Nicholas T. Rafael Jr. explores the functional uses of A.I. in corporate finance and accounting workspaces and how it can improve your work product and efficiency.
What is A.I.?
A.I. stands for Artificial Intelligence. To most people they are used in the form of Language Learning Modules (LLM), which are essentially really smart and fast bots you can converse with to solve problems or gather information. Typically, these LLMs work faster and give better condensed information than a traditional Google search. This gives them them more power and utility. They act like virtual assistants to your everyday tasks in the office. Common LLMs include ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Microsoft Copilot.
Which LLM should you use?
While virtually every chat bot is effective in performing simple day-to-day tasks, there is one that stands out in the function of corporate finance. That LLM is Microsoft Copilot. MS Copilot is unique compared to the rest because it integrates directly into Microsoft Office products. This becomes very useful and convenient when working in Excel or Word. Instead of having to go to your web browser to use ChatGPT or Claude, you can use Copilot directly in the apps accountants and financial analysts so commonly use every day.
How do you use A.I.?
To use A.I. is simple. You merely enter a prompt into the chat bot on what you are looking for or need, and it returns answer no different than any instant messaging app you have used in the past. You talk to A.I. like you would any human, making the experience very intuitive and easy.
How can A.I. be used for Corporate Finance and Accounting?
In Nicholas T. Rafael Jr.’s experience, he has found that Copilot is effective in many instances in business including excel formulas to general research.
For example, Copilot is great at researching and summarizing banking regulations and other policies necessary to conduct an analysis. Banking regulation can be thousands of pages long, so having a bot that can automatically look for and condense the relevant information you need saves vast amounts of time.
Within Microsoft Excel it is extremely useful at pulling financial data from firms’ public filings and automatically inserting it into a table for further analysis. Traditionally a task like this would require manually searching for a 10K filing, sifting through it and then pasting into Excel. Now with copilot, it can automatically search, pull, and paste the information you seek with the use of a simple prompt.
Copilot is also great at going through your inbox in Outlook and finding any information you are looking for. Information that you discussed with your boss weeks ago or was lost in an email chain. It pulls it right up when you need it.
Will A.I. replace my job?
The short answer is no. While A.I. is great at improving work product and efficiency it is not perfect and can make mistakes. It is very important to always double-check the work and answers A.I. gives you. It is far from infallible and cannot replace humans at its present stage. A.I. is a tool to aid you rather than replace you.
The better you are with using the A.I. the better of an employee you will be.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to best think of A.I.?
A.I. is a tool like a hammer or Excel. It helps you complete your job, but you have to manually use it. It doesn’t replace you or do your job for you.
What’s the best A.I. to use in corporate finance?
Nicholas Rafael recommends using Microsoft Copilot.
What are the best use cases of A.I. in corporate finance?
Use Copilot to research regulations and policies, pull external financial data, write excel formulas and much more.
