Microsoft just turned Copilot in Excel into a finance workflow system
Rohan Paul Twitter · Rohan Paul (@rohanpaul_ai) · 2026-06-25
Microsoft has upgraded Copilot in Excel with institutional finance data connectors from FactSet, Morningstar, PitchBook, and others, plus team-defined SKILL.md workflows and pre-edit planning requirements to automate traceable finance work.
Appears in
Extraction
Topics: microsoft-copilotfinance-aienterprise-ai-toolsworkflow-automation
Claims
- Microsoft has added connectors to pull licensed data from FactSet, Morningstar, PitchBook, CB Insights, Daloopa, and S&P/Kensho directly into Excel via Copilot.
- Teams can define repeatable Copilot workflows such as DCF models, 3-statement models, and variance analysis through a SKILL.md file.
- Copilot's 'Plan' mode requires the model to declare which ranges, sheets, formulas, and assumptions it intends to modify before executing any changes.
- Personalization rules allow Copilot to follow team-specific formatting, naming conventions, and formula standards rather than behaving as a generic assistant.
- Show Changes labels Copilot edits alongside human edits, creating a traceable audit trail for finance work.
Key quotes
Microsoft's answer is skills, where a team writes a SKILL.md file that tells Copilot how to run repeatable jobs like DCF models, 3-statement models, board packages, variance analysis, and monthly reporting.
Plan with Copilot forces the model to state which ranges, sheets, formulas, and assumptions it wants to touch before it edits, while Show Changes now labels Copilot's edits beside human edits.
For Finance work its so important for AI to show the source, the formula path, or the exact cells it changed, because closing books, updating forecasts, and building valuation models depend on traceable numbers.