Nov. 11, 2026
This piece is sponsored by Eide Bailly LLP.
A version of this article first appeared on eidebailly.com.
Year-end gives CEOs a critical opportunity to review financial performance, test strategic assumptions, evaluate risk, assess technology and workforce investments, and uncover gaps that could slow growth.
The most effective CEOs use this process to sharpen priorities and enter the new year with a stronger financial, operational and organizational foundation.
Key shifts shaping future-planning include:
- Funding growth through stronger operational discipline.
- Moving from AI experimentation to execution.
- Building workforce capabilities for an AI-enabled future.
- Strengthening resilience amid growing operational and cyber risk.
Capital allocation and strategy
Stronger financial performance creates the capacity to invest in future growth. Year-end planning provides an opportunity to challenge assumptions, evaluate investment performance and redirect resources toward the initiatives most likely to support long-term strategic goals. In many cases, the most important allocation decision is not what to fund next, but what to stop funding altogether.
Ask yourself:
- Where do we have a true competitive advantage?
- Which customers, markets or offerings should receive the most capital, talent and leadership focus?
- What would we stop funding if we had to self-finance our next major growth initiative?
AI investment and business impact
The challenge for CEOs is no longer whether to adopt AI, but where to focus investment for the greatest business impact.
Year-end planning is an opportunity to assess which AI investments are producing measurable improvements in productivity, efficiency, service delivery or decision-making. It is also a chance to identify pilots that generated interest but did not deliver sufficient business value to warrant additional investment.
Ask yourself:
- Which AI initiatives produce measurable business value?
- Where are employees using AI today, and are those efforts aligned with business priorities?
- What AI investments should we expand, refine or discontinue next year?
Talent development
As AI changes how work is performed, CEOs are focusing less on adding head count and more on ensuring employees have the skills, tools and processes needed to operate effectively. Organizations that generate the most value from AI combine technology investments with workforce development. They also create the organizational structure needed to support new ways of working.
Companies with clear workflows, decision rights and accountability can move faster and realize greater value from technology investments.
Leaders also should evaluate whether organizational structures, performance expectations and development programs reflect the way work is being performed today. As technology changes responsibilities and workflows, workforce planning becomes less about filling positions and more about ensuring employees can contribute in areas that create the greatest value.
Ask yourself:
- Do we have the skills needed to execute our strategic priorities next year?
- Where are we most dependent on institutional knowledge?
- How can technology help our employees spend more time on high-value work?
Risk, cyber and resilience
Risk management has become a strategic business priority rather than a stand-alone compliance function. As organizations adopt AI, modernize systems, expand digital operations and rely on increasingly complex vendor ecosystems, leaders must evaluate how those decisions affect resilience and long-term growth.
For middle-market organizations, these risks can be particularly challenging because customer, vendor and data relationships continue to grow in complexity while security and compliance resources often remain limited.
Year-end planning provides an opportunity to assess whether risk management practices are keeping pace with business objectives. This includes evaluating cybersecurity readiness, data governance, vendor risk, business continuity plans and compliance requirements. Organizations that strengthen resilience before disruption occurs are better positioned to adapt, protect stakeholder trust and pursue growth with confidence.
Ask yourself:
- Where are we most vulnerable to disruption, and how prepared are we to respond?
- Do our cybersecurity, compliance and vendor management practices reflect the way our business operates today?
- As we adopt AI and new technologies, have we introduced risks that we are not actively monitoring?
Preparing for the year ahead
Year-end planning is more than an annual budgeting exercise. It is an opportunity to evaluate whether capital, technology, talent and risk management strategies are aligned with the organization’s long-term objectives.
Organizations that enter the coming year from a position of strength are not necessarily the largest, fastest-growing or most technologically advanced. They are the ones that make deliberate decisions about where to invest, what to prioritize and which activities no longer support future growth.
In an environment defined by constant change, alignment may be one of the most valuable competitive advantages a CEO can build.