Chapter 7: Claude Code for Finance Professionals
In Chapter 5, you learned that Claude Code is a General Agent—not just a coding tool, but an AI that can reason through problems, make plans, and take action across any domain. You mastered Skills (reusable intelligence), MCP servers (external connections), Subagents (specialized delegation), and CLAUDE.md (persistent context).
Now it's time to apply those capabilities to finance.
This chapter transforms Claude Code into a Financial Reasoning Engine—a system that interprets intent, reasons over financial data, and assists with judgment-intensive tasks while you maintain strict governance. The goal? Build a Finance Digital FTE that handles end-to-end finance workflows with AI-assisted intelligence and human-governed safety.
The Finance Paradigm Shift
Traditional finance tools execute logic but don't understand it. They're rules engines—if transaction contains "AWS", categorize as "Cloud Services."
Claude Code is different. It's a reasoning engine—it interprets "AWS Invoice $2,340 - Monthly cloud services for production infrastructure" and understands this is operating expense, likely recurring, probably needs to be allocated across cost centers, and might indicate scaling costs worth flagging to leadership.
This chapter teaches you to harness that reasoning for finance.
Building on Chapter 5
| Chapter 5 Concept | Chapter 7 Application |
|---|---|
| General Agent | Claude Code as Financial Reasoning Engine |
| Skills | Finance-specific skills (variance-analyzer, transaction-classifier) |
| MCP Servers | Google Sheets MCP for spreadsheet integration |
| Subagents | Financial Modeler, Scenario Analyst, Risk Assessor, Validator |
| CLAUDE.md | Encoding accounting rules, chart of accounts, fiscal policies |
| Digital FTE | Complete Finance Digital FTE as capstone |
Prerequisites
Before starting this chapter, you must have:
- Completed Chapter 5 — You need working knowledge of:
- General Agent concept and OODA reasoning loop (L1)
- Subagent orchestration and Plan mode (L5)
- MCP servers for external integration (L6-7)
- CLAUDE.md context files (L8)
- Agent Skills and skill-creator (L9-10)
- Finance domain knowledge — Accounting principles, financial modeling basics
- No coding required — All workflows use natural language
What You'll Build
By the end of this chapter, you'll have:
- Finance Skills — Reusable intelligence for variance analysis, transaction classification, reconciliation
- MCP Integrations — Google Sheets connection for the three-layer architecture
- Finance Subagents — Specialized agents for modeling, scenarios, risk, and validation
- Governance Framework — Human-in-the-loop checkpoints and audit trails
- Finance Digital FTE — Complete system combining all components
Chapter Overview
| Lesson | Title | Chapter 5 Concept | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude Code General Agent for Finance | General Agent | 15 min |
| 2 | Finance Workspace Setup with CLAUDE.md | CLAUDE.md | 20 min |
| 3 | Creating Finance Skills | Skills | 25 min |
| 4 | Connecting to Google Sheets via MCP | MCP Servers | 25 min |
| 5 | Intent-Driven Financial Modeling | Reasoning Engine | 25 min |
| 6 | AI-Native Accounting Workflows | AI-assisted, human-governed | 25 min |
| 7 | Connecting to Accounting Platforms | MCP patterns | 20 min |
| 8 | Finance Subagents | Subagents | 25 min |
| 9 | Governance, Compliance, and Safety | Human-in-the-loop | 20 min |
| 10 | Capstone: Building Your Finance Digital FTE | Digital FTE | 30 min |
| Quiz | Chapter Assessment | — | 15 min |
Total Duration: ~245 minutes (~4 hours)
The Three-Layer Architecture
From the Agentic Financial Planning research, this chapter implements a consistent architecture:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ INTELLIGENCE LAYER │
│ (Claude Code - Reasoning Engine) │
│ Intent Interpretation • Financial Logic │
│ Skills • Subagents • Contextual Reasoning │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
MCP Connection
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EXECUTION LAYER │
│ (Google Sheets / Accounting System) │
│ Deterministic Computation • Formulas │
│ Data Storage • Versioning • Traceability │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ GOVERNANCE LAYER │
│ (Human Oversight) │
│ Approval • Verification • Final Decision │
│ Audit Trail • Compliance • Exceptions │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
AI-Assisted, Human-Governed
The operating model throughout this chapter:
| Component | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | Reasoning, interpretation, classification, suggestions |
| Execution Systems | Recording, computation, compliance, storage |
| Human | Approval, oversight, exceptions, final decisions |
What Claude Should NEVER Do:
- Post transactions autonomously to ledgers
- Override accounting controls
- Make tax decisions without human review
- Replace human approval on material items
Target Audience
Finance professionals ready to build AI-enhanced workflows:
- Accountants — Transaction classification, reconciliation, journal entries
- FP&A Analysts — Financial modeling, forecasting, variance analysis
- Financial Controllers — Compliance, governance, audit support
- Auditors — Documentation, anomaly detection, verification
- CFOs — Strategic analysis, scenario planning, executive reporting
The Finance Digital FTE Vision
By chapter's end, you'll have built a Finance Digital FTE combining:
Finance Digital FTE
├── Skills (Reusable Intelligence)
│ ├── variance-analyzer
│ ├── transaction-classifier
│ ├── reconciliation-assistant
│ └── narrative-generator
│
├── MCP Connections (External Systems)
│ ├── Google Sheets MCP
│ └── Accounting Platform patterns
│
├── Subagents (Specialized Roles)
│ ├── Financial Modeler
│ ├── Scenario Analyst
│ ├── Risk Assessor
│ └── Validator
│
└── Governance (Safety Rails)
├── Human-in-the-loop checkpoints
├── Audit logging
└── Access controls
This isn't just learning about AI in finance—it's building a sellable asset that packages your finance expertise into reusable AI components.
Ready to transform Claude Code into your Financial Reasoning Engine? Let's begin with Lesson 1: Claude Code General Agent for Finance.