Programmes on the balance sheet rail

Sheet 1 orients coordinators, administrators, and career-upgraders to AI tools used in everyday finance operations. Learners map where ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude fit inside budget management and expense tracking without handing judgment to the model. Prompt engineering exercises focus on plain-language instructions that produce auditable drafts — not flashy summaries that hide assumptions.

Format: four weekly live sessions (90 minutes) plus async sheet reps. Audience: professionals new to generative AI in finance teams. Indicative fee: C$649 per seat for 2026 Edmonton cohorts. Online sections available at the same rate. You will leave with a skills checkpoint sheet documenting your first reviewed AI workflow and notes on AI output quality standards your team can adopt.

Sheet 2 applies AI workflows to budget management scenarios — variance commentary, department reforecast notes, and spend control memos. Learners practice AI spreadsheet support by pairing Copilot suggestions with manual checks for forecast accuracy. Cash flow clarity exercises show how a tidy AI paragraph can still miss timing if prompts skip explicit date ranges.

Format: three full-day studio blocks or six evening sessions. Audience: finance coordinators and operations managers owning departmental budgets. Indicative fee: C$795. Prerequisites: Sheet 1 or equivalent experience with AI tools in an office setting. Includes digital finance craft templates for repeatable AI finance processes your organization can adapt under its own compliance-minded finance process rules.

Sheet 3 tackles invoice workflow friction — duplicate detection, vendor description cleanup, and AI categorization that miscodes with confidence. Learners run expense tracking drills where Claude and ChatGPT propose labels that must pass category honesty craft review before posting. Accounts payable workflow scenarios include AI document extraction from sample PDFs with manual verification steps.

Format: two-day intensive plus follow-up lab hour. Audience: bookkeepers, AP clerks, and small-business owners managing their own books. Indicative fee: C$725. This module emphasises reconciliation discipline and month-end close support habits — not guaranteed time savings. Portfolio proof requires a marked-up workflow showing one AI suggestion you rejected and why.

Sheet 4 focuses on financial reporting hygiene and AI-assisted reporting for management audiences. Learners build draft packs using AI finance dashboards described in prompts, then stress-test forecast accuracy by writing seasonal assumptions inline. AI forecasting workflows are compared side-by-side with spreadsheet baselines so finance decision support recommendations cite sources, not vibes.

Format: five-session cohort over three weeks. Audience: reporting owners and finance operations leads. Indicative fee: C$850. Suitable after Sheet 2 or with prior reporting experience. Teaches generative AI for finance teams who must explain variances to non-finance stakeholders without overclaiming model certainty.

Sheet 5 connects treasury visibility exercises to operational choices — when to delay a purchase, how to phrase cash-flow clarity notes, and how AI automation can draft scenarios that still need human sign-off. Prompt engineering here targets finance decision support memos with explicit risk flags. Learners practice AI reconciliation support on timing mismatches between bank feeds and accrual schedules.

Format: hybrid — two in-studio days on Jasper Avenue plus virtual check-ins. Audience: operations managers and finance coordinators supporting leadership decisions. Indicative fee: C$920. Not investment advisory — methods for clearer internal communication only.

The capstone compiles portfolio proofs from budgeting, expense workflow, reporting, and cash-flow modules into a career finance module package you can show employers or clients. Facilitators review interactive sheet experiences you completed, feedback on AI productivity habits, and evidence of finance process improvement. Future finance lab peers present anonymised scenarios — a pathway completion experience, not a competition for profit.

Format: four-week guided practicum with mentor hours. Audience: learners who completed at least three prior sheets. Indicative fee: C$1,050. Includes alumni Q&A forum access for six months. Completion certificate documents participation in vocational training — not professional accounting designation or guaranteed employment outcomes.