How Copilot for Microsoft 365 Is Transforming the Finance Industry?

In the wake of the professional-grade generative AI revolution, many professionals and companies are beginning to embrace the impact and unquestionable transformation that AI is bringing into their industry. The finance industry is not left behind as hedge funds, private equities, and other financial firms are beginning to turn to generative AI to improve their workflow and processes. In all of this, Microsoft 365 Copilot is a significant player when it comes to AI transformation for the finance industry.

In this article, we delve into the impact of Microsoft 365 Copilot in the finance industry, its uses, and benefits for the industry.

Uses of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the Finance Industry

There are numerous use cases of Microsoft 365 Copilot in different Microsoft apps, but we will focus on the ones related to the finance industry.

1. Marketing and Sales: Within the finance industry, one application of Microsoft 365 Copilot is in the Marketing and sales department. Copilot can help marketers and sales representatives in drafting marketing and sales materials faster using existing documents. Copilot can also make recommendations and suggestions to help improve the readability of your sales materials enhancing the deliverability of these documents. Also, when marketers are in communication with potential financial clients or even within their financial firms, Copilot can come in handy by giving suggestions for replies to clients based on existing documents. Finally, when dealing with customer queries, Microsoft 365 Copilot does something very unique; it uses human-like personalized conversations, especially for common inquiries.
2. Financial Analysis: When it comes to financial analysis with Microsoft 365 Copilot, financial professionals have a whole world of possibilities. Copilot helps to analyze and explore the data of your financial firm and proposes different scenarios known as What-If scenarios. Another significant thing Copilot does is to help with data visualization. Financial analysts save considerable time when they use Copilot for their data visualization. Instead of going through tons of raw financial data and creating financial models, Copilot does it for you in a fraction of the time.
3. Data Privacy: Microsoft places a strong emphasis on data privacy and accuracy especially when it has to do with generative AI. Unlike other AI tools out there, Copilot works a little differently for the finance industry. Copilot functions within the Microsoft 365 environment and thus it does not operate as an unmitigated technology. It functions with the Microsoft 365 parameters to access data and provide only output based on the data and permissions granted by the financial firm. This implies that Microsoft 365 Copilot will only bring up information that the user operating it permits.
    
   Also, when it comes to encrypted data, Copilot follows Microsoft’s Purview Information Protection guideline. Apart from these levels of privacy and accuracy, Copilot also has several levels of protection including logical isolation, encryption strategies, and physical security. Finally, all prompts, retrieved data, and responses remain within the Microsoft 365 boundary and environment.

Benefits and Impacts of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the Financial Industry

The benefits of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the finance industry are numerous to mention. But we will focus on a few that impact organizations directly.

1. Better Codes: Several aspects of the finance industry apply codes for recording and analyzing financial transactions. Copilot plays a crucial role in ensuring that these codes are optimized. Copilot also suggests better algorithms to improve runtime and performance and ensures that the codes comply with best practices and standards. This means faster code generation, more accurate codes, and more time for other tasks in the company.
2. Streamlining Repetitive Financial Processes: Copilot can benefit the finance industry by taking off the burden of repetitive tasks within the company. It can create simple codes to help with budgeting, variance calculations, and data entry.
3. Improved Data Analysis and Data Insight: The importance of data and accurate interpretation of data is crucial now more than ever. Copilot has helped financial firms improve their data analysis with better insight into their data. Now with Microsoft 365 Copilot, you can easily get data visualization in no time. You can now easily clean your data to analyze financial ratios such as debt-to-equity or ROI. In terms of predictive insight, organizations can accurately predict the demand and demand shift in good time.
4. Better Financial Reporting: Copilot can suggest the best code to help with financial statement creation. It can also help in creating models for varied forecasting scenarios or improve your models for better implementation. With Microsoft 365 Copilot, you can generate custom reports based on your unique data. It helps enhance the reports by suggesting better features to make the report more visually appealing. Moreover, a major part of your report creation can be automated with Copilot to reduce the time and risk of human errors.
5. Streamlined Communication and Collaboration: We can’t discuss Copilot for Microsoft 365 without talking about the impact it has on collaboration and communication. Proper communication is essential within the finance industry between co-workers, potential clients, investors, and the like. Also, Copilot can help as a 24/7 virtual assistant for sales team members helping with reminders, feedback, etc. A good example is NedBank which created a chatbot called the Electronic Virtual Assistant (EVA) to help in quick response to easy and simple self-service questions by customers.

Conclusion

No doubt, Microsoft 365 Copilot is reshaping the finance industry by fostering innovation throughout the financial process. Copilot for Microsoft 365 has diverse applications and impacts within the industry, from enhancing marketing and sales to facilitating better financial analysis and more. The benefits of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the finance industry include optimizing codes, streamlining processes, improving data analysis, and enhancing financial reporting. While these might seem complex, we at Apps4Rent are well-positioned to help you navigate the waters of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the finance industry.

Apps4Rent Can Help with Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the Finance Industry

Microsoft has promised numerous deliverables for many industries including the finance industry. We believe that these deliverables will be met to make Copilot one of the strongest tools for professionals in the finance industry. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Modern Work and a Tier-1 CSP for Office 365 and Azure, working with various industries, Apps4Rent is thrilled to help financial firms and companies improve their 365 environments and implement the latest solutions in the finance industry. It does not end there, Apps4Rent will train your team in all Microsoft 365 suites with Copilot. Want to find out more? Reach out to us today!