Use Word Copilot to Draft Financial Documents

What This Does

Word Copilot can generate first drafts of financial documents (MD&A sections, audit committee memos, accounting policy documents, and board narratives) directly in your Word document from bullet-pointed notes. For a Controller, this means spending your time refining and verifying financial documents instead of writing them from scratch.

Before You Start

• You have Microsoft 365 (Business or Enterprise plan with Copilot enabled)
• You have a Word document open (even a blank one works)
• You're signed into your Microsoft account

Steps

1. Open Copilot in Word

Click the Home tab in the ribbon. Look for the Copilot button (sparkle icon). Click it to open the Copilot panel on the right side.

Alternatively, click in the document where you want to insert AI-generated text and look for the small Copilot sparkle icon in the left margin. Click it for an inline drafting option.

What you should see: Either a side panel or an inline text generation box. Troubleshooting: If Copilot isn't available, use the Help Me Write feature in Google Docs as an alternative.

2. Generate a document section from bullet points

Click at the top of a new section in your document. Click the inline Copilot icon (in the left margin) or use the panel. Type your drafting request:

Draft a management discussion and analysis (MD&A) section based on these financial highlights:
- Revenue: $18.3M, up 7% vs. prior year, 2% below plan due to delayed project close
- Gross margin: 42%, improved 150bps vs. prior year from favorable material costs
- SG&A: $5.1M, $200K above plan due to additional headcount in sales team
- EBITDA: $3.2M, up 12% vs. prior year
Write 350 words in formal financial reporting language. No jargon beyond standard finance terms.

What you should see: A 350-word MD&A draft appears in your document ready to review.

3. Refine sections with follow-up instructions

Select any section of the draft that needs work. Click the Rewrite or Copilot option that appears in the selection toolbar. Type refinement instructions:

• "Make this paragraph more concise: cut to 3 sentences"
• "Rewrite this to lead with the positive result before acknowledging the shortfall"
• "Add a forward-looking paragraph about Q4 outlook based on these assumptions: [paste]"

What you should see: The selected text is rewritten per your instruction.

4. Generate an accounting policy document structure

For a new policy memo, start with structure:

Type: "Create a formal accounting policy memo structure for [topic]. Include all standard sections with placeholder text."

Then fill in each section using Copilot: click in a section and ask it to draft that specific section based on your policy details.

Real Example

Scenario: You need to prepare the audit committee package covering Q3 financial results. You have your numbers but the narrative takes 3 hours to write.

What you do: Open a new Word document. Activate Copilot inline. Paste this:

"Draft a 500-word audit committee financial summary for Q3. Key points: revenue slightly below plan due to 3 delayed contract signings expected in Q4; operating expenses well-controlled; cash position strong; two items require audit committee awareness: (1) a $350K deferred revenue reclassification being reviewed by external auditors and (2) a new material vendor contract signed in September with unusual payment terms. Tone: professional, complete, no surprises hidden."

What you get: A complete draft covering all items with appropriate emphasis, including the sensitive items flagged for committee attention.

Tips

• Always verify financial figures in Copilot drafts. It writes the language; you own the numbers.
• For sensitive items (audit findings, restatements, going concern), draft those sections yourself and use Copilot only for context-setting language around them
• The "Make this shorter" refinement command works well for Word Copilot outputs, which tend to run slightly long

Tool interfaces change. If a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.