The December Reset: The One Exercise Every CPA Firm Owner Should Do Before Year-End

December is a strange month for CPA firm owners. 

You’re exhausted from the year…

You’re already anxious about the tax season ahead…

But you also feel that tug — the desire to step back, breathe, and ask yourself whether you want another year just like the one you lived. 

For many firm owners (especially those beginning to think about the next chapter), December is the one time of year where your head finally gets quiet enough to see things clearly. 

That’s why I encourage every CPA firm owner to do one simple — but transformative — exercise before the year ends: 

 

The “December Reset” Exercise 

Find 20 minutes. Sit somewhere quiet. And answer three questions with complete honesty: 

1. “What parts of my firm energized me this year?” 

Most owners can easily list what frustrated them.

Few take time to notice the work that actually gives them energy. 

Look for clues.

Your future should contain more of what strengthens you — and less of what drains you. 

2. “What would have to change for next year to feel meaningfully better?” 

Not small tweaks.

Not complicated plans. 

Just one or two meaningful changes — in team, capacity, your role, systems, or client mix — that would actually shift your day-to-day experience. 

This is where clarity begins. 

3. “If someone offered to buy my firm tomorrow… would I feel ready?” 

Most owners whisper “no” — not because they don’t want options, but because: 

• their systems aren’t clean, 
• their team relies too much on them, 
• their client relationships aren’t documented, or 
• their financials don’t clearly tell the story. 

This question isn’t about selling today.

It’s about reducing dependency — because the more a firm depends on you, the less valuable it becomes. 

 

Why This Exercise Matters (Especially Now) 

Because the beginning of tax season is the worst time to think strategically. 

Right now, in December, you’re standing at the only quiet crossroads you’ll have until April 16. 

Most firm owners blow past it. 

But the ones who pause — who use this time to reflect, recalibrate, and realign — enter the new year with more clarity, more confidence, and a much stronger foundation for the future (whether that future involves growth, slowing down, or preparing for a transition). 

 

A Straight Talk Insight 

In talking with hundreds of firm owners, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern: 

Those who eventually exit successfully didn’t start by “planning a sale.” 

They started by asking better questions. 

And they asked them long before they were ready to take action. 

The December Reset forces those questions to the surface — the ones you push aside during the rush of the year. 

 

Your Next Step 

If you do nothing else this year…

Do this exercise. 

It will give you clarity.

It will sharpen your priorities.

And it will help you start the new year with intention instead of momentum dragging you forward. 

Your future firm — and your future self — will thank you.