How specialist financial intelligence and organizational context come together in practical financial workflows.
A client review is approaching. The latest financial data is only part of the picture. The team also needs to understand what has changed, which assumptions deserve another look and what matters to the client. Bringing that picture together means connecting specialist financial research with the knowledge already captured in the organization’s files, conversations and analysis.
Copilot connectors bring financial data and research from specialist providers into Copilot, alongside the organizational knowledge available through Work IQ. Together, they give Copilot context to help professionals investigate questions, develop analysis and prepare evidence-backed work for review. Professionals remain in the loop, retaining control of recommendations, decisions, approvals and actions.
Connect financial knowledge to the work at hand
A firm’s competitive edge in financial services depends on how it draws on proprietary research, client insight and internal knowledge. Copilot connectors help teams unlock that value by bringing external financial evidence together with what the organization already knows. Prepare a credit briefing, examine investment assumptions or get ready for a client review - with less time spent gathering information and more attention to analysis and judgment. Together, these capabilities help financial professionals bring relevant evidence into their analysis while retaining judgment over the decisions that follow. For more on how Copilot is helping teams rethink the way finance work gets done, explore our Copilot for finance blog.
What this means for your team
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More time for analysis Spend less time gathering and consolidating information across systems, and more time analyzing findings and interpreting what they mean. |
Informed decisions Consider external financial evidence alongside internal research, client priorities and business context. |
A shorter path to insight Move from a business question to a sourced analysis or briefing that is ready for professional review. |
Financial workflows in action
The following prompts and scenarios are illustrative examples, not customer case studies or measured productivity results. Available connectors, data and capabilities vary by connected account and Copilot experience, so the examples do not imply that the same functionality is available in every experience.
See it in practice
Credit and risk | Moody’s
A credit research analyst needs to prepare a client briefing, with the companies and research requirements spread across an Outlook email discussion. Copilot combines that business context with Moody’s credit intelligence to prepare a sourced Word memo—giving the analyst more time to assess what the findings mean for the client.
Market and equity intelligence | LSEG
An equity analyst needs to understand where the firm’s internal earnings estimates differ from market expectations. In Excel, Copilot brings together LSEG financial data, including relevant analyst consensus estimates, with the firm’s internal estimates and calculates the differences, helping the analyst examine assumptions and prepare for investment discussions.
Investment banking | FactSet
An investment banking analyst needs to identify growing technology companies that may benefit from financing support. The FactSet connector brings proprietary financial data and research into Cowork, which screens companies, evaluates potential funding needs and builds an Excel shortlist and PowerPoint briefing in parallel, helping the analyst prioritize prospects and prepare informed conversations about how the bank could support their growth.
Find a starting point for your role
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Workflow |
Starter prompts |
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Investment banking Research companies for client discussions
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COWORK Prepare an M&A briefing on Microsoft’s gaming-sector acquisitions announced from 2020 through 2024 for an upcoming client discussion. Use FactSet to identify the targets, announcement dates, deal values and current deal status. Create a Word memo with a transaction-summary table, key acquisition themes and questions for further diligence. EXCEL I’m reviewing Microsoft's geographic revenue mix for 2023. Build an Excel table from LSEG data, showing revenue by reported geographic region, including currency and units. Use Excel formulas to calculate each region’s share of total revenue and create a column chart comparing the regions. Cite the source and flag any missing data. |
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Asset & wealth management Prepare for a portfolio review
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CHAT Did Microsoft beat earnings expectations last quarter? Use LSEG data to show actual versus consensus EPS, the quarter and source. COWORK Prepare an investment briefing on Microsoft for an upcoming portfolio review. Use LSEG I/B/E/S and fundamentals to assess FY1/FY2 EPS and revenue consensus, estimate dispersion, margins, leverage and valuation. Bring the findings together in a Word memo with an executive summary, key opportunities and risks, and questions for the portfolio discussion. |
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Credit & risk Assess a company’s credit profile
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CHAT What is Moody's current credit rating and outlook for Microsoft? EXCEL Build an Excel workbook for a credit-rating pitch on Microsoft, comparing it with four relevant peers. Create a comparison table with ratings, outlooks and key financial metrics, using Excel formulas to calculate credit ratios where inputs are available. Clearly label each company’s reporting period and fiscal year-end. Add a summary sheet with credit strengths, risks and the rating rationale. |
Explore financial services connectors
Bring specialist financial intelligence into Copilot to support your day-to-day workflows.
Keep access governed and the evidence reviewable
Copilot supports professional judgment; it doesn’t replace it. Financial professionals remain responsible for reviewing analysis, making decisions and meeting applicable confidentiality and compliance obligations. Use of each connected source is also governed by that provider’s terms.
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Access aligned with permissions Users authenticate with their own source account, and access is governed by that account's permissions. Connecting a source does not grant additional provider entitlements. Users can manage or disconnect sources from the supported Copilot experience. |
Admin oversight and controlled rollout Administrators can enable or disable federated connectors and limit availability to Microsoft Entra ID groups. This lets an organization control which sources are available and which users can connect to them. |
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Sensitive data handled under clear policies Federated Copilot connectors retrieve information directly from connected systems without indexing external data into Microsoft 365. Applicable provider terms and organizational policies govern how that information and resulting outputs may be used, shared and retained. |
Evidence that supports review Source references and dates help financial professionals review the information behind an output. Calculations, assumptions and conclusions still require professional review before they inform financial decisions or client advice. |
Connect your financial sources to Copilot and get started
Before you begin, confirm that your organization has enabled the relevant connector or plugin, that you have the required Copilot license, and that your provider account has the necessary access. Available connectors and capabilities vary by Copilot experience.
Chat / Cowork
1. Open Microsoft Copilot, select Home, then Agents & Plugins in the left navigation.
2. Choose the Chat or Cowork tab, search for your provider, open its plugin and sign in with your provider account when prompted.
Excel
1. Open your workbook and launch Copilot in Excel.
2. Select + → Choose plugins, choose your provider’s plugin and sign in with your provider account when prompted.
Connection and access guidance
Did you know? The AI at Work Roadmap is where you can get the latest updates on productivity apps and intelligent cloud services. Microsoft Copilot release notes is where you can see the Microsoft Copilot features that are generally available (Current Channel for Microsoft 365 apps) and specific to each platform. Check back regularly to see what features are in development, coming soon and generally available. Please note that the dates mentioned in this article are tentative and subject to change.
Microsoft