One of the most exciting Generative AI tools that year came from the tech giant Microsoft. That's right, we're talking about Microsoft Copilot accounting practices! Copilot is the AI chatbot assistant now built into Microsoft 365 applications, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
In this article, we look at how Microsoft CoPilot could unlock newfound productivity and efficiencies for your accounting firm in conjunction with time-saving accounting practice management software to help you run all aspects of your practice.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft Copilot is a generative AI chatbot developed by Microsoft and initially launched in February 2023 as Bing Chat, to be used as a built-in feature to aid both Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Bing. Later in the same year, it was relabeled Microsoft 365 Copilot once it became an added feature to Microsoft 365 that emphasises business productivity, and then eventually, it was rebranded as Microsoft Copilot.
In the wake of Copilot's release, Microsoft reported an 18% year-on-year increase in revenue for 2023, a significant acceleration of sales due to the uptake of AI technology.
Microsoft Copilot is one of several generative AI tools in the workplace that is built on OpenAI's GPT-4 language model and resembles ChatGPT's conversational interface style. For more information on ChatGPT's uses within accounting firms, check out our article: How can ChatGPT be used by accounting firms?
How can Microsoft Copilot be used in my accounting practice?
Microsoft Copilot boasts many features that accounting firms can use in the office daily:
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Editing text in Word: A time-poor accounting practice can generate and edit text using Word documents based on prompts. They can also ask Copilot to summarise or rewrite large bodies of text, such as business reports.
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Drafting emails in Outlook: Do you get stuck knowing where to start when writing an email to a difficult client? Copilot can read information from other email threads and use this as the basis of an email response to save time in your firm.
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Assisting Excel in analysing data: Copilot can analyse large amounts of data within Microsoft 365, including spreadsheets and other Excel-based documentation within SharePoint folders. Copilot uses this wealth of knowledge to create brand-new content. It is important to remember that many data visualisation tools are available that can summarise large data sets in a visually engaging way. Remember to check out our article: data analytics for accountants: a comprehensive guide.
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Creating PowerPoint presentations: If you want to shorten lengthy presentations to make them digestible for your clients, Copilot might be your best friend! Additionally, Copilot can summarise information from Word documents and Excel spreadsheets and turn it into a PowerPoint presentation, saving you time to create a presentation from scratch.
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Aiding Teams meetings: Looking back at past meetings in your accounting team, could you have done with a scribe? For time-poor accountants using Teams, it might just be your lucky day. Accountants can leverage Teams in Copilot to transcribe meetings or even provide debriefs when someone is late joining a meeting and needs to be up to speed. Once the meeting is over, Copilot can take the data and summarise discussion points or even list essential action items agreed on.
What are the benefits of Microsoft Copilot for an accountant?
Microsoft Copilot can benefit accounting firms in numerous ways, such as:
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Helping to save time for accountants: Accounting firms will typically have an abundance of internal knowledge spread across multiple systems, but Copilot can bring this information all together. Here are some more tips to help accountants save time.
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Providing new ways to enhance productivity: As research from MIT explores, generative AI tools that assist with writing tasks decrease the completion time by 40% and increase the quality of output by 20%. Copilot has been developed to simplify repetitive tasks, automate accounting processes, and provide valuable insights, all of which contribute to improved productivity in your firm.
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Improving collaboration between team members: Copilot can streamline communication channels that team members use daily. Features such as real-time document collaboration and making suggestions on when to book a meeting based on team members' availability can lead to greater cooperation.
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Getting your creative juices flowing: Copilot can assist accountants in ways that lead to greater creativity and innovation, from drafting client emails to developing value-adding presentations. Fostering an environment where innovation is encouraged frees accountants to focus on more strategic thinking.
What are the limits of Microsoft Copilot for my accounting business?
It is important to remember that using AI tools extensively in accounting work comes with associated risks. We would advise you to look out for the following limitations:
Relying on AI tools is a bad idea for practices
As we've learnt earlier in this blog, there's no denying that Copilot can enhance productivity for accounting firms.
As with any new technological development, there's always a possibility of overreliance on AI; this can reduce critical thinking or problem-solving skills at the heart of being an accountant.
Context can be misinterpreted
As English language speakers, we have many words and phrases with multiple meanings.
An accounting professional is a human who can interpret the context of phrasing or words in conversations.
On the other hand, Copilot is an AI chatbot, so it may sometimes struggle to interpret your prompts and give an inaccurate reply.
It cannot develop a depth of accounting industry knowledge
Trained accountants have years of professional experience and training and an understanding of their region's ethics, regulations and laws, which they apply daily to their clients.
Accountants will also apply sound ethics and judgement when performing accounting tasks. Microsoft Copilot cannot replace emotionally intelligent responses to client queries, expert data analysis, or the application of soft skills in the same way that accountants do, such as creative thinking or communication skills.
AI and machine learning are unlikely to ever develop at a level of sophistication where we can begin to replace the core skills of being an accountant. Generative AI tools cannot create the ability to function independently of human input.
For more on this topic, check out our blog: how to future-proof your accounting career from AI.
In summary
As we’ve learned in this article, generative AI chatbots, such as Microsoft Copilot, can free up time for accounting firms to focus their efforts on tasks of higher value, such as working on their operational processes or their growth strategy and performing client-facing services, such as business advisory.
Accounting firms can use Microsoft Copilot to save time and enhance productivity, much in the same way that accounting practice management software enables them to do. Accounting practice management software has unlocked the power of automation to boost productivity within accounting work.