IntermediateAI-ACC-M365-001
AI for Accounting in Microsoft 365
Safe Copilot use for Australian accounting practice under APES 110, AUSTRAC Tranche 2, and TPB AI guidance
Speed reconciliations, tax workpapers, and client comms with Microsoft 365 Copilot — under APES 110, TPB AI guidance, and AUSTRAC Tranche 2, in force since 1 July 2026.
12 hours
New course
Certificate Included
At a Glance
Who it's for
- Partners and principals of small and mid-tier Australian accounting firms setting AI policy
- Managers and senior associates running reconciliations, tax, and client communications
- Registered tax agents responding to TPB(I) D62/2026 AI guidance
- Bookkeepers and BAS agents using Copilot inside Excel, Outlook, and MYOB or Xero workflows
- Practice compliance and risk leads now operating under AUSTRAC Tranche 2 obligations
Course Details
Duration:12 hours
Format:12-hour practitioner programme (virtual) — delivered as two consecutive days or four half-day sessions
Next intake:September 2026 — register your interest at educ4te.com
Alignment:Aligned to CA ANZ, CPA Australia, IPA, and TPB continuing professional development requirements. Mapped to Microsoft Learn Copilot for Finance and Copilot Studio learning paths.
Course Overview
AI for Accounting in Microsoft 365 is a 12-hour, Australia-specific programme that takes accountants from "Copilot is interesting" to a defensible operating model for AI inside the practice. The course covers Copilot in Word, Outlook, Excel, and Teams for everyday accounting tasks; Copilot for Finance with the Financial Reconciliation agent that became generally available in October 2025 for bank, intercompany, and general-ledger reconciliations; Power BI Copilot narratives over labelled semantic models; and Copilot Studio agents reaching across Xero and MYOB through service principals and CData connectors. The governance backbone is uniquely Australian — APES 110 Technology amendments effective 1 January 2025 (which made it explicit that pasting client data into consumer ChatGPT or personal Copilot accounts can breach section 114 confidentiality), APES 320 quality management requirements for a documented AI Use Policy, TPB(I) D62/2026 exposure draft requiring tax agents to verify AI output, AUSTRAC AML/CTF Tranche 2 bringing accountants in scope from 1 July 2026 with enrolment closing 29 July 2026, and the Privacy Act 1988 Tranche 1 statutory tort. Real incidents are studied honestly — the Sage Copilot cross-tenant data leak in January 2025, the Microsoft Copilot email-confidentiality bug in January 2026, and shadow-IT research showing 34.8% of ChatGPT prompts containing sensitive data and 22% containing PII or PCI. The MYOB-Microsoft five-year strategic partnership announced in Q1 2026 (with Copilot inside MYOB later in 2026) is compared against Xero choosing Anthropic for "Just Ask Xero" — directly relevant for hybrid firms running both ledgers.
What You'll Learn
Explain the Australian regulatory perimeter for AI in accounting — APES 110 section 114, APES 320 quality management, TPB(I) D62/2026, AUSTRAC Tranche 2, and the Privacy Act 1988 — and translate each into Copilot-specific controls
Use Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word, Outlook, Excel, and Teams for client emails, ledger explanations, internal memos, and junior-staff instructions without pasting real client identifiers, tax file numbers, or audit workpapers
Operate Copilot for Finance Financial Reconciliation agent (GA October 2025) for bank, intercompany, and general-ledger reconciliations in both assistive and autonomous modes with appropriate human review
Produce Power BI Copilot variance and reconciliation commentary over semantic models that carry the correct Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels
Apply sensitivity labels (Client-Confidential, Audit-Workpaper, Tax-PII) and run SharePoint Advanced Management oversharing remediation before any Copilot rollout
Design Copilot Studio agents that read Xero or MYOB data through service principals scoped to a single client engagement folder, with mandatory human review on every workpaper, return, or client communication
Draft the documented AI Use Policy required under APES 320, including accounting red-lines (no real client IDs, tax numbers, financial statements, audit workpapers, internal controls, unreleased financials, or strategy) and prompt-rewrite patterns using "Client A" or "Entity 123"
Build a 90-day adoption plan covering post-enrolment AUSTRAC Tranche 2 obligations, partner sign-off, role-based awareness (junior versus partner), Customer Lockbox, Customer Key, and Australia East data residency
Course Curriculum
Module 1: Accounting processes and AI opportunities
120 min- Mapping the accounting workflow — bookkeeping, reconciliations, month-end reporting, tax summaries, client communications, and audit-support preparation — to specific AI opportunities and risks
- Copilot for Finance Financial Reconciliation agent (generally available October 2025) for bank, intercompany, and general-ledger reconciliations in assistive and autonomous modes
- Power BI Copilot narratives on properly labelled semantic models, and why label-aware grounding matters for accuracy and confidentiality
- The MYOB-Microsoft five-year strategic partnership (Q1 2026) and the planned Copilot inside MYOB experience later in 2026, contrasted with Xero choosing Anthropic for "Just Ask Xero" — implications for hybrid firms
- Where AI realistically saves accountant time today versus where it still creates more review work than it removes
- Reference: Microsoft Learn — Copilot for Finance overview and the Financial Reconciliation agent (current release)
Module 2: Beginner — AI for day-to-day accounting tasks
120 min- Copilot in Word, Outlook, and Excel for the everyday tasks accountants actually do — drafting client emails that explain discrepancies, turning ledger notes into plain-language explanations, and writing internal memos
- Writing instructions and review notes for junior staff using Copilot in Teams and Loop without exposing client identifiers
- The core practice rule — never paste real client IDs, tax file numbers, financial statements, or audit workpapers into prompts; the prompt belongs in Microsoft 365 Copilot or a tenant-grounded agent, not in consumer ChatGPT or a personal Copilot account
- Safe prompt patterns for outbound client communications including variance explanations, fee notes, and engagement-letter follow-ups
- Lab — rewrite three unsafe prompts (raw trial balance, real ABN, real client name) into safe, structure-and-format prompts that produce the same business outcome
- Reference: Microsoft Learn — Data, privacy, and security for Microsoft 365 Copilot (current release)
Module 3: Medium — AI for reconciliations, tax, and commentary
140 min- Excel Copilot and Power BI Copilot for variance and reconciliation commentary on anonymised trial balances, with worked examples on a mock manufacturing client
- Producing tax-explanation blocks for non-accountants (clients, board members, family-business owners) that are technically correct and plain-language
- Structure-and-format prompts rather than raw-data prompts — feeding Copilot the shape of the answer, not the underlying ledger
- Sensitivity labels for accounting content — Client-Confidential, Audit-Workpaper, Tax-PII — and how they change what Copilot will and will not return
- SharePoint Advanced Management oversharing remediation before Copilot rollout — finding and fixing the engagement folders that "everyone in the firm" can already read
- Reference: Microsoft Learn — Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels with Microsoft 365 Copilot (current release)
Module 4: Advanced — Copilots, workflows, and ecosystems
120 min- Copilot Studio agents that read Xero or MYOB data through service principals scoped to a single client engagement folder, never the entire client book
- CData connectors for live ledger access from Copilot Studio, and when a static export to SharePoint is the safer pattern
- SharePoint-based knowledge bases for templates, reconciliation checklists, BAS preparation steps, and how-to guides — grounding agents on firm IP rather than the open internet
- Teams-embedded agents that walk junior staff through reconciliation steps, with the partner remaining the final reviewer
- The non-negotiable rule — mandatory human review of every Copilot-drafted workpaper, return, or client communication before it leaves the firm
- Reference: Microsoft Learn — Build agents with Microsoft Copilot Studio (current release)
Module 5: Governance, ethics, and data safety — Accounting red-lines
220 min- APES 110 Technology amendments effective 1 January 2025 — confidentiality and due care explicitly cover AI tools, and pasting client data into consumer ChatGPT or a personal Copilot account is a section 114 confidentiality breach
- APES 320 quality management — mandatory documented AI Use Policy as part of the firm quality management system, including approved tools, prohibited uses, and review obligations
- TPB(I) D62/2026 exposure draft on AI use by registered tax agents — tax agents must verify AI output, AI must inform rather than substitute professional judgement, and tax agent obligations under the Code of Professional Conduct apply equally to AI-assisted work
- AUSTRAC AML/CTF Tranche 2 — accountants have been in scope since 1 July 2026 and enrolment closed on 29 July 2026; what compliance now requires day to day, covering the mandatory AMLCO appointment, two-part AML/CTF program, and risk-based customer due diligence, plus how Copilot can help with policy drafting and customer risk write-ups without ever holding the underlying PII
- Privacy Act 1988 Tranche 1 reforms — statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy and what it changes for AI prompts containing client data
- Real incidents studied honestly — Sage Copilot cross-tenant leak (January 2025), Microsoft Copilot email-confidentiality bug (January 2026), and shadow-IT research showing 34.8% of ChatGPT prompts contain sensitive data with 22% containing PII or PCI
- Accounting red-lines — no real client IDs, no tax file numbers, no full financial statements, no audit workpapers, no internal controls documentation, no unreleased financials, no strategy or M&A material
- Microsoft Purview Customer Lockbox and Customer Key for accounting workloads, and Australia East data residency for the tenant where Copilot is grounded
- Prompt rewriting in practice — replace real names with "Client A", real entities with "Entity 123", and real accounts with "Account X"; build mock trial balances that mirror the structure of the real one without any real numbers
- Role-based awareness — what a junior is allowed to do with Copilot versus what a partner is allowed to do, and how to enforce that through policy, training, and tooling
- Reference: APESB APES 110 and APES 320 (current editions); TPB(I) D62/2026 exposure draft; AUSTRAC Tranche 2 guidance; OAIC Privacy Act 1988 guidance; ATO AI Transparency Statement
Who Should Attend
- Partners and principals setting AI policy in small and mid-tier accounting firms
- Managers and senior associates running reconciliations, tax, and client work day to day
- Senior associates and accountants preparing month-end, BAS, and tax returns with Copilot in the loop
- Registered tax agents responding to TPB(I) D62/2026 on AI use
- Bookkeepers and BAS agents using Copilot in Excel, Outlook, and MYOB or Xero workflows
Prerequisites
Before enrolling, please ensure you meet these requirements:
- • Practising in an Australian accounting, tax, or bookkeeping role
- • Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams)
- • Familiarity with at least one ledger system (Xero, MYOB, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central)
- • Awareness of APES 110 confidentiality obligations
- • Access to a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence or sandbox tenant for the hands-on labs
Delivery, Format and Logistics
Delivery Mode
12-hour practitioner programme (virtual) — delivered as two consecutive days or four half-day sessions
Small-cohort virtual delivery with live labs across two days, or four half-day sessions for working accountants
What You'll Need
- Practising in an Australian accounting, tax, or bookkeeping role (or supporting practice leadership)
- Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint)
- Access to a Microsoft 365 tenant with Copilot licences (or a sandbox tenant for labs)
- Familiarity with at least one ledger system (Xero, MYOB, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central)
- Awareness of APES 110 and the firm AML/CTF program (or willingness to draft one during the course)
What You'll Receive
- 12 hours of instructor-led training with hands-on Copilot labs on anonymised accounting data
- AI Use Policy template aligned to APES 320 quality management requirements
- Accounting red-lines one-pager for partner-room and staff-room distribution
- Prompt-rewrite pattern library for reconciliations, tax explanations, and client communications
- AUSTRAC Tranche 2 ongoing-compliance checklist covering AMLCO duties, program review, and customer due diligence evidence
- Copilot Studio reference agent scoped to a single client engagement folder
- Certificate of completion suitable for CA ANZ, CPA Australia, IPA, and TPB continuing professional development claims
Frequently Asked Questions
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$999AUD
$1299EARLY BIRD
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Next Intake
September 2026 — register your interest at educ4te.com
Format
12-hour practitioner programme (virtual) — delivered as two consecutive days or four half-day sessions
Group & Enterprise Options
Discounted rates available for teams of 3+ delegates. Contact us for in-house delivery options.
What's Included
- 12 hours of instructor-led training with hands-on Copilot labs on anonymised accounting data
- AI Use Policy template aligned to APES 320 quality management requirements
- Accounting red-lines one-pager for partner-room and staff-room distribution
- Prompt-rewrite pattern library for reconciliations, tax explanations, and client communications
- AUSTRAC Tranche 2 ongoing-compliance checklist covering AMLCO duties, program review, and customer due diligence evidence
- Copilot Studio reference agent scoped to a single client engagement folder
- Certificate of completion suitable for CA ANZ, CPA Australia, IPA, and TPB continuing professional development claims
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