From "Manual Hell" to a Global Partnership: My Meeting with the Head of AI

Today was a massive win. I had my meeting with the Head of AI for our global group, and it went beyond anything I had imagined.

The Pitch: 132 Orders and a "Broken" System

I had the chance to present a real-world challenge: Manually processing 132 sales orders in April. The workflow is a nightmare: Open each order, find the amount, cross-check it with an Excel sheet, invoice it, and repeat.

To make it worse, there is a known bug in our D365 environment where the amount column simply shows "0" in the grid, meaning I can’t just export a list. It requires manual clicks. In a busy finance department, this takes days because of constant interruptions.

I presented my workflow and explained how this concept isn't just for one task—it’s a framework for almost every repetitive monthly task we have. I knew from my previous Rebill Project that if I can automate the "friction," I can win back my time.

The Result: Skipping the Queue

When I told the Head of AI that this could turn a 3-4 day job into about 1 hour, his eyes lit up.

Even though Claude Code is still stuck in corporate governance (it's currently with our CEO to decide on a global rollout), he didn't want me to wait. He immediately assigned me a Microsoft Copilot Studio license. These are highly restricted—usually, there’s a long waiting list, and if you don't use it for 30 days, you lose it. He bypassed the entire queue to get me started right away.

Moving the Needle with IT

To get "Copilot Cowork" talking to D365, I had to submit a technical IT ticket to enable the Model Context Protocol (MCP). I made sure to CC both the Head of AI and my own manager.

The Head of AI jumped straight into the ticket with this comment:

"I talked to Allan today. He has an idea to speed up a process in finance and save days of work... The use of the MCP server for this would help him very much. Open for a call if needed or any other help for the team."

Having that kind of backing in a global corporation is game-changing. It turns a "support request" into a "strategic priority."

The Road to "AI Finance Manager"

The meeting ended with two massive opportunities:

Internal Sparring: He suggested I meet with the internal AI Finance team as a sparring partner because I have the "ground-level" insight they lack.
Nordic Implementation: Once I’ve built the proof of concept, I’m scheduled to speak with the Head of Finance for the Nordics about rolling this out across the entire region.

1.5 Months to Change a Career

I bought my first Claude subscription 1.5 months ago. Seeing how far I’ve come in that short time is proof that what

@Jake Van Clief

teaches here really can move mountains.

I’m getting closer to that AI Finance Manager title every day. Thank you to this amazing community for helping me transform my professional life!