Create your own AI dashboards in accounting

Fundamentals and Core Processes in Finance Dashboards with Claude

1. Introduction and Architecture

• Why Use Claude in Accounting? Benefits, Limitations, and How It Differs from Traditional BI Tools.

• Claude in April 2026: Opus 4.7, Sonnet 4.7, Haiku 4.5, and their roles.

• Toolbox: Artifacts (dashboards), Projects (persistent context), Connectors and MCP (data sources), Claude Code (analytical scripts), Cowork (desktop), Claude in Excel, and Claude in Chrome.

• Plans: Claude Pro, Claude Max, Claude Team, Claude Enterprise.

2. Prompting in a financial context

• Prompt Framework: Goal, data context, format, validation, follow-up task.

• Prompt Patterns: Extract, Transform, Visualize, Explain.

• Anti-patterns: unclear goals, lack of verification mechanisms, inconsistent units of measurement.

3. KPI Starter Workshop

• Input: Sample file (revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, depreciation, inventory, accounts receivable, accounts payable).

• Output: KPI table (EBIT, EBITDA, net margin, working capital, cash conversion cycle, quick ratio).

• Includes: Formula glossary, plausibility check with validation prompts, and documentation in Project.

4. Mini-Dashboard Workshop with Claude Artifacts

• Creation of 3 to 4 interactive charts (revenue trend, cost structure, EBIT margin, cash flow overview).

• A management summary of fewer than 150 words, including three key findings and a recommendation for action.

• Deliver the artifact to stakeholders; version it in the project.

5. Data Quality and Data Management

• Handling missing values and outliers, normalization, and logic for date and measurement units.

• Documentation: Sources, assumptions, sample calculations, versioning.

Deep dive and advanced applications

6. Working with Open Financial Data Sets

• Sources: World Bank, OECD, FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), IMF, Eurostat, Destatis, Bundesbank.

• Methods: Harmonization of frequencies (monthly, quarterly), indexing (base year), calculation of annual and monthly changes.

7. Macro-Finance Dashboard Workshop

• Comparison of countries (Switzerland, Germany, the U.S.).

• Creation of 5 to 6 visuals as artifacts, KPI headers (current value, trend, traffic light logic).

• A briefing of fewer than 200 words, including uncertainties, revisions, and citations.

8. Workshop on Scenario and Sensitivity Analyses

• Development of base, optimistic, and pessimistic scenarios.

• Calculation of the effects on EBITDA, operating cash flow, and interest coverage ratio.

• Creation of a sensitivity matrix, delta charts, and recommendations for action (risks and countermeasures).

9. Connectors, MCP, and Automated Reporting

• Connectors and Model Context Protocol: Integration with databases, spreadsheets, cloud storage, and ERP systems.

• Recurring prompts, monthly templates, thresholds, and notifications.

• Cowork: Orchestrate reporting workflows right from your desktop.

• Governance: Prompt versioning, KPI catalog, source citations.

10. Best Practices and Case Studies

• Key factors for the successful implementation of AI in accounting.

• Quick Wins vs. Scaling: From Prototype to Department-Wide Solution.

11. Ethical and Legal Considerations

• Data protection, client protection, confidentiality.

• Traceability (explainability), accountability, and audit trail.

• EU AI Act 2026: AI literacy effective February 2, 2025; GPAI effective August 2, 2025; Annex III (high-risk) effective December 2, 2027.

• GDPR-compliant deployment options for Claude: Anthropic API with DPA, AWS Bedrock Frankfurt, information on hallucinations and control mechanisms.

In our seminars, we explicitly address the data protection requirements for the use of AI in accounting. We explain GDPR-compliant deployment options (EU hosting via Azure, AWS Bedrock, etc.), point out risks such as hallucinations, and provide specific recommendations for operational implementation.