1. From AI Experimentation to a Microsoft Copilot Strategy
Move beyond individual experimentation and establish the business case for a coordinated Microsoft Copilot strategy.
• Understanding the Generative AI and Agentic AI landscape for CPA firms in 2026
• How Microsoft Copilot fits within the broader AI technology ecosystem
• Identifying the business drivers for Copilot adoption
• Identifying opportunities to improve productivity, client service, capacity, and employee experience
• Establishing realistic expectations for AI return on investment
• Moving from scattered experimentation to coordinated firmwide adoption
2. Building Your Microsoft Copilot Ecosystem
Explore how Microsoft Copilot can become the foundation of a firm's AI environment and how its capabilities can be applied throughout Microsoft 365.
• Understanding the Microsoft Copilot ecosystem
• Identifying the different Copilot experiences available within Microsoft 365
• Using Copilot as an interface for accessing leading Generative AI models
• Applying Copilot within Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 applications
• Working with firm information and Microsoft 365 content
• Understanding the role of AI agents within the Microsoft environment
• Exploring opportunities to develop agents for repeatable firm processes
3. Getting Better Results: Prompt Development and Management
Develop a repeatable approach for producing more accurate, useful, and professional results from Microsoft Copilot.
• Prompt development best practices
• Grounding AI responses in firm information and authoritative sources
• Improving results through iterative prompting
• Developing reusable prompts for common accounting workflows
• Creating a controlled firm prompt library
• Establishing prompt documentation and maintenance standards
4. Redesigning CPA Workflows with Microsoft Copilot
Shift the focus from using Copilot for isolated tasks to redesigning complete workflows around AI capabilities.
• Moving beyond "one prompt at a time" productivity
• Breaking accounting processes into tasks that can be evaluated for AI assistance
• Identifying repetitive, research-intensive, document-intensive, and communication-intensive activities
• Determining which activities are appropriate for Copilot
• Identifying where human review, professional judgment, and approval must remain
• Evaluating opportunities across tax, audit, accounting, advisory, administrative, and client-service processes
• Establishing success measures for Copilot initiatives
5. Responsible Copilot Use, Professional Judgment, and Firm Governance
Establish the guardrails necessary to expand Microsoft Copilot usage without compromising professional responsibilities.
• Protecting confidential client and firm information
• Understanding data-security considerations when using Generative AI
• Evaluating accuracy, reliability, and AI hallucinations
• Maintaining professional skepticism when reviewing AI-generated output
• Verification of calculations, citations, research, and conclusions
• Transparency and appropriate client disclosure
• Establishing acceptable and prohibited AI uses
• Developing a firmwide AI acceptable-use policy
6. Creating Your Firm's 90-Day Microsoft Copilot Adoption Roadmap
Turn the concepts from the program into a practical plan for moving Microsoft Copilot adoption forward.
• Establishing Copilot leadership and governance responsibilities
• Identifying executive sponsors and implementation leaders
• Selecting high-value Copilot pilot initiatives
• Identifying employees and teams for initial deployment
• Defining measurable objectives for pilot programs
• Establishing 30-, 60-, and 90-day implementation milestones
• Developing an employee education and communication strategy
• Developing the next steps for a sustainable firmwide Microsoft Copilot strategy
