When it comes to financial management, staying efficient is everything. People in my field are constantly looking for ways to better their workflows, reduce manual effort, and gain deeper insights into their data.

Enter Microsoft Copilot—a powerful AI tool that is transforming the way finance teams operate.

From inbox management to data analysis in Excel, Copilot is proving to be a difference maker for finance managers who need to stay ahead. Here’s a look at how it’s making a tangible impact.

Smarter Weekly Planning with Outlook

One of the most effective ways to start the week on the right foot is through structured planning. Finance managers are using Copilot in Outlook to outline key action points from unread emails. With a simple prompt, Copilot scans incoming messages, extracts relevant tasks, and compiles a focused to-do list.

By reviewing these summaries on a Sunday evening or Monday morning, finance leaders can enter the week’s planning meetings with a clear agenda, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.

Sample Prompt: “Scan the incoming messages and identify any tasks, action items, deadlines, or follow-ups. Extract key details, including who the task is for, any due dates, and priority levels. Then, compile a structured and focused to-do list, grouping tasks by urgency and importance. Ensure clarity by consolidating each task concisely and flagging any ambiguous or incomplete information that may need clarification. Ensure clarity by recapping each task concisely and flagging any ambiguous or incomplete information that may need clarification. If applicable, suggest the next steps for each item to enhance efficiency.”

Automating Accounts Receivable & Payable Monitoring

Keeping track of overdue debtors and upcoming payments is critical for maintaining cash flow. Copilot helps by searching email chains for relevant financial conversations, flagging unpaid invoices, and highlighting which customers require follow-ups.

Instead of manually digging through correspondence, finance teams can instantly generate a summary of outstanding accounts, enabling more proactive financial management.

Sample prompt: Act as a financial assistant focusing in cash flow management. Scan email conversations to identify discussions about invoices, payments, and overdue accounts, extracting key details like invoice numbers, due dates, payment statuses, and customer names. Flag unpaid invoices, highlight customers needing follow-ups, and generate a concise summary of outstanding accounts, including total amounts due and overdue periods. Structure the summary for quick decision-making, Sequencing critical follow-ups, and presenting actionable insights in a clear, professional format for finance teams.

Enhanced Data Retrieval from Teams & SharePoint

Finance professionals often need to locate important files or past discussions quickly. Copilot in Teams simplifies this process by retrieving specific conversations, documents, and attachments related to finance topics. Whether it’s locating a financial report, an audit document, or historical budgeting discussions, Copilot eliminates the time-consuming search process.

Additionally, it can pull together all finance-related files from SharePoint, making it easier to compile materials for onboarding new employees or preparing for audits.

 Sample Prompt: Act as an intelligent assistant for finance professionals by quickly retrieving finance-related conversations, documents, and attachments from Teams and SharePoint. Locate reports, audit documents, and budgeting discussions, streamlining searches for onboarding, audits, and financial planning. Focus relevance based on context and timestamps, presenting results in a structured, easy-to-navigate format with key summaries where needed.

Accelerating Data Analysis in Excel

Excel remains the backbone of financial analysis, and Copilot is enhancing its capabilities in several ways:

  • Outlining Large Text Blocks: When dealing with extensive notes or text-heavy datasets, using the “Summarise” prompt allows finance teams to extract key points quickly.

  • Generating Insights from Clean Data: Copilot can go over structured datasets and produce relevant insights, pivot tables, and visual trends. However, it works best when the data is formatted as a table with clear headers and no blank rows.

  • Handling Limitations: While Copilot is effective for smaller, well-structured datasets, it currently struggles with extremely large data sets—anything over 100,000 rows or 30+ columns may be beyond its capabilities.

Simplifying Financial Training & Onboarding

For new team members, accessing relevant training materials can be a challenge. Copilot streamlines this by pulling together all finance-related files and documents from various sources, including email attachments and SharePoint folders. This makes it easier for managers to curate training materials and provide new hires with a structured learning path.

A Glimpse into the Future

While Copilot is already transforming finance workflows, its capabilities will only continue to expand. As AI technology improves, we can expect even more seamless integrations, enhanced data processing power, and deeper insights tailored specifically for finance professionals.

For now, finance teams leveraging Copilot are already seeing significant improvements in efficiency and decision-making. Whether it’s planning the week ahead, tracking overdue invoices, or combing through financial data, Copilot is proving to be an indispensable tool in modern finance management.

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CHRISIE GU

Chrisie Gu is a dedicated Finance Manager with a wealth of experience in financial management and analysis at Mobile Mentor. She has over 15 years of experience working for multinational companies across the US, Pacific, Europe, and Asia, with most of that time spent in the technology industry. Known for her strategic thinking and ability to drive financial performance and growth, Chrisie plays a pivotal role in managing financial operations and ensuring the financial health of the company.