Training course · AI Agents · Accounting

AI Agents for Accounting Teams

Agentic AI for business teams: understand AI agents, automate workflows safely and keep control with human-in-the-loop and governance.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“AI Agents for Accounting Teams” is designed for roles such as General ledger and accounts payable accountants, Accounts receivable specialists and Financial accountants preparing statements and shows step by step how to use AI Agents productively, safely and transparently in Accounting – from the fundamentals to advanced workflows.

AI agents go a step beyond conventional chat assistants: they plan sub-tasks, use tools such as search, files or business applications and complete multi-step work largely on their own. Over two days you will learn how agents are built, how they differ from chatbots and traditional automation, and which tasks genuinely justify their use. Widely used platforms serve as practical examples, including Microsoft Copilot Studio, custom GPTs and Claude with projects and tool connections.

In the hands-on sessions you design agent workflows for tasks from your own area of work, from triaging requests through research and drafting to handing results over to business systems. You decide where a person reviews and approves, which permissions an agent receives and how errors are detected. A dedicated block covers governance, data protection and accountability, so that your agents not only work but remain controllable, traceable and defensible within your organisation.

Accounting is shaped by recurring processes, high document volumes and strict requirements for proper bookkeeping. Generative AI and automation provide real relief: AI assistants extract data from supplier invoices, suggest account assignments, explain transactions under local GAAP or IFRS and draft queries to suppliers or internal departments. AI agents support account reconciliations, the month-end close and the preparation of documents for external auditors and tax advisers. Responsibility for correct postings stays with people, but routine work shrinks, leaving time for exceptions, process improvement and analysis. The prerequisites are clear review steps, documented procedures and tools that respect requirements for traceability and immutability, such as the German GoBD principles.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • General ledger and accounts payable accountants
  • Accounts receivable specialists
  • Financial accountants preparing statements
  • Heads of accounting
  • Shared service centre staff

Typical challenges we address

  • Processing high volumes of documents in many formats on time
  • Resolving reconciliations and open items during the month-end close
  • Accounting correctly for complex transactions under GAAP, IFRS and VAT rules
  • Providing complete, traceable records for audits and tax inspections

What you will be able to do

  • You can explain how AI agents are structured and clearly distinguish them from chatbots and classic automation.
  • You can select a suitable agent platform for your requirements using transparent criteria.
  • You can design an agent workflow for a real process in your area and build a working prototype.
  • You can define human-in-the-loop checkpoints, test cases and escalation rules.
  • Use AI for document processing, account assignment suggestions and reconciliations with clear review steps.
  • Use AI assistants to clarify GAAP, IFRS and VAT questions and verify the answers professionally.
  • Design AI-supported processes that meet bookkeeping compliance requirements and are fully documented.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 What makes an AI agent
  • Agent building blocks: language model, instructions, knowledge, tools and memory
  • How agents differ from chatbots, macros and classic workflow automation
  • Levels of autonomy: from suggestion-making assistants to agents that act independently
  • Realistically judging which tasks suit agents and which do not
Module 2 Platform overview: Copilot Studio, GPTs and Claude
  • Microsoft Copilot Studio: agents grounded in company data and connected to Microsoft 365
  • Custom GPTs: configuring instructions, knowledge files and actions
  • Claude with projects, knowledge bases and tool access via the Model Context Protocol
  • Selection criteria: data access, integrations, administration and licensing
Module 3 Designing and building agent workflows
  • Breaking tasks into steps and defining hand-offs between agent and human
  • Writing system instructions, examples and knowledge sources for consistent output
  • Connecting tools: search, documents, email, spreadsheets and business applications
  • Building a prototype agent for a real process from your own area
Module 4 Human-in-the-loop, quality and error handling
  • Setting approval steps, escalation rules and thresholds for human review
  • Test cases, evaluation criteria and spot checks for quality assurance
  • Common failure modes: wrong tool choice, endless loops and fabricated facts
  • Using structured user feedback to improve the agent over time

Day 2

Module 5 Governance, security and roll-out
  • Roles and responsibilities across business units, IT, data protection and works council
  • Least-privilege permissions, logging and protection against prompt injection
  • Positioning under the EU AI Act and GDPR: transparency, documentation and data flows
  • From pilot agent to production: operation, maintenance and measuring success
Module 6 Practice lab: Accounting
  • Invoice data extraction
  • Account assignment and guidance
  • Reconciliation support
  • Dunning and supplier communication
  • Close checklists and procedures
  • Audit request preparation
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • AI-supported accounting processes must meet bookkeeping requirements such as the German GoBD, in particular traceability, immutability and up-to-date procedural documentation. Invoices and bank data contain personal data, so processing them in AI tools requires a GDPR-compliant data processing agreement.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Invoice data extraction

AI reads incoming invoices in PDF or e-invoicing formats, checks mandatory VAT details, suggests supplier, GL account and cost centre and flags incomplete or unusual documents for review.

Account assignment and guidance

An AI assistant explains transactions such as prepayments, provisions or capitalisation of assets, proposes possible journal entries and points to the relevant rules, which you then verify professionally.

Reconciliation support

Automations compare bank transactions with receivables and payables, match payments to open items and produce a list of unexplained differences with suggested explanations for the month-end close.

Dunning and supplier communication

AI drafts polite, factual payment reminders, queries about missing purchase order numbers or credit note requests and adapts tone and language for domestic and international customers and suppliers.

Close checklists and procedures

From existing notes, AI creates structured closing checklists, work instructions and sections of the procedural documentation required for compliant bookkeeping, which the team reviews and maintains.

Audit request preparation

When auditors or tax inspectors send requests, AI helps structure the questions, map the evidence required and draft clear explanations of postings, estimates and judgements.

Prerequisites

You should already use an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Claude on a regular basis. No programming skills are required. You have a basic knowledge of financial accounting and work regularly with an ERP or accounting system.

Technical requirements

You will need a laptop with an up-to-date browser. Ideally you have access to at least one agent platform such as Copilot Studio, ChatGPT with GPTs or Claude; practice accounts can be provided if needed.

Data protection & compliance

AI-supported accounting processes must meet bookkeeping requirements such as the German GoBD, in particular traceability, immutability and up-to-date procedural documentation. Invoices and bank data contain personal data, so processing them in AI tools requires a GDPR-compliant data processing agreement.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Thu, 26 November 2026 – Fri, 27 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 8 December 2026 – Wed, 9 December 2026 Berlin Request
  • Mon, 14 December 2026 – Tue, 15 December 2026 Online Request
  • Thu, 14 January 2027 – Fri, 15 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 25 January 2027 – Tue, 26 January 2027 Hanover Request
  • Thu, 4 February 2027 – Fri, 5 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

Do I need programming skills to build AI agents?

No. The platforms used on the course rely on visual interfaces, plain-language instructions and ready-made connectors. You learn to specify agents precisely from a business perspective, connect tools and test workflows. Where deeper technical integration would be needed, you will know which requirements to put to your IT team.

Which platform will we use during the course?

The course is vendor-neutral and uses Microsoft Copilot Studio, custom GPTs and Claude as examples. You build your prototype on the platform that is available or planned in your organisation. The principles of workflow design, control and governance you learn carry over to other agent solutions as well.

How do I stop an agent from acting without control?

Through deliberate design: agents receive only the minimum permissions they need, critical actions such as sending, booking or deleting require human approval, and every step is logged. In addition, you define test cases and escalation rules. These are exactly the control mechanisms you develop for your own use case during the course.

Are AI-supported postings compliant?

AI provides suggestions, but postings are made in your compliant accounting system after review by staff. What matters are documented review steps, logging and updated procedural documentation. In the course we work out how to embed AI steps cleanly in your process and make them transparent to auditors.

How well does AI handle invoices with different layouts?

Modern models usually process varied layouts and structured e-invoices reliably, but they make mistakes with blurred scans or unusual formats. Plausibility checks such as total reconciliation, VAT rate validation and supplier master data matching are therefore essential. We show how to build these controls into your workflow.

How much does “AI Agents for Accounting Teams” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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