AI-Powered Accounting with Excel and Power BI: Transform finance workflows with real-world cases using AI, Excel, Power BI, Claude, and Copilot
Learn how accountants and finance teams can use AI tools in the real world with practical cases that reduce manual accounting and finance processes, improve reporting accuracy, and build AI-augmented workflows in Excel and Power BI
Key FeaturesAutomate accounting workflows with AI-powered Excel techniquesBuild Power BI reporting, reconciliation, and validation workflowsApply repeatable AI frameworks for safer, audit-ready finance workFree with your book: DRM-free PDF version + access to Packt’s next-gen Reader*Book Description
Finance teams need faster reporting and sharper insight without compromising accuracy, control, or trust. AI-Powered Accounting with Excel and Power BI shows accountants and finance professionals how to apply generative AI to real-world accounting workflows while keeping human judgment at the center.
Drawing on Lance Rubin’s experience as a CFO, financial modeling specialist, and founder of Model Citizn, this book uses tools such as the HACK Framework and Six Pillars to help you structure data, evaluate AI tools, write reliable prompts, and verify outputs. Ten practical modules cover Excel formulas, PDF extraction, reconciliation, financial controls, management accounting, account mapping, workbook restructuring, audit-ready validation, and dashboards in Excel and Power BI.
This book will help you build AI-assisted accounting and financial reporting workflows, turn recurring tasks into reusable Skills, and identify hallucinations before they affect decisions. By the end, you’ll have a practical roadmap for safer finance automation and the confidence to know when to trust AI and when to step in.
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What you will learnExtract and structure finance data from PDFs using AIBuild AI-assisted reconciliation and control workflowsAutomate financial reporting with Excel, Power BI, and AIRestructure complex workbooks into reliable data modelsCreate validation and audit-ready accounting processesEvaluate AI tools for finance and accounting tasksBuild reusable prompt libraries for recurring workflowsApply governance and privacy practices when using AI in financeWho this book is for
This book is for accountants, finance analysts, management accountants, FP and A professionals, controllers, CFOs, audit professionals, finance transformation teams, practice partners, and finance educators, including candidates working toward CA, CPA, ACCA, or AICPA qualifications. It suits professionals who use Excel and financial reporting and want practical AI automation for reconciliation, controls, validation, and Power BI. Basic Excel knowledge is recommended; prior AI experience is not required.
Table of ContentsDefining the AI-Powered AccountantThe HACK FrameworkThe Six Pillars of an AI-Powered AccountantWhy AI Is Fundamentally DifferentThe Technology Assessment FrameworkAI Concepts: How LLMs Actually WorkGrowth MindsetHuman-Centric SkillsHow to Prepare for the Journey AheadIntroducing the Modules – the Operating ManualModule 1 – Foundations and Formula IdeasModule 2 – PDF Extraction and AnalysisModule 3 – Transaction Reconciliation and Financial ControlModule 4 – Management Reporting and AnalysisModule 5 – Mapping Tables and Source SystemsModule 6 –Workflow Analysis on a Real WorkbookModule 7 – Restructuring a Messy WorkbookModule 8 – Validation, Checks, and Comprehensive Audit
(N.B. Please use the Read Sample option to see further chapters)
From the Publisher
An Overview of Part 1
Chapters 1 to 3
These chapters define the AI-powered accountant and introduce the HACK Framework – Hygiene, Automation, Capability, and Knowledge – for adopting AI safely, improving output, and preserving accuracy, trust, and professional judgment.
Chapters 4 and 5
These chapters explain how AI differs from conventional finance tools and provide a framework for assessing technology based on reliability, cost, integration, scalability, security, compliance, vendor stability, and user adoption.
Chapters 6 and 7
These chapters explain how large language models and effective prompts work, introduce safeguards against hallucinations, and show how a growth mindset helps finance professionals overcome resistance and build lasting AI capabilities.
Chapters 8 and 9
These chapters explore the human skills that become more valuable with AI – including judgment, communication, empathy, and strategic thinking – and help readers create career, skills, and 90-day action plans for their AI journey.
Glancing Through Part 2
Chapters 10 to 12
These chapters demonstrate how AI can expand Excel formula options and extract financial data from annual-report PDFs, while emphasizing source checks, recalculations, disclosure review, and disciplined verification of every output.
Chapters 13 to 15
These chapters apply AI to transaction reconciliation, financial control, management reporting, and account mapping, showing how automation, validation, cross-tool comparisons, and human judgment can accelerate work without weakening integrity.
Chapters 16 to 18
These chapters use AI to diagnose and restructure messy workbooks and build audit-grade validation frameworks, while assessing whether outputs preserve data, expose errors, support investigation, and remain practical and trustworthy.
Chapters 19 and 20
These chapters explore AI-assisted Excel and Power BI dashboards and show how repeatable finance workflows can become reusable AI Skills, supported by validated data, professional review, governance, security, and a scalable skills library.