Excel University Blog
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One of the most powerful things we can do with Copilot in Excel is teach it our preferences once and have it follow them every time. Rather than spelling out formatting rules in every single prompt, we can set up standing personalization instructions that Copilot applies automatically. In this tutorial, we cover two approaches: global…
Multi-criteria lookups are one of the most common challenges Excel users face. Whether we need to find a single matching record, retrieve a full list of matching rows, or sum up values across multiple conditions, the approach changes depending on the goal. In this tutorial, we walk through three exercises that show how Copilot in…
For accountants building financial reports in Excel, choosing between a PivotTable and a formula-based approach is one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make. The wrong choice creates reports that break on refresh, resist auditing, or require manual rework every month. The right choice depends on three factors: whether your output format is locked, how…
When you need to reconcile two lists in Excel — matching transactions, comparing account balances, or identifying exceptions — Power Query offers a more reliable and repeatable approach than manual VLOOKUP formulas. For CPAs and accountants who run the same reconciliation every month, Power Query turns a tedious, error-prone process into a structured, refreshable workflow.…
Excel remains the most widely used tool for financial reporting among CPAs and accountants — and when built correctly, an Excel-based financial report can pull updated data, recalculate automatically, and deliver consistent, audit-ready output every single period. The key is moving beyond static, manually updated spreadsheets toward structured, refreshable report models that reduce errors and…
Copilot in Excel can save a tremendous amount of time on routine finance tasks. In this tutorial, we walk through three exercises that show how Copilot can assign expense categories from a reference table, generate a formula-based summary, build a PivotTable report, and even write step-by-step documentation for future updates. If your team processes expense…
This tutorial shows how to use Microsoft 365 Copilot like a reusable macro in Excel. Instead of writing VBA or building Power Query solutions, we describe a list of tasks in plain language, paste that list into Copilot, and let it take action directly in our workbook. Video Tutorial We walk through three real-world exercises…
The best AI tools for accountants in Excel in 2026 are Microsoft Copilot (in three distinct flavors), the Claude by Anthropic Excel add-in, and Power Query’s AI-assisted features — but knowing which tool to use for which task is what separates efficient finance teams from overwhelmed ones. AI has changed how accountants interact with Excel,…
A Power Query month-end workflow lets accountants automatically import, clean, summarize, and visualize financial data in a repeatable, one-click process — eliminating the manual copy-paste routines that consume hours every close cycle. When built correctly, this workflow transforms raw exports from your ERP or accounting system into a polished, chart-ready summary with virtually no manual…
Have you ever opened an old workbook and stared at a formula packed with nested RIGHT, LEN, FIND, INDEX, and MATCH functions, wondering if there is a cleaner way? There is. Copilot in Excel can read those legacy formulas, figure out exactly what they do, and replace them with modern Excel functions that are easier…