💰📈 End-of-Year Audit Adventure
Step into our fiscal frontier! Let's review our project's balance sheet—highlighting assets (successes), liabilities (challenges), and budget for the year ahead. Together, we'll ensure next year is an even bigger return on investment!
Template Columns
🟢 Green Investments (Start)
Identify new practices or strategies to invest in for a profitable new year.
Base column: Start🔴 Write-Offs (Stop)
Call out unprofitable processes or habits to 'write off' from our ledger.
Base column: Stop🟡 Steady Revenue Streams (Continue)
Highlight sustainable actions and winning routines to carry forward into the next fiscal year.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The End-of-Year Audit Adventure retrospective uses finance-inspired categories to review successes, cut unhelpful habits, and plan strategic investments for next year.
When to use this template
This format is best during major transitions, at year-end, or after a lengthy project cycle when teams need to reflect holistically and set direction for the future.
How to facilitate
Begin with a warm welcome and explain the finance/adventure metaphor, encouraging everyone to review the past year's efforts through the lens of assets, liabilities, and investments.
Remind participants of key events, deliverables, and outcomes from the past year with a brief timeline or highlights reel.
Invite everyone to contribute to the three columns: Green Investments for new actions to start, Write-Offs for actions to stop, and Steady Revenue Streams for practices to continue.
Allow time for silent brainstorming in each category so everyone has a chance to add their points independently before discussion.
Facilitate a round-robin discussion, clustering similar ideas and prompting deeper discussion on unclear or debated items.
Collaboratively prioritize the top actions from each column, focusing especially on new investments and critical write-offs needed for next year.
End by creating clear owners and next steps for the most important commitments, ensuring the audit translates into real change for the year ahead.
Pro Tips
Use anonymous input features to help team members call out 'write-offs' without fear of blame.
Tie each discussion point to its real impact—did it save, cost, or generate value for the team?
Encourage gentle humor and celebratory moments when recognizing winning 'revenue streams.'
Aim for a healthy balance between starting, stopping, and continuing practices so next year’s plan is actionable.
Bring relevant data or dashboards to ground discussions in facts, not just opinions.
FAQ
How do I help my team suggest 'write-offs' without finger-pointing?
Frame 'write-offs' as removing obstacles, not assigning blame; keep the focus on processes and outcomes, not people.
Our team gets overwhelmed with ideas—how do we prioritize?
First cluster similar items, then use quick dot-voting or discussion to surface the most impactful actions.
What if some team members are new and unsure about the past year?
Provide context with a brief overview of the year, and pair newer members with longer-serving teammates for insight-sharing.
At a glance
- Duration
60–75 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective