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KAMCO Invest×CODED
KAMCO Invest × CODED · Kuwait
Day 1 of 2

Copilot for
Excel and PowerPoint

AI Foundations and Copilot in Excel. You arrive with a broken file. You leave with a dashboard you can defend.

Day 1 · 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
KAMCO Invest, Kuwait
We will begin shortly
Press → to begin
Block 1 · the four minutes

Can you answer this in four minutes?

The questionMeridian Capital manages client money across six Gulf markets. Which client segment earns the firm the most fee income?

The file is open on your screen. You have four minutes.
Four minutes
4:00
Instructor cue. Do not explain the file. Do not explain the columns. Start the timer and walk the room in silence.
Block 1 · captured live

What stopped you?

Four answers from the room. Type them here. You will see these words again twice today.

Answer 1
Answer 2
Answer 3
Answer 4
Instructor cue. Take four answers only. Expect: the totals looked wrong · the regions are spelled six ways · I could not sort it · I did not know where to start.
Block 1 · why you

Why should this matter to you, and not to your IT department?

01The four minutes you just lost happen every week.
02Nobody is paid to clean spreadsheets. You do it anyway.
03The skill that changes is not Excel. It is knowing what to ask for.
Instructor cue. Employee first, technology second. Do not mention AI yet.
The term

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence The capability of a machine or a computer program to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.
Traditional software
AI
A person writes the rule
The system learns the pattern
Same input, same output
Same input, slightly different output
Fails loudly
Fails quietly
Fails quietly. That line carries the whole day.
The term

What is a large language model?

LLM A large language model is a system trained on a very large amount of written text. Books, websites, code, reports, and emails go in at the top. One model comes out at the bottom.
Model
Built by
GPT
OpenAI
Claude
Anthropic
Gemini
Google
Llama
Meta
Instructor cue. Define the term, then use the short form LLM for the rest of the day. Expect the question "where is Copilot in this list?" — hold it. Slide 11 answers it.
Block 1 · the mechanism

So what does it actually do?

The quarterly report shows a decline in  
revenue0%
fees0%
attendance0%
It predicts the next word. That is the whole mechanism. Everything useful and everything dangerous comes from this one fact.
Block 2 · the bridge

If it predicts text, why does it help with a spreadsheet?

Your question→text
A formula→text
A summary→text
A slide→text
Excel and PowerPoint are not magic exceptions. Copilot converts your request into text the application understands.
Block 2 · strengths

What is it good at?

Rewriting
Turn six bullet points into a client email
Summarizing
Reduce a 40-page policy into one page
Structuring
Turn a messy list into a clean table
Explaining
Explain a formula that somebody else wrote
Notice what these have in common. The information already exists. The model is moving it, not inventing it.
Block 2 · limits

Where does it break?

Invented facts
A confident source that does not exist
Arithmetic
A total that is close, but wrong
Stale knowledge
Last year's rule, stated as today's
Missing context
A correct answer to the wrong question
It fails quietly. None of these four arrive with a warning message.
Instructor cue. Run the ten-second live failure here. See the Instructor Guide.
The tool

What tool will we use? Copilot.

01Microsoft's AI assistant, built into the applications you already use.
02Not a separate model. It runs on the models from the last slide.
03Inside Excel, you can choose which one answers you.
Copilot is the door, not the engine.
Instructor cue. Show the model picker in the Copilot panel if the build allows it.
Block 2 · three doors

Where will you actually meet it?

Copilot Chat
  • A browser tab
  • Sees only what you paste
  • Good for drafting and thinking
Copilot in Excel
  • A panel inside Excel
  • Sees your open workbook
  • Good for asking about your data
Agent Mode
  • Multi-step work inside Excel
  • Plans, edits, and checks its own work
  • Good for building something
KAMCO has all three. This morning you use the first. This afternoon you use the second and the third.
Block 2 · your call

You are about to paste a client list into a chat box. Should you?

Copilot Chat · personal account
Summarize this client list for me:
Al-Rashid, Fatima · 284-119-3320 · KWD 4,820,000
Bou Khalil, Nadia · 291-773-1048 · KWD 11,405,500
Haddad, Karim · 277-450-9912 · KWD 2,190,750
Al-Sabah, Yousef · 268-330-7741 · KWD 38,900,000
Mansour, Layla · 299-812-4406 · KWD 7,655,200
Instructor cue. Do not answer. Ask the room. Let two people disagree.
Block 2 · the fork

Where does your text go?

Your work account
  • Stays inside KAMCO's tenant
  • Not used to train the public model
  • Covered by the company agreement
A personal account
  • Leaves KAMCO's control
  • May be used to improve the service
  • Covered by nothing
The difference is not the tool. It is the account you are signed in with.
Block 2 · the rule

What still does not belong in the box?

01Client names joined to balances or national IDs
02Anything covered by a non-disclosure agreement
03Material non-public information
04Anything you would not put in an email to a colleague in another department
Give the last line a name: the other-department test.
Lab 1 · 12 minutes

Would you paste it?

01Ten items. Sort each one into Safe · Never · Safe after you remove something.
02For the third pile, write down what you removed.
0312 minutes. Work alone.
Lab 1
12:00
Instructor cue. Struggle window: 8 minutes alone, 4 minutes to compare with a neighbour. Items 4, 7, and 9 split the room. Debrief after the break.
Block 3 · Lab 1 debrief

Three items you disagreed about

Item 4
Memo
A draft internal memo about a restructuring that has not been announced. tap
Item 7
Complaint
A complaint email from a client, signed with their name and account number. tap
Item 9
Draft
An unsigned draft agreement from a counterparty. tap
The test is not "is this tool secure." It is "am I allowed to share this, with anyone, right now."
Block 3 · the vendor

What does Microsoft itself say about using this for financial work?

ParaphrasedMicrosoft's own guidance tells users to review and verify Copilot output, and warns against relying on it for decisions in sensitive areas — finance included.
The vendor is telling you to check the work. That is not a weakness in the product. It is the job description.
The term

So what does "verify" actually mean?

01Spot-check one number. Recalculate it yourself.
02Ask where it came from. Which rows, which column.
03Change one input. Confirm the answer moves the way it should.
Name it: the three-step check. Same three words every time it comes up today.
Block 3 · your call

Why did this answer disappoint you?

The prompt
"Summarize this data."
The output
A generic paragraph that describes the columns and says nothing.
Instructor cue. Ask the room what is missing. They will say "detail." Push harder: missing what detail?
The framework

Four things the model cannot guess

C — Context
who
Who you are, what the data is, why it matters
T — Task
what
The one action you want
F — Format
shape
Table, bullets, one paragraph, a formula
T — Tone
voice
Formal, plain, for a board, for a colleague
This is CTFT. Keep the name — it is the same framework CODED uses across programs.
Block 3 · the rewrite

Same question, four things added

I am a relationship manager at an asset management firm. This table holds client fee income for 2025 across six Gulf markets. Identify the three segments that produce the most fee income. Return a three-row table with segment, total fee, and share of total. Keep the language plain enough for a non-finance colleague.
Instructor cue. Point at each of the four parts as you read it. Do not paraphrase — read it aloud exactly.
Block 3 · repair moves

What if the first answer is still wrong?

Narrow it
  • "Only Active clients."
Show it
  • "Give me one example row that supports this."
Constrain it
  • "Use only the columns I named. Do not estimate."
Iteration is not failure. Restarting from a blank prompt is the failure.
Block 3 · reusable

What does a reusable prompt look like?

I am a [role]. This file contains [what the data is]. [One task.] Return [format]. Use [tone].If a value is missing, say so — do not estimate.
That last sentence is the most valuable line on the slide. It turns a quiet failure into a loud one.
Lab 2 · 24 minutes

Repair four broken prompts

01Name which part of CTFT is missing.
02Rewrite it.
03Run both versions in Copilot Chat.
04Write one line on what changed. 24 minutes. Work alone.
Lab 2
24:00
Instructor cue. 14 minutes alone, 6 minutes for three volunteers to read a rewrite aloud, 4 minutes to wrap. Keep the best rewrite on the board through lunch.
Callback

Remember the four minutes you lost this morning?

Answer 1
Answer 2
Answer 3
Answer 4
By 3:35 PM every one of these is gone. That is a promise.
Block 4 · four faults

Why does Copilot refuse to help with this file?

2
Client IDRegionSegmentAUM (KWD)
MC-0118KuwaitInstitutional18,402,660
MC-0119KWHNW4,120,900
3
MC-0120kuwaitRetail4KWD 812,430
MC-0121KWTInstitutional1,905,220.00
Copilot reads structure, not decoration. Every red circle is decoration that broke the structure.
The rule

Four conditions, every time

The file is saved to OneDrive or SharePoint
AutoSave is on
Headers sit in row 1, with no merged cells
The range is formatted as an Excel table
Instructor cue. Trainees hit condition 1 today. The file must live in OneDrive before the panel does anything useful. This is the single most common support question in the room.
Live demo · 5 minutes

Watch this file become readable

Do not copy yetBanner removed → blank rows removed → headers to row 1 → Format as Table.
The five minutes
01
Ask before
Put the Slide 2 question to Copilot on the raw file. The answer is poor.
02
Fix the structure
Banner out, blank rows out, headers to row 1.
03
Format as Table
Name it PortfolioData.
04
Ask again
Same question, same file, a usable answer.
Instructor cue. Projected and narrated. The before-answer should be poor. Do not rescue it.
Block 4 · the real column

Six spellings, one country

Kuwait KW kuwait Kuwait  KWT (blank) Kuwait
A PivotTable treats these as five countries and one gap. This is why the total on Slide 2 was wrong.
Instructor cue. Then name what the panel cannot see: it reads your workbook, but it does not know what your team means by "dormant."
Lab 3 · 30 minutes

Make the file Copilot-ready, then clean it

01Make the file meet the four conditions.
02Standardize Region, Segment, and Status.
03Fix the AUM column so every value is a number.
04Decide what to do about the 26 missing fee values — and write down your rule.
Lab 3
30:00
Instructor cue. 20 minutes alone, 6 to unlock, 4 to wrap. Task 4 is a judgment call, not a Copilot question. That is the point.
Block 5 · the default

Ask for the answer, or ask for the formula?

"What is total fee income for Kuwait?"
"Write a formula that totals fee income for Kuwait."
A number in the chat panel
A formula in your sheet
Gone when you close the panel
Recalculates when the data changes
You cannot check it
You can read it
Default to asking for the formula. A number you cannot audit is not an answer in a regulated firm.
The term

What is Agent Mode doing differently?

The loop
01
Plan
It writes down what it intends to do.
02
Execute
It makes the change in your workbook.
03
Check
It reads back what it wrote.
04
Repeat
It carries on until the task is done.
It edits your workbook. The panel alone only answers.
Instructor cue. Explain the editing toggle. With editing off, Copilot reads. With editing on, it writes to the sheet.
Block 5 · before you approve

Read the plan before you approve it

Plan with Copilot · Copilot intends to
1Add a column Fee Rate to PortfolioData
2Insert a summary sheet By Segment
3Apply conditional formatting to the top three rows
Plan with Copilot shows its intended ranges, sheets, and formulas before it touches anything. Approving without reading is how a workbook gets quietly rewritten.
Instructor cue. Show the Show Changes pane in the same minute. In an investment firm, knowing whether a number came from a person or from Copilot matters more than speed.
Callback

The three-step check — on a real number

1Spot-check. Recalculate the Kuwait fee total by hand for one quarter.
2Ask where it came from. Ask Copilot which rows it used.
3Change one input. Change one AUM value. Watch the total move.
Instructor cue. Do all three on the projector. Two minutes. This is the habit the client is paying for.
Lab 4 · 35 minutes

Five questions, five formulas, one caught error

01Answer five business questions about the cleaned file.
02Every answer must be a formula in the sheet, not a number in the chat.
03One of the five questions has a trap. Find it. 35 minutes. Work alone.
Lab 4
35:00
Instructor cue. 22 minutes alone, 8 to unlock, 5 to wrap. Do not tell them which question holds the trap.
Block 6 · the integration beat

What can this file tell the management committee?

You now haveA clean table, working formulas, and a verification habit.

Find three things worth reporting. Prove each one.
Cleaning, prompting, and verifying now combine on one artefact.
The term

A PivotTable in one sentence

PivotTable Pick what to group by. Pick what to add up.
The Region column, raw
Grouped
506 rows, six spellings deep
Kuwait · 1,146,614,433
One row per client per quarter
Saudi Arabia · 505,757,242
No totals anywhere
Six rows, one total each
Instructor cue. Sixty seconds. They do not need PivotTable theory. They need to ask Copilot for one and then read it.
The three tests

What makes a finding worth a slide?

Surprising
  • Somebody would raise an eyebrow.
Checkable
  • You can point at the rows.
So what
  • Somebody could act on it.
Most trainees produce a true, checkable, boring finding. Push to the third test.
Lab 5 · 45 minutes

Three findings, one dashboard

01Build two PivotTables with Copilot.
02Find three findings that pass all three tests.
03Verify each one with the three-step check.
04Build one dashboard sheet with two charts. Save the file. You present from it tomorrow.
Lab 5
45:00
Instructor cue. 28 minutes alone, 12 to unlock, 5 to wrap. Circulate and collect two strong findings to read out at close.
Close · celebration

Two findings from this room

Finding 1 · found by
Finding 2 · found by
Instructor cue. Two minutes. Read them out. Use their names. This is the celebration beat and it is worth the clock.
Close · the artefact

What is in the file you just saved?

A table Copilot can read
Six regions instead of twenty-two spellings
Five auditable formulas
Three findings you can defend
Name the artefact: your Meridian dashboard. You will hear those words again at 9:05 tomorrow.
Callback

The four minutes, again

Answer 1
Answer 2
Answer 3
Answer 4
Instructor cue. Read each one and type what removed it. This closes the loop that opened the day.
Close · tomorrow

Tomorrow, this becomes something somebody reads.

Where you areYour dashboard has three findings and no audience.
Day 2
Copilot in PowerPointYou arrive with the file. You leave with the deck.
Instructor cue. Tell them to keep the file in the same OneDrive folder. Do not let anyone leave with the file on a USB drive.
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Exercise1:00
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screen blanked — press B to resume

Presenter & pointer controls

→SpacePg Dn
Next slide
←Pg Up
Back
L
Laser pointer (follows the mouse)
B.
Blank the screen
F
Fullscreen
S
Sound on / off (starts off)
T
Start 60-second exercise timer
?
This panel
Esc
Close / resume
Most USB presenter remotes send Page Up / Page Down — they already drive this deck.
☕ Start a break
Pick a length. The timer counts down and shows everyone the return time.
Break
Break
15:00
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