Date: 5/14/25
Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST
CPE Credit: 2 hours

Course Description:
This course provides accountants with foundational techniques in AI prompt engineering, revealing the hidden strategies to extract deeper insights from AI models like ChatGPT. Designed for accountants with no prior AI knowledge, the session explores how simple language and strategic prompting can unlock powerful, layered responses from large language models (LLMs). Participants will learn to overcome the "lazy" defaults of AI, using specific techniques to enhance detail, accuracy, and contextual understanding in their queries. By understanding prompt engineering's role, attendees will discover how to guide AI to provide practical, relevant, and analytical insights suited to complex financial scenarios, without needing extensive technical expertise.

1. Introduction to Prompt Engineering: Basics of structuring effective prompts for meaningful AI responses.
2. Understanding AI's "Lazy" Defaults: Why LLMs provide basic answers and how to push them to deliver richer insights.
3. Multi-Layered Prompting: Techniques to encourage AI to provide responses across beginner to expert levels.
4. Candid and Contrarian Responses: Using prompts that elicit honest and balanced insights, even on controversial topics.
5. Ripple Effect and Cobra Effect: Probing the broader impacts and unintended consequences of financial decisions.
6. Avoid Stupidity Checklist: A practical prompt for reducing mistakes in AI-assisted accounting tasks.
7. Role-Based Perspective Prompts: Crafting prompts that guide AI to respond from specific professional viewpoints.
8. Automation Ideas: Leveraging AI to optimize repetitive accounting tasks.
9. Emotion-Driven Prompting: Exploring how emotion-focused prompts can enhance AI performance and engagement.
10. Practical Applications in Accounting: How to apply prompt engineering in real-world financial analysis and decision-making.

1. Design effective prompts to extract meaningful, context-rich responses from AI in financial contexts.
2. Identify strategies to overcome AI’s "lazy" response defaults and elicit deeper analysis.
3. Apply multi-layered prompting techniques to explore topics from different perspectives and depths.
4. Evaluate the impact of using candid and contrarian prompts for balanced financial insights.
5. Use specialized prompts to uncover ripple and cobra effects in financial scenarios.
6. Develop an "Avoid Stupidity" checklist for avoiding common mistakes in AI-assisted financial tasks.
7. Integrate perspective-based prompts to receive responses tailored to accounting-specific viewpoints.
8. Automate repetitive accounting tasks by prompting AI for optimized workflows.
9. Utilize emotion-driven prompts to improve the quality and engagement of AI responses.
10. Implement practical prompt engineering techniques to enhance accuracy and depth in financial analysis.