It’s 2 a.m. in busy season, and an auditor is buried in a 200-page report, hunting for a single disclosure note.  

Now imagine typing in your natural language: “Find every disclosure on contingent liabilities and link them to evidence.” In seconds, it’s done.

That’s the shift Microsoft and DataSnipper are driving with Agentic AI in audit and finance — moving from manual searching to intelligent agents that work inside Excel.

Agentic AI in audit: Hear it from DataSnipper CEO

There’s no question that audit and finance teams are under pressure. Regulatory requirements keep growing, disclosure checklists expand every year, and firms face a global shortage of accounting talent. At the same time, clients and regulators expect faster reporting, fewer errors, and airtight compliance.

That’s the backdrop for the recent Bloomberg interview with DataSnipper CEO Vidya Peters (timestamp 37:08). In it, Peters shared how DataSnipper’s deepened partnership with Microsoft is changing the game by embedding Agentic AI in audit and finance workflows — directly inside Excel.

Excel as the everyday workspace

Microsoft Excel remains the backbone of audit and finance work. Instead of building a new platform, DataSnipper is extending Excel with intelligent agents. As Peters explained:

“Now we’re even more excited to build agents with them, bringing the power of AI into Microsoft Excel. Imagine using natural language to say, ‘Here are all the tasks I’m looking to do—go ahead and do it for me,’ and it’s done in seconds.”

This integration means audit and finance professionals can benefit from automation without changing how they work. The tools meet them in Excel, reducing friction and speeding up adoption.

Talent shortages and efficiency pressure

Audit firms and finance teams are struggling to hire. Fewer students are graduating with accounting degrees, and existing staff are overwhelmed by repetitive, manual tasks.

Peters highlighted this urgency:

“Customers are hungry to bring more AI into their daily work. Why? Because there’s a massive talent shortage in audit and finance. We find that 64% of our new customers are choosing our AI products, which is a phenomenal adoption rate.”

Agentic AI in audit and finance helps smaller teams do more with less, reduce errors, and keep pace with demanding reporting cycles.

Disclosure review: a high-risk pain point

Disclosure reviews are one of the most complex parts of an audit. Auditors must answer hundreds of questions tied to IFRS and US GAAP, often across 200-plus pages of financial statements and notes. Requirements are conditional, nuanced, and judgment-heavy.

As Peters told Bloomberg:

“We’re launching a new agent for disclosures. Auditors have to answer hundreds of questions, which exposes them to compliance risks and is error-prone. It takes hours or days. Our AI agent will take the first pass, allowing auditors to act as reviewers rather than manual doers.”

By automating the first pass, Disclosure Agents free up senior auditors to focus on judgment and oversight, while reducing errors and review fatigue.

For a deeper dive into the complexity of disclosure work, see our blog on why disclosure testing matters.

Trust and the human in the loop

AI isn’t replacing auditors. Peters emphasized that trust in financial reporting depends on human accountability. “The world and the economy thrive on trust. We trust the news and earnings reports because humans stand behind those audits and financial procedures. I don’t believe there will ever be an audit signed off without a human,” she says.

Agentic AI in audit and finance supports teams, but humans remain in the loop to review, interpret, and sign off. This balance ensures accuracy, accountability, and compliance with regulators.

Early adoption and what’s next

AI adoption is spreading quickly, particularly among leaner finance teams:

“Smaller teams tend to be more willing and take more risks. They bring in technology quickly because they have fewer resources and need to do more with less.” says Peters.

With Microsoft infrastructure providing secure, enterprise-grade AI, larger organizations are also preparing to scale adoption. Disclosure Agents are only the beginning. The long-term vision is broader: ingesting, analyzing, and cross-referencing external and internal data across finance — a multi-billion-dollar opportunity.

What this means for audit and finance professionals

The partnership between Microsoft and DataSnipper brings urgency and opportunity. Audit and finance professionals can now automate the most time-consuming parts of their work directly in Excel, from disclosure testing to financial statement checks.

The need is clear: teams are stretched thin, compliance is complex, and deadlines aren’t moving. Agentic AI in audit and finance is not just a future promise — it’s already here, reshaping how work gets done.

Watch the webinar on demand to see Disclosure Agents in action and learn how Microsoft and DataSnipper are building the future of audit workflows.