Get in Touch

Course Outline

Day 1: AI Fundamentals and Python with AI for Finance

AI, Analytics and Agentic AI in Modern Finance

  • How generative AI, machine learning, automation and agentic AI differ and where each fits in finance.
  • Finance use cases across accounting, FP&A, reporting, audit, treasury and shared services.
  • Identifying suitable tasks for AI assistance versus controlled automation.

Python for Finance - Using AI as a Coding Partner

  • Python basics for finance professionals: variables, data types, conditions, functions and notebooks.
  • Using AI assistants to generate, explain, debug and refine Python code rather than coding in isolation.
  • Prompting techniques for reliable finance-focused code generation.

Working with Financial Data in Python

  • Importing Excel and CSV data using Pandas and DataFrames.
  • Filtering, grouping, aggregating and calculating finance metrics.
  • Using AI to explain errors, improve logic and document analysis steps.

Practical Finance Coding Applications

  • Automating repetitive calculations, variance analysis and ratio analysis.
  • Creating reusable Python workflows with AI-supported code review.
  • Validating outputs before using them in finance reporting.

Hands-on Application

  • Build an AI-assisted Python workflow to analyse a sample finance dataset.
  • Review generated code, test assumptions and improve the output with human validation.

Day 2: Advanced Financial Data Analysis with AI

Financial Data Preparation and Quality

  • Cleaning, validating and standardising finance data.
  • Handling missing values, duplicates, inconsistent classifications and date issues.
  • Combining data from multiple finance sources for analysis.

Advanced Financial Analysis

  • Revenue, cost, margin, profitability and working-capital analysis.
  • Budget versus actual, variance and period-over-period analysis.
  • Drill-down analysis to identify key financial drivers.

AI-Assisted Analysis and Anomaly Detection

  • Using AI to investigate movements, patterns and unusual transactions.
  • Generating analytical questions and hypotheses from finance data.
  • Distinguishing useful signals from misleading AI-generated interpretations.

Forecasting and Scenario Analysis

  • Historical trends, drivers and assumptions for forecasting.
  • What-if and sensitivity analysis for finance decision support.
  • Using AI to support scenario narratives while preserving financial controls.

Hands-on Application

  • Perform end-to-end analysis of a finance dataset and identify key variances and anomalies.
  • Prepare a concise AI-assisted finance insight summary supported by the underlying data.

Day 3: AI-Based Financial Dashboards and Management Insights

Finance Dashboard Design

  • Selecting meaningful KPIs for finance, management and operational reporting.
  • Designing dashboards around decision questions rather than visual volume.
  • Structuring executive, management and analyst views.

Building Interactive Financial Dashboards

  • Connecting and transforming finance data for dashboard use.
  • Creating KPI cards, trends, variance visuals, drill-downs and filters.
  • Building views for budget versus actual, profitability, cash flow and performance.

AI-Enhanced Dashboarding

  • Using natural-language querying to explore financial data.
  • Generating AI-assisted summaries and explanations of KPI movements.
  • Using AI to identify areas that require deeper analysis.

Dashboard Controls and Reliability

  • Data refresh, traceability, validation and reconciliation considerations.
  • Managing access, sensitive financial information and controlled distribution.
  • Avoiding misleading visual or AI-generated conclusions.

Hands-on Application

  • Build an interactive financial dashboard using a structured dataset.
  • Add AI-supported management commentary linked to measurable financial movements.

Day 4: Advanced AI Tools in General Ledger and Finance Operations

AI Applications in General Ledger

  • Analysing GL accounts, transaction patterns and posting behaviour.
  • Using AI to support transaction classification and account-level review.
  • Identifying unusual, high-risk or out-of-pattern entries.

AI for Reconciliations

  • Matching records and identifying exceptions across finance datasets.
  • Supporting bank, intercompany and balance-sheet reconciliations.
  • Prioritising unreconciled items for human investigation.

Journal Entry Analytics

  • Duplicate, unusual and manual journal detection.
  • Period-end journal analysis and supporting explanation generation.
  • Risk indicators and review checkpoints for finance teams.

AI in Financial Close and Reporting

  • Close task prioritisation and exception-based review.
  • AI-assisted variance explanations, commentary and review notes.
  • Using structured approval and validation before final reporting.

Hands-on Application

  • Analyse a sample GL dataset and identify anomalies and reconciliation exceptions.
  • Produce a controlled AI-assisted review summary for finance management.

Day 5: Agentic AI for Finance Operations and Decision Support

Understanding Agentic AI for Finance

  • What makes an AI workflow agentic: goals, planning, tools, memory, actions and feedback loops.
  • Where agentic AI can support finance operations and where human approval remains essential.
  • Single-agent versus multi-step or multi-agent finance workflows.

Designing Agentic Finance Workflows

  • Creating agents for data collection, analysis, validation and reporting tasks.
  • Connecting agents to structured finance data and approved tools.
  • Designing escalation rules, checkpoints and approval boundaries.

Agentic Use Cases in Finance

  • Automated variance investigation and management commentary workflows.
  • GL exception triage, reconciliation support and close-status monitoring.
  • Forecast refresh, scenario preparation and finance query assistants.

Governance, Risk and Controls for Agentic AI

  • Human-in-the-loop controls, audit trails, permissions and segregation of duties.
  • Data confidentiality, hallucination risk, validation and model limitations.
  • Defining safe operating boundaries before production deployment.

Final Practical Capstone

  • Combine Python with AI, advanced analytics and dashboard outputs in one finance use case.
  • Design an agentic workflow that analyses results, flags exceptions and prepares management insights.
  • Present the workflow, controls, outputs and recommended next steps

Requirements

  • Basic understanding of finance, accounting, financial reporting or FP&A concepts.
  • Familiarity with Excel and working with financial datasets.
  • No prior Python programming experience is required, although basic exposure to data analysis is helpful.
  • Basic awareness of AI or generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Claude is beneficial but not essential.
  • Participants should be comfortable working with financial reports, KPIs, budgets, variances and related finance data.
  • A laptop with access to the required training tools, datasets and approved AI platforms should be available for the hands-on sessions.
 35 Hours

Testimonials (1)

Related Categories