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Copilot for Finance

| Russel Hercules | Sandhya Palle |

Copilot Power Platform

YouTube

Anchor

Spotify

Apple

Episode #212

Introduction

In episode 212 of our SAP on Azure video podcast we talk about Copilot for Finance. We have talked a lot in the past about Power Platform, Copilot Studio and integrating all of this with SAP. Especially with Copilot Studio it is quite amazing what customers and partners can do to build Copilots connecting to SAP. But a lot of customers have similar requirements. A lot of customers – like also Microsoft – are using SAP for Finance. So why not have a Copilot dedicatd for Finance? Well, luckily we have Copilot for Finance and both Russel Hercules and Sandhya Palle are here to tell us more about it.

Find all the links mentioned here: https://www.saponazurepodcast.de/episode212

Reach out to us for any feedback / questions:

#Microsoft #SAP #Azure #SAPonAzure #Copilot

Summary created by AI

  • Holger introduced the SAP on Azure Video podcast, episode 212, and welcomed the participants, including Robert and Goran, to discuss topics related to SAP and Microsoft.
  • Copilot for Finance Overview:
  • Holger introduced the topic of Copilot for Finance, highlighting its relevance for customers using SAP for finance, and welcomed Russell Hercules and Sandhya Palle to provide more details.
    • Introduction of Guests: Holger introduced Russell Hercules and Sandhya Palle, who are involved in the development of Copilot for Finance at Microsoft. Russell is a principal product manager, and Sandhya is a software engineer.
    • Relevance of Copilot: Holger emphasized the importance of Copilot for Finance for customers using SAP for finance, noting that it addresses common requirements and challenges faced by these customers.
  • Purpose of Copilot for Finance:
  • Russel explained that Copilot for Finance aims to help finance professionals optimize their resources by automating key processes, reducing context switching, and saving costs, ultimately leading to better business outcomes.
    • Optimization of Resources: Russel explained that Copilot for Finance helps finance professionals optimize their resources by automating key processes, reducing context switching, and saving costs. This allows professionals to focus more on analytical tasks rather than operational ones.
    • Business Outcomes: Russel highlighted that the ultimate goal of Copilot for Finance is to achieve better business outcomes by improving efficiency and reducing costs, which leads to a higher return on investment (ROI).
    • Challenges in Finance: Russel mentioned that finance professionals are often challenged to do more with fewer resources and across multiple tool sets, making optimization crucial.
  • Integration with M365 and ERP:
  • Russel described how Copilot for Finance integrates with M365 and ERP systems, leveraging the power of large language models (LLMs) for summarization and composition, and keeping finance professionals in the flow of work within familiar tools like Excel and Outlook.
    • Three-Stage Integration: Russel explained the three stages of integration: understanding the web, augmenting with M365 Copilot, and adding finance context through native ERP integration. This layered approach enhances the tool’s capabilities.
    • LLM Capabilities: Copilot for Finance leverages large language models (LLMs) for summarization and composition, which helps in providing relevant insights and maintaining the flow of work within familiar tools like Excel and Outlook.
    • Native ERP Integration: The native integration with ERP systems allows Copilot for Finance to understand business financial data, keeping finance professionals in the flow of work without needing to switch between multiple applications.
  • Preview Capabilities:
  • Russel outlined the preview capabilities of Copilot for Finance, including an Excel add-in for variance analysis and financial data reconciliation, and an Outlook add-in for accounts receivable and collections, providing insights and rapid responses to customer inquiries.
    • Excel Add-in: The Excel add-in focuses on variance analysis and financial data reconciliation, helping finance professionals analyze and reconcile financial data efficiently.
    • Outlook Add-in: The Outlook add-in is designed for accounts receivable, particularly collections, enabling finance professionals to quickly understand customer issues and provide rapid responses without switching to the ERP system.
    • Customer Insights: The preview capabilities provide finance professionals with insights and rapid responses to customer inquiries, enhancing their ability to manage accounts receivable and collections effectively.
  • Customer 0 Experience:
  • Russel shared that Microsoft’s modern finance organization has been an early adopter of Copilot for Finance, using it for data reconciliation and seeing immediate improvements, with plans to expand its use to other scenarios.
  • Outlook Add-in Demonstration:
  • Russel and Sandhya demonstrated the Outlook add-in for Copilot for Finance, showing how it helps AR specialists quickly understand customer issues, retrieve relevant information from SAP, and create new contacts, all within the Outlook interface.
    • Understanding Customer Issues: Russel demonstrated how AR specialists can use the Outlook add-in to quickly understand customer issues by summarizing emails and retrieving relevant information from SAP.
    • Creating New Contacts: Sandhya showed how new contacts can be created within the Outlook interface and automatically reflected in the SAP system, ensuring seamless integration and real-time updates.
    • Email Summarization: The add-in leverages LLMs to summarize emails, providing AR specialists with quick insights into customer inquiries and issues, even in complex email threads.
  • SAP Integration Demonstration:
  • Sandhya demonstrated how the new contact created in Outlook is reflected in the SAP system, showing the seamless integration and real-time updates between the two systems.
  • Enhanced Customer Context:
  • Russel explained how Copilot for Finance provides enhanced customer context by pulling relevant details from SAP, including customer address, aging history, outstanding invoices, and related activities, all within the Outlook interface.
    • Customer Details: Copilot for Finance pulls relevant customer details from SAP, including customer address, aging history, and outstanding invoices, providing a comprehensive view within the Outlook interface.
    • Related Activities: Related activities are managed in Dataverse, offering horizontal visibility to all users and solving the problem of poorly managed collections coordinator correspondence in ERP systems.
    • Note Creation: Russel demonstrated how users can create notes about customer interactions, which are then available to all collections coordinators, ensuring everyone has up-to-date information.
  • Generative AI for Email Replies:
  • Russel demonstrated how Copilot for Finance leverages generative AI to draft contextually relevant email replies, with plans to further enhance this feature by attaching outstanding invoices and account statements to the emails.
    • Email Drafting: Copilot for Finance uses generative AI to draft contextually relevant email replies, helping AR specialists respond to customer inquiries more efficiently.
    • Attachment of Invoices: Future enhancements will include the ability to attach outstanding invoices and account statements to emails, providing comprehensive information to customers in a single communication.
    • Customization of Replies: Users can customize the AI-generated email drafts, ensuring that the final communication meets their specific needs and preferences while maintaining control over the content.
  • Public Preview and Roadmap:
  • Russel shared that Copilot for Finance is currently in public preview, free to try for customers, and outlined upcoming features, including variance analysis in Excel and deeper ERP integration for more meaningful insights.
    • Public Preview: Copilot for Finance is currently in public preview, allowing customers to try it for free. The preview includes both the Excel and Outlook add-ins.
    • Upcoming Features: Upcoming features include variance analysis in Excel, which will help users understand the root causes of variances, and deeper ERP integration for more meaningful insights.
    • Access Requirements: To use Copilot for Finance, users need to have the appropriate licenses and permissions in their SAP systems, ensuring secure and authorized access to data.
  • Partner Integration and Customization:
  • Holger highlighted the flexibility of Copilot for Finance, sharing an example of a partner customizing the connectivity flows to work with a specific SAP system, demonstrating the adaptability of the solution to meet unique customer needs.
  • Future Plans and Customer Feedback:
  • Russel emphasized the importance of customer feedback in shaping the future development of Copilot for Finance, with plans to expand its capabilities to accounts payable and automate data pipelines for more efficient reconciliation processes.

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