75% of Accounting and Finance Professionals Report they Suffer the January Blues
Rising stress levels in December coincide with year-end close
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, January 27, 2022 – Data from a recent survey by FloQast, a provider of accounting workflow automation software created by accountants for accountants, indicates the vast majority (75 per cent) of those working in finance and accounting believe their jobs contribute to them suffering from the January blues. While statistics differ across industries, geolocations, organisational ownership status, and size, there is a clear correlation between those that work in finance and their considered stresses in the new year.
While employees in other industries might be celebrating the joys of the holiday season throughout December, the research reveals the majority of finance staff (72 per cent) experience higher stress levels in December compared to other months. December is also the month in which the majority (76 per cent) of financial directors and controllers complete their annual financial accounts. Taking this data into account, the relationship between the year-end close and stress is clear, with the anxiety experienced by accounting and finance professionals in December paving the way for the January blues.
Additional insights from the study include:
- Organisations with more than 5,000 employees are (31 per cent) more likely than corporations with less than 100 employees to associate work with the January blues.
- The healthcare/pharmaceutical industry (96 per cent) is the industry with the highest ascription to January blues, whilst wholesale or distribution (84 per cent) follows and banking at (82 per cent).
- These statistics highlight the need for professionals and employees to improve ways of working to streamline the working lives of those in accounting.
Today, finance and accounting teams are facing added pressures as they complete day-to-day operations and month-end processes. The pandemic has created a greater need for finance teams to be agile with financial data to better deliver insights to steer organisational strategy. Streamlining accounting and finance operations with automation could reduce daily challenges, improve accuracy, free up bandwidth to invest in more strategic planning and forecasting, and ultimately lead to a less stressful year end.
“It’s disheartening to know that finance and accounting teams struggle with feelings of unhappiness and stress at the top of the year, particularly when solutions exist to reduce friction and limit bottlenecks. I continuously saw this from my clients when I was auditing and it’s sad to see it still being the case,” said Adam Zoucha, Managing Director, FloQast EMEA “The data demonstrates that accounting and finance teams are in low spirits before and after end-of-month accounting.”
“With the rise of remote working, the ‘Great Resignation,’ and recruiting challenges within both finance and accounting, it’s important that organisations retain and support their best talent. As many of us at FloQast are former accountants, we understand investing in better technology allows employers to help remove the burden of repetitive, time consuming tasks and enhance visibility, coordination, speed and accuracy across the team. Accounting and finance professionals can move away from the tactical to a more rewarding strategic role, developing their skills, improving morale and achieving a better work life balance.”
About FloQast
FloQast delivers workflow automation software enabling organizations to operationalize accounting excellence. Trusted by more than 1,500 accounting teams – including Revolut, Babylon Health, SumUp, Watches of Switzerland, Twilio, CoinBase, and Zoom – FloQast was built by accountants, for accountants to enhance the way accounting teams work. FloQast enables customers to streamline processes such as automated reconciliations, documentation requests, and other workflows that impact the month-end close, financial reporting, and payroll, and is consistently rated #1 across all user review sites. Learn more at FloQast.com.
Research Methodology
This survey was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 500 UK Financial directors and financial controllers (Aged 18+). Fieldwork was carried out between 17th – 23rd December 2021. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.
Contact:
Kyle Cabodi
FloQast Director of Corporate Communications
