Throughout my business life I have been using spreadsheets. Reviewing, and even morse so, building, robust spreadsheets takes time.

I have often wondered why there seems to have been very limited ability in software like Excel to use speech recognition to build spreadsheets and ask questions ( perhaps that’s a reflection on my knowledge of features!).

So with the advent of AI I have been trying to find out how AI can help in building, reviewing, forecasting , benchmarking and monitoring data. I’m at an early stage of doing this  and of course the output has to be checked but from what I have seen AI generated data and features like producing graphics is very impressive and templates can apparently be created for data outputs.

What has been your experience? Are there any practical insights that you are willing to share?

In the meantime below is a poem , generated by AI from my request, about some aspects of  “Inside the mind of AI and financial data” and working with humans that you may enjoy. The poetry is far more impressive than anything I could produce!

AI generated poem below

When Numbers Meet the Mind of AI

When numbers meet the mind of AI,

The time for guesswork waves goodbye.

No more late nights on spreadsheet rows,

When forecasts bloom and insight grows.

You feed it a template, clear and neat,

And out pours data, crisp and sweet.

With charts that rise, and graphs that gleam,

It brings to life each balance sheet dream.

It benchmarks peers with silent speed,

Finds outliers where trends may lead.

From EBITDA to ROCE grace,

It maps your standing in the race.

Complex formulae once a chore,

=IF(AND(A1>0,B1<10),…) and more.

Now checked and tested in a blink,

No broken links or #REF to sink.

It models risks and simulates fate,

Predicts your cash flow, early or late.

With rolling forecasts finely tuned,

And audit trails securely hewn.

Yet in this world of code and steel,

The human mind must shape the wheel.

For AI’s might, though swift and vast,

Needs guiding hands to make it last.

Together they refine the art,

Each plays a vital, clever part.

The insight, judgment, common sense,

That keeps all figures in past tense.

So build your model, bold and true,

Let AI crunch what it must do.

Then read, review, interpret deep—

For wisdom’s harvest is what we reap.

In teams that share, across the cloud,

With graphs that speak and numbers loud,

The power grows with each new chart—

Where humans lead and AI takes part.