Use Excel to analyze variances

Important

Some of the functionality described in this release plan has not been released. Delivery timelines may change and projected functionality may not be released (see Microsoft policy). Learn more: What's new and planned

Enabled for	Public preview	General availability
Users by admins, makers, or analysts	Sep 2024	-

Business value

Microsoft Copilot for Finance lets you seamlessly analyze variances using the familiar interface of Microsoft Excel while defining precise criteria for identifying discrepancies, harnessing additional data sources for targeted analysis, and effortlessly generating comprehensive variance analysis reports enriched with supplementary comments for enhanced stakeholder communication.

You can dive into the heartbeat of your organization by dissecting forecast-to-actual trends on a regular basis. Stay ahead of the curve and keep all stakeholders informed about the dynamic state of your business with timely, insightful analyses, unlocking a multitude of benefits:

• Reduce risk: Leverage intelligent anomaly detection to mitigate risk and proactively address potential issues before they escalate, safeguarding the financial health of your organization.
• Accelerate decision-making: Experience a streamlined analysis cycle that empowers swift, informed decision-making. With Copilot's advanced capabilities, you'll accelerate your journey from data to actionable insights.
• Save time: Bid farewell to tedious manual commentary and reporting processes. Copilot automates these tasks, delivering accurate insights sourced from a plethora of data records, saving you valuable time to focus on strategic initiatives.

Feature details

Microsoft Copilot for Finance supports the following capabilities for variance analysis:

• Define criteria for identifying variances in the Excel spreadsheet that require further analysis. The criteria can be defined as natural language instruction directly in the Excel spreadsheet. Copilot will identify and highlight the variances in the worksheet using these criteria.
• Review Copilot-generated variance analysis results and adjust and complement them as needed.
• Report variance analysis outcomes in a ready-to-use form.

Note

This release is available in English only for the February 2024 release. Additional languages will be added following public preview.

Geographic areas

This feature will be released into the following Microsoft Azure geographic area:

• United States