{"id":12015,"date":"2023-12-12T12:27:55","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T11:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/?p=12015"},"modified":"2025-07-21T14:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T12:12:12","slug":"microsoft-copilot-for-financial-planning-and-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/microsoft-copilot-for-financial-planning-and-analysis","title":{"rendered":"3 examples of Microsoft Copilot for financial planning & analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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As artificial intelligence grows in popularity, every company is now competing to launch tools that leverage AI inside their existing apps. Microsoft\u2019s launch of Copilot, an AI assistant tied into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, plants their flag in the world of AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no surprise that you might be asking yourself: How can I integrate AI in my day-to-day work in financial planning and analysis<\/a>? And in the world of FP&A, what do new AI technologies like Microsoft Copilot mean for you? This article will explore Microsoft Copilot for financial planning and analysis, and what it can and can’t do for FP&A teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Microsoft Copilot?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Microsoft, the opportunity with Copilot is clear. Microsoft already owns the business productivity space through its Office 365 suite. Apps like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook rule the roost of the corporate world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter Microsoft Copilot. With a reported 400 million users on the Office 365 platform<\/a>, adding artificial intelligence to each of these apps means that you\u2019ll get more done with less effort. With access to your datasets across Microsoft Fabric<\/a> and tight integration with productivity apps, Copilot could become your go-to assistant in the corporate world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Copilot is now generally available, which means that you (or your IT team) can enable it for your environment. Currently priced at $30 per user per month, Copilot is part of the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has Microsoft Copilot to do with Dynamics Finance?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Copilot and Dynamics 365 Finance are related through integration and functionality enhancement. Copilot, as an AI-powered tool, is designed to work seamlessly with Dynamics 365 Finance<\/a>, a part of Microsoft’s suite of business applications. This integration allows users to integrate the capabilities of both platforms in a complementary manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Enhanced Productivity in Finance Management<\/strong>: Copilot, when used in conjunction with Dynamics 365 Finance, helps in increasing productivity, particularly for collections managers. It provides AI-powered assistance to streamline tasks like accessing credit and payment histories, which is crucial in financial management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Improved Customer Interaction and Collection Rates<\/strong>: In Dynamics 365 Finance, Copilot aids collections managers in prioritizing and personalizing communication with customers. This not only improves customer relations but also potentially increases successful collection rates, keeping customers in good financial standing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Assistance in Financial Planning and Analysis<\/strong>: In the broader scope of finance planning and analysis, as you’ll read below, Copilot automates repetitive tasks. This automation unlocks more creative and innovative approaches within the workforce, accelerating progress in various business lines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Secure Data Access and Collaboration<\/strong>: Copilot enables finance teams to securely access, share, and collaborate on timely data, which is essential in financial decision-making. This is particularly valuable in a finance-focused platform like Dynamics 365 Finance, where data integrity and security are paramount.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Microsoft Copilot for financial planning and analysis: 3 examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Financial Planning and Analysis teams need all the help they can get, and thankfully there are quite a few options when it comes to financial analytics software<\/a>. Let\u2019s think about how Copilot could help to solve and alleviate some of the pain points that come with the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Copilot for business partnering<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Maybe you\u2019re expecting tools like Copilot to do all of the number crunching and analysis for you. While there are certainly features to help you with calculations and analysis, I\u2019m excited about the potential of AI to help us improve and expand communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    FP&A teams are at their best when they become embedded in the business. The idea of \u201cbusiness partnering\u201d – becoming valued, trusted advisors for the business objectives – is key to making an impact. This requires frequent communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Great FP&A teams focus on communication and business partnering. Could Copilot potentially help your team to increase the depth and frequency of analyses you share with your business partners? Source: <\/em>    Microsoft – Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    With Copilot for apps like Outlook and Teams, you can kickstart your communications. Microsoft shows examples of using Copilot to rapidly draft emails on Outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These use cases highlight AI\u2019s power to serve as a true assistant in day-to-day tasks. If an email is easy enough to draft and send, you\u2019re more likely to do it. FP&A teams with busy inboxes are sure to benefit from an assist from Copilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Copilot for financial analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The best FP&A analysts are curious. They find their mind wandering to those unanswered questions about the business. How should we adjust our pricing? Who are our top customers in each market segment? How is our performance compared to the same time last year for specific products?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The problem is that the demands of FP&A roles are high. That leaves less time to explore those curiosities and find new insights. The monthly churn of routine reporting has a way of taking center stage, stealing all the time needed for those game changing analyses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The expectations for FP&A teams have rapidly evolved, too. No longer are teams expected to simply crunch numbers and crank out routine reports. There\u2019s an expectation that the business looks to FP&A for deeper insight and analysis. But if you\u2019re busy with manual, repeated work, you might not have time for value-add analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Enter the power of Copilot for financial analysis. By reducing the friction involved with exploring and analyzing data, you\u2019ll generate more insight. Copilot works for both Excel and PowerBI<\/a>, which many finance teams lean on for day-to-day planning and analysis. Busy CFO\u2019s can leverage these insights as a jumping off point for future analysis, further partnering them with the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    The Copilot for Excel experience helps you create ad-hoc analyses based on conversational prompts. You can even drill down further into the drivers for better understanding. Source: <\/em>    Microsoft – Microsoft 365 Copilot in Excel<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Think of a tool like this as an extra set of hands. You can feed Copilot ideas for those unexplored parts of the business, then build on the results. Excel serves as the cornerstone for nearly every finance and accounting team, so it only makes sense to leverage Copilot to help you kick off an analysis with less effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Copilot for financial forecasting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The first thing we know about every financial forecast<\/a> is that it isn\u2019t perfect. Still, that doesn\u2019t negate the value of creating forecasts that help to set the course for the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The reason <\/em>why forecasts<\/a> are painful is because they take time. And they include various inputs that take time to tweak, update, and adjust. But AI offers the promise of automating much of the manual machinations required for scenario building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In short: if scenarios become easy enough to build, you\u2019ll create far more of them. And that helps you plan for uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Microsoft\u2019s coverage of demand planning case studies<\/a> highlights some of the ways that teams are adopting Copilot for forecasting. Built in conjunction with their Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP, Domino\u2019s UK is leveraging Copilot for demand and inventory planning. It combines historic data with more powerful factors for granular forecasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I believe that one of the biggest opportunities to leverage AI in forecasting is to expand the number of scenarios we build. In a rapidly changing world, you\u2019ll need more ways to slice and dice your outlook. Copilot might just be the assistant you need to reduce cycle time and expand your outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What can\u2019t Microsoft Copilot do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    As a former FP&A leader, I often dealt with what I called \u201cshiny object syndrome.\u201d It goes something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n