Busy season is, perhaps, the most stressful time for accountants. This time of year presents accounting professionals with what seems like an endless stream of work and can contribute to sky high levels of burnout. As it currently stands, 99% report feeling burnout, which not only impacts work-life balance, but the quality of vital work accountants do during busy seasons as well.
Since the busy season is one of the most critical and time-sensitive moments of the year, burnt out accountants can lead to error-filled work and disastrous consequences. It is time that organizations invested in solutions that allow accountants to be more efficient, accurate and way less stressed.
The answer? Automation-driven technology that helps accounts do more with less and feel good about their work.
Making Accounting Processes Simpler and More Accurate
Automation is the best tool to help employees streamline and shorten mundane and repetitive tasks and processes. Without automation, controllers in the United States spend nearly 70% of their time performing traditional tasks, such as closing the books or ensuring compliance with accounting standards. However, when automation was introduced, 88% of accountants shortened their month-end close process, audits took 40% less time.
Additionally, automation can help bolster accounting processes as it provides companies with more accurate data and insights. Typically, manual business processes are prone to human error which can be a massive detriment—particularly during busy seasons—and, even further, tracking down these errors wastes important time and money.
With automation, you can create thousands of entries in seconds, and machine learning algorithms can systematically identify anomalies in datasets and correct them.
During a time when it is imperative that accountants work quickly and without error, automation can be a massive help. Not only will it take over the tedious time-sucking tasks, but it will do them accurately and efficiently—just think about how much more accountants could be doing with more time on their calendar and better data in their pockets.
Making Accountants Happier and Less Burnt Out
In addition to helping typically mundane accounting processes become more efficient and streamlined—a particularly helpful notion during busy seasons—automation also has a tremendous effect on the general wellbeing of employees.
According to a study by SmartSheet, when automation is implemented, workers can get back six or more hours of their time per week. With this newfound time, accountants can spend more time focusing on tasks they actually enjoy, like being strategic or innovative, or take time to improve on their mental health and wellbeing—two aspects critical to developing a happier and more optimistic workforce and reducing burn out.
In fact, a recent study from FloQast found that, when employees utilize automation, they report burnout levels nine points lower than those who don’t use automation—dropping from above average burnout scores to those that are below average.
With automation, you can create thousands of entries in seconds, and machine learning algorithms can systematically identify anomalies in datasets and correct them.
Further, with fewer individuals joining the accounting profession – enrollment in some programs dropping over 30% in the past four years and CPA firms’ hiring of accounting grads also is down 30% – there simply isn’t enough manpower to handle all of the work, especially during busy seasons. Automation is deeply needed to help support and assume a plethora of day-to-day tasks.
It is clear that using automation equals happy accountants. Particularly with burnout running rampant through the finance and accounting sector, it’s an essential tool to helping accountants survive the busy season. If you still don’t believe me, take it from the employees themselves: A study done by ADP found that over half of modern employees feel positive about the replacement of repetitive work with automation.
The Future of the Busy Season
While the busy season will likely always be a turbulent time for anyone in the accounting workforce, automation can make accountants’ experiences significantly less stressful. Automation’s ability to shorten and streamline tedious processes, amp up accuracy, boost happiness, and reduce burnout makes it the perfect tool for accounting firms to implement. It is time to make the busy season a little bit less busy.
Mike Whitmire is co-founder and CEO of FloQast. Mike leads FloQast’s corporate vision, strategy and execution. Prior to founding FloQast, he managed the accounting team at Cornerstone OnDemand, a SaaS company in Los Angeles. He began his career at Ernst & Young in Los Angeles where he performed public company audits, opening balance sheet audits, cash to GAAP restatements, compilation reviews, international reporting, merger and acquisition audits and SOX compliance testing. He also is the author of the Amazon best-seller, "Controller's Code: The Secret Formula to a Successful Career in Finance." The book provides career guidance for finance professionals.
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