(Counting down from 10 to 1—because of course we are)
As the calendar flips to a new year, most people are wishing for health, happiness, and maybe a little less inbox clutter.
Accounting and finance professionals?
We’re a little more… specific.
In the spirit of Not Just a Bean Counter and Leading Beyond the Ledger: How Lessons from Modern Finance Drives Strategy, Innovation, and Growth, here’s our Top 10 New Year’s Wish List—counting down the things that would make finance teams everywhere weep tears of perfectly reconciled joy.
10. Fewer “Quick Questions” That Require a Spreadsheet, a Meeting, and a Therapy Session
You know the ones:
“This should be easy…”
“Can you just sanity check this?”
“I only need a number.”
Three days later, we’re knee-deep in assumptions, historical data, and existential dread.
New Year’s wish:
If it’s not quick, let’s stop calling it quick.
9. One Month—Just One—Without a Last-Minute Fire Drill
Budget season.
Audit season.
Forecast revisions.
Surprise board requests.
Finance lives in a perpetual state of “this wasn’t on the calendar.”
New Year’s wish:
A single month where nothing is “urgent” at 4:59 PM on a Friday.
8. Systems That Talk to Each Other (Without Swearing)
The ERP doesn’t match the subledger.
The subledger doesn’t match the BI tool.
Excel is holding everything together like duct tape and hope.
New Year’s wish:
Fewer manual reconciliations.
More systems that behave like adults.
7. To Be Brought in Before the Decision Is Made
Finance is often invited to meetings where the decision is already locked—and we’re there to “bless the numbers.”
New Year’s wish:
A seat at the table before strategy becomes a math problem.
6. Less Time Explaining the Past, More Time Shaping the Future
Yes, the numbers matter.
Yes, accuracy matters.
But finance didn’t get into this profession just to narrate history.
New Year’s wish:
More forward-looking conversations.
Less “why did this happen last quarter?”
5. Fewer Spreadsheets Named “FINAL_v7_REALLYFINAL_USETHISONE.xlsx”
If you’ve never opened the wrong version of a spreadsheet and panicked, are you even in finance?
New Year’s wish:
Cleaner processes.
Fewer file names that read like emotional breakdowns.
4. Recognition That Finance Is a Leadership Function, Not a Back-Office Utility
We manage risk.
We guide decisions.
We connect strategy to reality.
Yet somehow we’re still seen as the department that “just says no.”
New Year’s wish:
Recognition that finance isn’t a cost center—it’s a value center.
3. Better Conversations, Not Just Better Numbers
The hardest part of finance isn’t the math.
It’s the people.
Influencing without authority.
Challenging assumptions.
Delivering uncomfortable truths with empathy.
New Year’s wish:
More emotional intelligence.
More courage.
More “yes, if…” instead of flat “no.”
2. Tools That Actually Free Up Time (Instead of Creating More Work)
Automation is amazing—when implemented thoughtfully.
Otherwise, it’s just faster chaos.
New Year’s wish:
Technology that amplifies talent, not replaces thinking.
Tools that support judgment, not bypass it.
1. To Finally Be Seen as Strategic Partners—Not Just Bean Counters
This is the big one.
Finance doesn’t just keep score.
We help decide what game to play.
We connect data to decisions.
Risk to opportunity.
Numbers to narrative.
The ultimate New Year’s wish:
That accounting and finance professionals are trusted, empowered, and expected to lead beyond the ledger.
Final Thought
If the new year brings fewer stereotypes, better conversations, and more trust in finance as a strategic function—then we’re already ahead of plan.
And if not?
Well… we’ll just reconcile it and try again next month.
Happy New Year from Not Just a Bean Counter.
Here’s to leading beyond the ledger—one well-balanced decision at a time.
Ready to lead beyond the ledger?
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