January is a quiet yet decisive turning point for retaining finance talent. As bonuses are paid out and personal resolutions take shape, many professionals in accounting, controllership and financial analysis start reassessing their path. January departures are not a myth, and finance teams face heightened exposure after the intensity of year-end closing. If your goal is to reduce turnover within your finance team, prevent resignations and strengthen retention among finance leaders, now is the time to act with a structured strategy for the new year and an HR plan for 2026 aligned with your business priorities.
Why is January a critical month for your finance teams?
The phenomenon stems from a combination of psychological, operational and market factors. Year-end brings accumulated fatigue tied to monthly and annual closings, audits, fiscal-calendar pressure and interactions with internal and external stakeholders. This surge in workload often extends right up to the holiday break, leaving little time to recover before returning in January. The World Health Organization’s recognition of burnout highlights the urgency of anticipating and reducing risk factors in the workplace. This becomes even more critical in fields such as finance, where accuracy and compliance during peak periods leave no room for error.
Then comes the calendar factor — and it works against you. January brings both psychological and professional renewal. Once bonuses are in hand, many feel ready to turn the page and explore new opportunities. This moment also aligns with the release of new budgets and fresh hiring plans. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the job market typically accelerates at the start of the year, with a significant volume of openings and movement. For example, the JOLTS report recorded 7.7 million job vacancies in January 2025 in the United States — a context that encourages voluntary mobility when skills are in high demand, especially in finance and accounting.
Finally, compensation dynamics and career progression weigh heavily in the balance. When salary increases fall behind market trends or inflation, when growth paths remain vague, or when access to more strategic positions is slow to materialize, retention within finance and accounting teams weakens. Expertise in ERP environments, process automation, business intelligence and advanced financial analysis gives professionals a decisive edge in today’s job market. Your HR strategy for the new year must account for these forces and strengthen the levers that truly matter.
Pillar 1: Open the dialogue to anticipate and retain talent
The first line of defence against a wave of January departures is proactive dialogue. Waiting for the annual performance review — or a resignation notice — before taking action is the most costly mistake. Organizations that succeed in retaining their finance talent build in regular conversations about aspirations, pain points and individual priorities, along with clear visibility on the opportunities ahead for 2026.
In practical terms, stay interviews are emerging as a simple and effective HR tool. Unlike exit interviews, their purpose is to understand what motivates talent to stay while bringing to light what might eventually push them to leave. Conducted two to four times per year by managers, they help identify needs related to mobility, training, recognition or flexibility well in advance. Useful methodological frameworks already exist to structure these conversations — from selecting the right questions to adopting a managerial approach that encourages transparency and trust.
Beyond dialogue, reassessing the overall employee value proposition becomes essential. Too often, employees only see one part of it: base salary. Yet recognition also hinges on clarity around bonus structures and their criteria, employer contributions to insurance and retirement plans, training and certification budgets, vacation policies, hybrid work arrangements and the ability to contribute to cross-functional projects. Clear and quantified communication about total compensation, paired with genuine access to development pathways, makes a real difference during the critical year-end period. Preventing overload must also become a standard talent-management reflex at year-end. Peak periods can be made sustainable: resource planning ahead of time, automating repetitive tasks, anticipating temporary support during audits or closings, and scheduling structured recovery afterward. Normalizing lighter weeks or adjusted schedules in January for teams heavily stretched in December sends a strong message: you value sustainable performance, not exhaustion. This pragmatic flexibility directly contributes to reducing resignations.
Pillar 2: Identify critical roles and map your risk exposure
Trying to retain everyone at all costs is neither realistic nor optimal. An effective retention strategy distinguishes the positions where a departure would have a disproportionate impact. In finance, certain roles are critical hubs of knowledge, control and operational continuity.
Map your roles based on their level of criticality to determine your priorities. Assess the urgency of replacement in case of a departure, the operational impact, the depth of expertise required, candidate availability on the market and the perceived risk of turnover. Finance leadership positions — such as CFO, VP Finance and Controller — often meet several criteria at once: strategic leadership, board interaction, credibility with banks and auditors, performance oversight and vigilance around compliance. A vacancy in one of these positions can destabilize the entire financial ecosystem of the organization. The criticality of specialists in taxation, consolidation and financial systems is also significant. Their importance stems from the scarcity of their technical expertise and the volume of tacit knowledge they hold.
At the same time, keep an eye out for signs of disengagement: a drop in initiative, unusual delays, withdrawal from informal exchanges, or reduced involvement in cross-functional topics. These signals do not always indicate an imminent resignation, but they call for a direct and empathetic conversation to understand the situation and intervene where possible. The structural response to this vulnerability is succession planning. Organizations that navigate this well have already identified potential successors, formalized development plans and established mentoring relationships. The goal is twofold: secure continuity if a departure occurs, and offer emerging talent a credible path for internal advancement — one of the strongest antidotes to the temptation to leave. In-depth analyses from the Harvard Business Review highlight why succession planning often fails, and how to fix it by anchoring the process in strategy, governance and the development of key competencies.
Pillar 3: Know your options when unexpected departures occur (Interim support and Recruitment)
Even with excellent preparation, some January departures remain unavoidable. Your level of readiness is then measured by your ability to respond quickly without compromising the quality of decisions.
A. For a strategic leadership position: activate an executive finance recruitment process capable of attracting transformational leaders. When CFO, VP Finance or Corporate Controller responsibilities are at stake, the challenge goes far beyond replacing an employee. It involves securing continuity, maintaining the confidence of external partners and strengthening execution capacity for 2026 priorities. Specialized executive search support provides access to passive candidates, rigorous evaluation and a proven methodology.
B. For an immediate need without long-term commitment: opt for an agile solution with a Fractional CFO or Fractional Controller. Fractional and interim models make it possible to stabilize operations quickly, bridge a transition period, absorb a workload peak or accelerate a targeted initiative such as optimizing the closing cycle, upgrading internal controls or rolling out a new ERP. They offer budget flexibility and rapid access to senior-level expertise, while keeping the door open for a future permanent hire if the situation requires it. Explore our fractional recruitment solutions.
This range of options is especially valuable in Québec, where pressure on experienced finance talent is very real. Partnering with a finance-focused executive search firm in Québec — one able to coordinate both senior-level recruiting and an interim or fractional solution — mitigates the operational risks associated with early-year departures.
Measuring the real cost of a departure to make better decisions
The temptation to postpone a retention action or temporary support is strong, but the total cost of a departure in finance is rarely neutral. Estimates are consistent: replacing an employee often costs between half and four times their annual salary, depending on the role, the scarcity of skills and the complexity of reaching full productivity. For managers and executives, some analyses estimate the total cost at 150% to 400% of annual salary, factoring in recruitment expenses, lost productivity, onboarding, risk of errors and the impact on operational continuity (MGR Workforce). In finance, these indirect costs are amplified by the critical nature of the processes: delayed closings, cash-flow strain, weaker management information, heavier audits, increased pressure on remaining team members and, in some cases, a domino effect leading to additional departures.
This is why active management of finance talent retention — paired with advance planning of alternative solutions — makes both financial and strategic sense. Investing now in a role progression, a targeted compensation adjustment, a post-closing recovery break or a well-designed fractional mandate often costs far less than an unexpected January departure.
Your action plan for a smooth and surprise-free HR strategy for 2026
Shifting into proactive mode means building your talent strategy for the new year through four simple yet decisive steps.
- Assess your 2026 needs and skill gaps. The projects and priorities for the coming year may require greater FP&A depth, multi-entity consolidation, analytics, compliance or financial transformation leadership. Identify where the gaps lie — by team and by position.
- Segment your roles based on criticality and risk. Identify the roles that are truly mission-critical, pinpoint indispensable team members and those who may be ready for a move. Focus your retention efforts on this strategic core.
- Open and document the conversations. Schedule targeted stay interviews before the holidays, clarify the full employee value proposition, outline concrete development pathways for 2026 and demonstrate how you adapt your talent management approach during year-end. Anchor everything in a living succession plan that reassures your team and encourages them to envision their future within the organization.
- Secure your continuity options. Build early relationships with a finance-focused executive search partner, assess a Fractional CFO or Fractional Controller solution and prepare your handover templates along with your map of critical responsibilities. If a departure occurs in January, you gain precious weeks.
In practice, this approach translates into concrete actions such as:
- Assigning a strategic or optimization project to a high-potential senior analyst to strengthen their engagement
- Recalibrating upward the compensation package of a key controller
- Clarifying the evolution of the VP Finance role toward Data and Performance topics with senior leadership
- Planning a three-month interim reinforcement to secure the audit period
- Documenting critical processes to enable knowledge transfer within 48 hours in case of an unexpected event
This is also what it means to prevent resignations: giving talent a clear reason to stay, and giving the organization the capacity to rebound.
Turning a high-risk month into a competitive advantage
In Québec and across Canada, the job market for finance talent remains competitive at both intermediate and senior levels. Hiring cycles often ramp up again as soon as January begins, increasing the visibility of new opportunities and accelerating mobility. The goal is not to ignore this reality, but to be ready for it. Organizations that treat finance leadership retention as a strategic priority — tied to the business plan and governance requirements — not only reduce operational risk but also strengthen the internal reputation of their finance function.
This is also why a specialized partner, anchored in the local business community, makes a real difference. A partner who understands your structure, financial maturity, transformation priorities and employer brand will recommend realistic strategies that align with your business pace and budget constraints — going far beyond a simple one-for-one replacement.
Conclusion and next steps
The best strategy is to avoid entering January in reactive mode.
This is the ideal moment to solidify your finance talent-retention priorities, roll out targeted stay interviews, clarify your succession plan and secure your contingency options. By acting now, you turn a high-risk month into a competitive advantage: a stabilized finance team, ready to support your 2026 ambitions, with the continuity you need even when unexpected events arise.
If you’re looking to structure a comprehensive and pragmatic approach, we’re here to support you — whether through an executive finance recruitment mandate, an agile Fractional CFO or Fractional Controller solution, or a rapid assessment of your retention strategy. Explore our expertise and reach out to discuss your specific situation.
With the right preparation and trusted partners, the January turnover period can become a moment of consolidation for your organization. Let’s discuss your plan now so that 2026 begins with confidence and clarity.
