Realign Your Financial Strategy Midyear: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Back on Track
- Team Novum
- Jun 13
- 3 min read
By the time summer rolls around, many leaders find themselves navigating a financial plan that no longer matches reality. Revenue may be behind. Spending may be ahead. Priorities may have shifted.
Instead of pushing through and hoping for the best, midyear offers a valuable opportunity to reset. If your organization is showing signs of drift—financially or operationally—the ALIGN path offers a practical way forward.
What ALIGN Is and Why It Matters
ALIGN is one of two strategic tracks in Novum’s Midyear Framework. It’s built for leaders who want to step back, take stock, and make sure their financial decisions are grounded in reality—not outdated plans or assumptions.
Midyear is often when the cracks begin to show. Forecasts fall behind. Spending gets ahead of strategy. Teams lose visibility into what matters most. ALIGN is a midyear financial strategy that offers a way to reset early—before those issues grow.
At its core, ALIGN helps you:
Clarify what’s working and what needs attention
Reestablish accountability across teams
Create margin that protects both your mission and your momentum
When your budget feels out of step with your impact, ALIGN helps you make thoughtful adjustments and lead with confidence through the second half of the year.
How to Know If ALIGN Is the Right Midyear Financial Strategy for You
You might be ready for ALIGN if:
Year-to-date performance doesn’t match your forecast
Financial decisions are happening without shared visibility
Your team is reacting more than leading
You’re spending more time tracking dollars than measuring outcomes
ALIGN helps you move out of confusion and into clarity—giving your team the structure and insight to move forward with focus.
The 5 Phases of ALIGN
The ALIGN path includes five clear steps. Each one is designed to help your organization regain momentum without losing sight of what matters most.
1. Assess – Anchor in Reality
Gather your actuals, budget, and latest forecast into one clear view. Identify material gaps and begin separating assumptions from facts.
A shared view of the numbers brings your team onto the same page.
2. Lens – Ask the Right Questions
Data alone doesn’t drive decisions. This phase encourages curiosity—What changed? Why? What’s within our control? Cross-functional input is key here.
Understanding the “why” behind the numbers is how better decisions take shape.
3. Implement – Take Targeted Action
Refocus resources by addressing what's out of alignment. Identify quick wins, review discretionary spending, and realign toward core priorities.
Progress starts when insights turn into decisions.
4. Guide – Build Systems for Visibility
Establish a cadence for review. Refresh your forecast, set clear financial indicators, and create simple dashboards to monitor progress.
Consistent visibility strengthens accountability across your team.
5. Nurture – Reinforce What’s Working
Create space to reflect. Debrief lessons learned, document new processes, and equip your leaders to carry alignment forward.
The habits you reinforce now shape how your team leads later.
How ALIGN Helps You Lead the Second Half with Confidence
ALIGN helps you shift from uncertainty to insight—giving you and your team the clarity to act with confidence. It gives you a way to check your course, steady your pace, and bring your finances back in step with your mission.
By midyear, many leaders need to choose whether to keep moving or make meaningful adjustments. ALIGN provides the structure to do this well.
The FP&A Model included in Novum’s Midyear Playbook is built to support the ALIGN process. It allows you to:
Compare budget vs. actuals
Explore the causes of key variances
Build rolling forecasts based on what’s real—not what was expected
Evaluate options before making major decisions
Start with the Budget vs. Actuals and Variance Bridge tabs to establish a reliable foundation. These tools make it easier to lead financial conversations with clarity.
Ready to ALIGN?
All organizations can benefit from a midyear reset, and now is the time. ALIGN is designed to help you regain control, refocus your efforts, and equip your team to finish the year strong.
Download the Midyear Financial Playbook to walk through the ALIGN path step by step. If you’d like a guide for the journey, our team would be honored to help.
