Ending on a high: Gearing up for the new financial year!

2021 was a massive rollercoaster ride for most of us, on different fronts. Businesses were impacted due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic, and all of us had to figure out our means to manage our finances. None of us knew what the future will bring, how companies and businesses will survive. Money management became one of the top skills on every professional’s list.

“Plan to survive reality. Future filled with unknown is everyone’s reality.”

-Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

As we gear up for the end of the financial year 2021-22, here are certain tips that will help you end the year on a high note, and go into the new year with fresh energies.?

1.Ensure that all your data is backed up

As it is rightly said, one can never be too careful, and this is especially the case with financial documents and data. Throughout the year, there is a lot of data that is collected and stored, and it is extremely crucial to have that data in place during the last few weeks of the financial year. It is a good idea to go through any accounting software you or your organization might be using to check for errors, and then have that data backed up in a safe place.?

2. File income tax returns and prepare your financial documents!

One of the most important things a lot of people forget to do is file their income tax returns which causes problems later. Check your taxes, and if there are any returns that haven’t been filed, make sure you take care of those before 31st March so that you are eligible to receive them.

Documentation can be a very cumbersome task for many, but it is a very important part of having a successful financial year. Check all your expenditures, turnovers, pending payments, tax returns, receipts, and organize all the documents in a hard copy or soft copy form. Make sure that it is easily accessible to you so that you can access it whenever required. This also helps you get an overview of your performance during the financial year so that you can accordingly make changes in the following year.

3. Identify areas for growth and create a plan.

As professionals, we always look for opportunities to expand our skillsets and take on more responsibilities in the workplace so that we can grow professionally. The end of the financial year is a good time to self-assess your performance in the previous year and identify which areas you can improve in. For example, suppose you are into sales. You may feel that you are very good at pitching your services to clients, but can improve on the rapport-building aspect. Use this insight to create an actionable plan that can help you reach this goal. This could mean taking up a professional course on rapport building, working with a small team to help improve your skills, and using the professional resources offered by your organization to bring this skill into practice.

4. Invest in upskilling yourself

We often find ourselves stuck at some point or the other in our career, and staying in that rut is definitely not beneficial. Also, with the changing trends in the professional world, it is crucial to stay relevant. One of the best ways to do that is by investing in courses or programs to upskill ourselves. This requires us to keep our minds open because if we think that we know everything there is to know about our profession, we will not be able to grow. Even those who are in top leadership positions need to uplevel from time to time. Therefore, once you have identified your areas for growth, you can take up courses that can help you work on these skills.

Thus, preparation is something that will really help you make this year-end period successful.? Benjamin Disraeli, former Prime Minister of the United States said “The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.” At the end of the day, it is our readiness for situations that plays a crucial role in determining how effectively we deal with challenges and how we thrive in our personal and professional lives.? If you want to end the year strong, prepare your mind accordingly, and your actions will align automatically.