The Advisor's Year-End Checklist: A Practical Framework for the Annual Review

The first section of the review is the collection's current state. The review lists every work in the collection, with title, artist, date, medium, dimensions, edition, current location, current value, and acquisition date and price. The list is the basis for the review's later sections, and the list is the basis for the next year's strategy.

The list is supported by the collection's current valuation. The valuation is produced by an independent appraiser with documented experience in the relevant market, and the valuation is dated to the year-end. A valuation that is more than a year old is not a current valuation, and the review is not complete without a current valuation.

The second section of the review is the year's activity. The review lists every acquisition, every deaccession, every conservation event, every loan, every insurance event, and every other material event in the collection's life. The list is supported by the work's documentation, and the list is the basis for the next year's operational planning.

The activity section is also the moment when the advisor reviews the year's decisions. The acquisitions are evaluated against the strategy, the deaccessions are evaluated against the strategy, and the operational events are evaluated against the strategy. The review identifies what worked, what did not, and what should change in the next year.

The third section of the review is the forward look. The review identifies the next year's likely acquisitions, the next year's likely deaccessions, the next year's operational priorities, and the next year's budget. The forward look is a working document, not a commitment, and the forward look is updated quarterly as the year progresses.

The forward look is also the moment when the strategy is renewed. The review identifies the strategy's strengths and weaknesses, and the review identifies the strategy's updates for the next year. A strategy that is updated annually is a strategy that is responsive to the collector's circumstances, and a strategy that is responsive is a strategy that works.

The collector's role in the review is to read the document, to ask questions, and to sign off on the strategy. The advisor's role is to write the document, to present the document, and to support the collector's review. A review that the collector has not read is not a review, and a strategy that the collector has not signed off on is not a strategy.

The collector's role is also to identify the strategy's blind spots. The advisor has been close to the collection all year, and the advisor's perspective is necessarily limited. The collector's perspective is the collector's, and the collector's perspective is the perspective that the strategy must serve.

The review is presented in person, with the collector (and, where appropriate, the next generation) and the advisor in the same room. The presentation is a conversation, not a recitation, and the presentation is the moment when the strategy is tested, refined, and signed off.

A credible review presentation covers the year's wins, the year's misses, the year's surprises, and the next year's priorities. The review does not avoid the misses or the surprises; the review addresses them head-on, and the review identifies what the next year should do differently. A review that avoids the misses is a review that the collector cannot trust, and a review that the collector cannot trust is a review that the advisor should not write.

Three things make a review useful. The first is the discipline of the writing: the review is short, the review is clear, and the review is structured around the collector's decisions. The second is the discipline of the data: the review is supported by the collection's record, and the record is current and complete. The third is the discipline of the strategy: the review identifies the strategy's strengths and weaknesses, and the review updates the strategy for the next year.

A review that has all three is a review that the collector will read, will sign, and will use to set the next year's programme. A review that has one or two is a review that the collector will skim and forget. A review that has none is a review that the collector will not read, and a review that the collector will not read is a review that is not worth writing.