A practical, data-driven plan to secure your financial future even if you are starting late.
NEW SEPTEMBER 2026 EDITION: This course is a completely updated version of our prior 2024 course. Re-engineered from the ground up, it transitions from basic conversational prompting to autonomous, model-directed spreadsheet control.
In 2024, AI in Excel was conversational—we treated tools like ChatGPT or Copilot as clever assistants, copying and pasting formulas from chat panels into our spreadsheets. In 2026, the technology has undergone a fundamental, paradigm-shifting evolution. We are no longer working with passive assistants; we are deploying autonomous AI agents with direct write, edit, and execution permissions over live spreadsheet grids. Modern agents dynamically plan multi-step workflows, execute sandboxed Python code, pull live market data from SEC filings and institutional databases, and audit their own outputs in real time.
This hands-on masterclass equips Canadian CPAs and financial leaders with the practical skills and professional controls needed to harness frontier AI agents without sacrificing data integrity or compliance. You will explore the dual-surface architectures and unique capabilities of the four principal 2026 platforms—Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT & Codex, Anthropic’s Claude for Excel, and Perplexity Computer.
Crucially, this course goes beyond vendor hype. In Section 3, you’ll witness a side-by-side 'Battle of the Excel Agents,' stress-testing all four platforms against a complex financial model with thousands of calculations and multi-jurisdictional tax rules. You’ll learn how to establish pre-flight controls, ring-fence inputs, and enforce CPA Code Rules 208 (Confidentiality) and 218 (Working-Paper Documentation) so you can audit every output and lead your practice with complete confidence.
WHO WILL BENEFIT
Canadian CPAs, public practitioners, CFOs, controllers, auditors, and senior finance professionals seeking to harness cutting-edge AI automation while upholding uncompromising accuracy and regulatory compliance.
Acclaimed Author and On-demand Course Developer
David Trahair, CPA, CA, is an author and eLearning developer who creates on-demand video courses for CPAs across Canada. His courses cover topics including personal finance, ethics, AI, and Microsoft Excel. David is also the author of six personal finance books, three of which are national bestsellers. Through his firm, he helps CPAs build practical skills through engaging, self-paced learning.
Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.
Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.
