, generating a mismatch report, and applying corrections in Excel based on the guidance received

• Shared deliverable: A documented, reusable process that participants can take back to their desks

Excel – Forecasting and Budgeting

Topics

• Building forecast scenarios with Copilot assistance

• Testing budget assumptions

• Explaining variance drivers in plain language

Practical exercise (dual workflow)

• Premium: Building and adjusting a simple forecast model directly in Excel, testing two scenarios with Copilot

• Basic: Uploading the model to Copilot Chat, generating and comparing two scenarios in chat, then transferring the results into the Excel model

Financial Reporting and Executive Communication

Topics

• Converting raw analysis into clear management reports

• Summarizing financial results for non-finance stakeholders

• Drafting executive-ready commentary with Copilot

Practical exercise (dual workflow)

• Premium: Drafting the executive summary directly in Word using the in-app Copilot feature

• Basic: Generating the commentary in Copilot Chat and finalizing the document in Word

• Shared deliverable: A one-page executive summary based on a dataset used earlier in the day

Recap, knowledge check, and personal action plan

Outcomes

By the end of the day, participants will be able to:

• Write consistently strong prompts for financial tasks

• Reconcile and clean data faster with Copilot, regardless of license type

• Build and test forecast and budget scenarios with AI support

• Produce clear, executive-ready reports and summaries

• Understand exactly what can be achieved with their current license and when upgrading to Premium is justified

• Apply a personal action plan and reusable prompt examples immediately at their desk