The end of year is often treated as a race to the finish line. Deadlines close in, reporting intensifies, and the focus shifts to getting everything ticked off before the Christmas and New Year break. But the best finance teams don’t see December as a compliance exercise or a box-ticking routine. They treat it as a strategic moment – an opportunity to extract insight, pressure-test assumptions, and set the tone for the year ahead.
That difference matters. Businesses that use the end of the year well start January with direction, clarity, and momentum. Those that coast through it often begin the new year already behind and unclear. As planning cycles shorten and economic uncertainty becomes the norm, the ability to reflect, interpret, and anticipate becomes a competitive advantage.
Here’s what high-performing finance teams consistently do in December – and how those behaviours will help shape a stronger 2026.
They Treat The End of Year as Strategy, Not Admin
For weaker finance functions, the end of year period becomes a scramble of reconciliations, adjustments, and fire-fighting. Everything revolves around getting numbers out of the door. The focus is on activity, not insight.
High-performing teams take a different approach. They understand that the end of year is a great opportunity to pause, step back, and reflect. They use it to evaluate how the year truly performed: what drove margin, where variability crept in, which assumptions held up, and which risks went unnoticed.
This isn’t about more reporting. It’s about better analysis. High-performing teams don’t just produce a retrospective; they identify the moments that shaped performance – and the ones that will influence decisions next year. They’re not just closing the year – they’re opening the next one in an impactful way.
They Turn Data into Direction
Every business produces numbers. The difference lies in what the team does with them.
Stronger finance teams elevate the end of year through highlighting trends that matter, explain why they’re happening, and frame what leadership needs to focus on next. Their insight travels beyond finance because they don’t simply report the past – they interpret it in a way that influences the plans for the future.
When a team can translate numbers into a clear narrative, the end of year becomes a strategic foundation for a sharper, more aligned progression into 2026.
They Look Beyond 2025 and Start Planning for 2026 Now
Some businesses will start thinking seriously about 2026 when the calendar flips – by which point they’re already behind. High-performing finance teams don’t wait. They understand that planning isn’t a January task; it’s a December mindset.
These teams use the final month of the year to model scenarios, revisit assumptions, and challenge whether the current structure can support what’s coming. They consider:
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How market conditions are shifting
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Where margin pressure is likely to appear
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Which customers will shape next year’s revenue
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What investments need long-term runway
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Where talent gaps will limit execution
This early thinking and planning gives leadership options, not surprises. It sets the business up to make proactive decisions prior to the new year rather than reactive and rushed decisions in the first quarter. And crucially, it highlights where the finance function itself may need to evolve to stay ahead in 2026.
They Anticipate the Capabilities Finance Will Need Tomorrow
2025 has already shown that finance is moving far beyond compliance, data entry, and reporting. As automation accelerates and organisations expect finance to influence growth, the capabilities that matter are shifting.
High-performing teams use this period to reflect on whether they have what the future demands. They ask tough questions: Do we have the commercial insight to influence strategy? Do we have the systems to scale? Do we understand performance drivers deeply enough? Do we have the people who can communicate clearly, challenge senior leaders, and turn complexity into direction?
This isn’t about adding headcount. It’s about building capability. The teams who plan for 2026 now identify the gaps early – and fix them before they become constraints.
They Use Year-End to Strengthen — Not Strain — the Team
The end of the year exposes weak structures. Workloads shift unevenly. Processes show their cracks. Teams feel stretched at the moment they need clarity most.
High-performing functions see this as a signal, not an inevitability. They review what caused the bottlenecks, identify where responsibilities are misaligned, and refine workflows ahead of the next year. They don’t allow this time of year to become a recurring struggle. They treat it as a window into operational health – and an opportunity to build a finance team that is more capable, more balanced, and better equipped for the year ahead.
The payoff is significant. When teams have the right capacity, capability, and clarity, pressure becomes a catalyst rather than a burden. People grow instead of burn out. Collaboration improves. Standards rise. Instead of relying on the same individuals to absorb more every December, businesses invest in structures and talent that distribute accountability and strengthen performance across the whole function.
That discipline shapes cultures that grow stronger under pressure rather than strained by it, creating teams that can sustain performance not just at the end of the year, but throughout the entire year.
Final Thought
The end of year period isn’t just a deadline. It’s the moment that separates finance teams who report the past from those who shape the future. High-performing teams use this time to reflect deeply, connect insight to direction, and build the foundations that will carry them into 2026 with clarity and confidence.
If you’re thinking about how your finance function needs to evolve next year – the structure, capability, or leadership it will require – We Do Group can help you identify and secure the talent that will elevate your team and sharpen your strategy.
