12 Days of Finance

Hard-earned insights to help CFOs reset for 2026!

Whether or not they stick to them, people make New Year’s resolutions for a reason.

After all, the end of the year draws a line in the sand, presenting a rare opportunity to reflect, refocus, and reset. It’s a chance to rethink how everything, including finance, gets done.

As Practice Director at Tridant and a Chartered Accountant with more than 15 years of experience, Bob Boyne has seen inside the month-end operations of over 150 organisations. From fintech startups to legacy institutions, he’s helped teams modernise their close, optimise reconciliation, and move from manual chaos to real-time control.

Here, Bob shares 12 real-world lessons from the field to help you and your team start the new year a little sharper.

1. Be realistic about your transformation goals

Finance transformation isn’t easy. In fact, studies suggest up to 70% of initiatives fall short – not because the technology doesn’t work, but because organisations underestimate the effort involved or start with misaligned goals.

“There’s lots of reasons things can fail,” Boyne says. “But one that isn’t talked about often enough is false expectations in terms of what you’re actually going to get out of something.”

Even if automation handles 80% of a task, someone still has to manage the rest. So if your team’s already stretched, where will that extra 20% come from? Without a realistic plan – or the capacity to follow through – even the best initiative is at risk of falling flat.

2. Tech doesn’t solve problems – it enables you to solve problems

“The best tech in the world can’t fix a flawed process,” Boyne warns. And yet too many teams lift-and-shift messy workflows into shiny new systems – taking the tangle with them and expecting a Christmas miracle.

His advice? Take a step back and critically assess how and why you do things before implementing new technology. Because unless you fix the process itself, even the smartest tools won’t deliver the outcomes you’re hoping for.

3. You probably don’t know your team’s biggest pain points

CFOs are often surprised by how much manual work hides in the weeds, and there’s a good reason for that.

“There’s a stereotype that accountants prefer to suffer in silence – and in this case, it’s often true,” Boyne says. “That’s why talking to junior staff is the best way to understand what their challenges are, what things cause them the most frustration, and what they wish they could change.”

The low-hanging quick wins could be right under your nose.

4. Define “close enough”

Chasing perfection can waste valuable time — especially when it comes to reconciliation.

“Another stereotype that I think is true about accountants is that they like the numbers to all match, for everything to get to zero, and to find out where everything’s meant to be,” Boyne says.

“But sometimes there’s a trade-off between spending too much time chasing the last two pennies and the actual value that effort delivers.”

He recalls one AP manager who consistently delayed close by three days just to catch every outstanding invoice – even though the impact was minimal.

Start by asking: how close is close enough? Then make sure your team knows where to draw that line – so no one’s holding up close for an extra $200.

5. Set the tone at the top – and follow up

Sometimes leadership teams attend product demos and sign off on new tools with sky-high expectations for how they’re going to transform business processes. But then the project goes live, and they seem to check out.

“The best outcomes happen when senior leaders stay engaged and make sure the tool is being used to its full potential,” Boyne says.

“It’s about making sure you’re getting the value that you initially set out to get – and if not, uncovering why. Is it an issue with the project? Is the team using the tool correctly? Because it’s much easier to fix issues early than a year or two down the track.”

6. There’s something Grinchy hiding in your spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are still widely used – and they’re full of hidden risks, even in well-run teams. For example, it could be hidden reconciling items, or errors in prepayment schedules.

Boyne’s advice is to reduce reliance on Excel where possible, and switch to a financial close solution or FP&A tool.

7. Reconciliations don’t have to be this painful

Many fintechs and financial services companies, especially those operating across multiple markets, now support a wide variety of payment methods – everything from payment gateways to buy now, pay later services.

While that flexibility is great for the business, it creates massive complexity for the finance team, who get stuck trying to reconcile transactions across all these different systems. And as Boyne points out, most ERPs simply aren’t built to handle that kind of thing.

“This is one of the most common pain points we help automate,” he says. “There are tools that can streamline the work and make life a lot easier for your team.”

8. Your top talent wants better tools

Speaking of tools that streamline work and make life easier, one consultant on Boyne’s team was so impressed by BlackLine at a previous job that he searched for it by name when applying for his next role.

“A lot of his first job was trolling through data and spreadsheets and manipulation, and so he was amazed when the next place had a tool that did it for him,” Boyne says.  

In other words, good tools attract good people.

9. Solve problems in the right place

“Before you throw automation or AI at a problem, take a step back,” Boyne says. “Start with the basics: can your ERP handle it? Do you have the right foundations in place to automate effectively?”

If not, look next to specialised finance tools – like BlackLine – that are purpose-built for specific processes. Only then consider more complex options like RPA.

As Boyne puts it: “The best outcomes usually come from solving problems in the simplest place first.”

10. Stop doing things just because you did them last month

Over time, reporting packs and processes tend to expand by default. A CFO asks for a new chart, a one-off report becomes a regular feature, and no one questions whether it’s still useful.

A regular sense check on what’s truly valuable can free up significant time.

“Just because you did it last month doesn’t mean you need to do it this month,” Boyne says. “Ask whether this task is still needed, or if it’s just become habit.”

11. Bring your team on the journey

Sometimes Boyne kicks off a BlackLine implementation only to find the end users have never even heard of the tool. That lack of context can set any project up to fail.

“It’s the end users who determine whether a project succeeds,” Boyne says. “So if they’re not bought in – and don’t understand what we’re aiming to achieve – you won’t get the results you planned for.”

He recommends focusing on clear communication and context, invest in onboarding, and secure buy-in early.

12. No initiative is set-and-forget

New initiatives need ongoing care – like refresher training, check-ins, and system health reviews.

“It’s like a Christmas tree,” Boyne says. “You can decorate it beautifully, but if you don’t water it, it dies.”

Also, remember that new users might not know how to get the most from your systems.

Is your finance function naughty or nice?

As you wrap up the year, it’s worth asking where your team stands.

• On the naughty list: Manually rekeying data, blindly repeating last month’s processes, relying on fragile spreadsheets, and leaving your team out of the loop.

• On the nice list: Automating smartly, empowering your people, questioning the status quo, and setting realistic goals.

It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being honest, intentional, and open to change, so you and your team can hit the ground running in 2026.

For further information and resources, visit > www.blackline.com/apac