CFO • Capital Markets • AI in Finance

I write about using AI to do better finance work.

Practical guides, workflows, and honest takes on using Claude across Excel models, board presentations, due diligence, and the day-to-day reality of a finance function.

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Free • 50+ Pages
The Full Claude Guide to Excel for Finance Specialists
By Gustav Juurikas, CFO at ESTO
  • Setup, model selection (Sonnet vs. Opus), and MCP data connectors
  • Six categories of finance prompts with copy-paste examples
  • Cowork plugins, slash commands, and cross-app Excel → PowerPoint workflows
  • Eight prompt engineering principles for stakeholder-ready output
  • Honest assessment of limitations, workarounds, and a 7-minute review checklist

Free download. No spam. Your email stays private.

50+ pages. Six sections. From setup to production.

01

Getting Started

Setup, installation, model selection between Sonnet and Opus, and connecting MCP data sources like LSEG, S&P Global, and FactSet.

02

Use Cases & Sample Prompts

Six categories of finance prompts — Understand, Build, Transform, Fix & Debug, Automate, and Validate — with copy-paste examples and a 3-statement model walkthrough.

03

Cowork Finance Plugins

Cross-app Excel → PowerPoint workflows, 41 skills, 38 slash commands, partner plugins from LSEG and S&P Global, and end-to-end workflow examples.

04

GitHub Plugins & Testing

Installing the capital markets plugins, web search vs. MCP connectors comparison, and three commands to test immediately on a company you know.

05

Prompt Engineering for Finance

Eight principles that separate generic output from stakeholder-ready work — from specifying formulas to setting Cowork global instructions.

06

Limitations & Workarounds

Hard limits on VBA and Power Query, behavioral issues, enterprise compliance gaps, usage limits, and a non-negotiable 7-minute review checklist.

GJ

I'm Gustav. CFO in fintech, and I use Claude across almost everything I do.

I work in capital markets and corporate finance in the Baltics. My days are split between Excel models, board presentations, creditor calls, and the kind of cross-functional work that never fits neatly into one tool.

I started using Claude because I needed to move faster. It turned out to be useful across more of my workflow than I expected: financial models, investor decks, due diligence reviews, even drafting covenant trackers. The Excel piece was where I saw the biggest gap between what's possible and what people actually know how to do.

So I wrote it down. This guide is a practitioner's notes on Claude in Excel, written for finance professionals who want to skip the hype and see what actually works.

50+

Pages of Practical Workflows

6

Sections from Setup to Limitations

38

Copy-Paste Slash Commands

AI across the full finance workflow.

01

AI in Excel & Financial Modeling

Building DCFs, debugging formulas, creating covenant trackers, sensitivity tables. The stuff that takes hours and now doesn't have to.

02

Presentations & Board Materials

Using AI to draft investor decks, board packs, and earnings materials. Cross-app workflows from spreadsheet to slide.

03

Capital Markets & the Modern CFO

How AI changes the way companies raise capital, manage creditor relationships, and run a finance function at scale.

04

Practical Prompt Engineering

The techniques that separate generic AI output from work you'd actually send to a counterparty. Tested in production, not in a sandbox.

Get the free Excel guide and see what's possible.

50+ pages covering setup, prompts, plugins, and limitations. The first in a series of practical guides on AI in finance.

Free download. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Practical — real workflows, not LinkedIn thought leadership.
Honest — what works, what doesn't, and what to watch for.
Tested in a finance function, not in a sandbox.
Get the Free Guide →