Courses
Live courses
Classes for ALFA members, taught live on Zoom by practitioners. Pick the one that fits where you are. After you pay, you'll register for the class on Zoom, and Zoom emails you the join link and a calendar invite.
Coming up
Set Up Claude for More Security and Better Output
A live tour of selected Claude settings for new users
With Joss Graf
Hesitant to get started with AI because of security and privacy concerns? In this class, we will go over the basic settings that create guardrails around Claude. We will also craft the account-wide preferences paragraph (Settings > Your Claude > Instructions) so you don't have to keep repeating yourself in your chats.
Q&A
- I don't have a Claude plan yet. How do I prepare for class?
- Create a Claude account at any tier. No other prep is needed. Class will start 15 min after the Weekly Call. If you need help creating an account, stay immediately after the Weekly Call for assistance so that we are up and running together at start time. You can also DM or email Joss Graf with questions about which account to choose.
- Can I attend and just use the free plan?
- Yes. Settings we will discuss are available on the free plan if you just want to follow along, but you may hit your message limit during the hour if you are actively typing in the Claude chat the whole time.
- I have already been using Claude, but I'm interested in the settings. Can I join?
- This class is meant for beginners. We will not use any undefined AI terminology. If you are already on GitHub or running agents, you may sit in and listen, but please keep your mic muted. If there is demand, we can run a more advanced class on the same topic where we can geek out on all the details.
- Can I send my notetaker and get the recording?
- No notetakers or other AI agents will be allowed. This is meant to be an interactive live small-group experience. It will not be very helpful to listen to while doing something else. Participants who at least turn their camera on briefly to introduce themselves at the beginning or end will have access to a recording for one month. The information will be outdated after that anyway.
GitHub for Accountants
Moving beyond the chat window
With Joss Graf
If you've been using AI for a while, you may have gotten frustrated with keeping track of files and conversations. This class will introduce GitHub, a tool originally designed for software engineers to track and share versions of their code as they fix bugs and add features. But this class assumes no knowledge of code. Instead, we will set up GitHub to store text and code generated by AI so that it's easier to keep track of files that you are using in more than one chat session.
Q&A
- How do I prepare for class?
- Create a GitHub account. No need to connect it to anything or change any settings. The account name should represent you, not your company brand (if you have employees). You can create an organization account separately later. Choose a username that doesn't reveal your identity if you prefer to remain anonymous, as the name will be publicly available.
- Is it safe to store data on GitHub?
- We will go over how to make data private and what should be excluded completely.
- I haven't used AI for coding. Do I need GitHub?
- You don't need it, but it can still be helpful. Once accountants get used to it, they don't want to go back to living without it.
- I have tried using GitHub before. It's confusing.
- Yes. Yes, it is. But most of what was taught pre-AI is no longer necessary to learn because the AI takes care of it. Using GitHub is very well-documented, so AI tends to give good assistance. We will focus on identifying the bare minimum you need to know to make it useful. We can have more sessions as needed to get people up and running. We'll decide together at the end of the hour.
Automation Beyond the Chatbot
For advanced AI users
With Joss Graf and guest speaker Nishant Makadia
Generative AI is based on probabilities, so it can be unpredictable and unreliable. Sometimes old-fashioned (“deterministic”) automation works fine and can be cheaper, faster, and more consistent.
Guest speaker Nishant Makadia has spent his career building these types of automations for Verizon and ADP and has contributed to fintech startups. In this class, Nishant will run a live chat with Claude while fielding participant questions. He'll cover deterministic rules, scripts, scheduled jobs, and integrations. He will also go over which workflows are better handled by deterministic automation. And he'll cover how to use Claude to build deterministic workflows.
Q&A
- I am an AI beginner. Can I attend?
- Yes, any ALFA member may attend, but the class will be focused on people who are already heavily using AI. Rebecca and Joss may be able to answer beginner questions in the chat.
- How should I prepare for class?
- Bring one or more examples of real workflows from your firm that we can discuss.
- Can I bring all my agents, recorders, notetakers, and other AI committee members with me?
- No. We know advanced AI users have the skills to record and take notes, but we ask that you not do so. We will provide a starter CLAUDE.md file that will tell Claude to use the principles presented.
Want to start now? Browse the self-study courses.