The majority of finance leaders need a six-day work week to do their jobs properly, causing stress and a general feeling of losing control.
That’s according to a survey of 260 CFOs and chief accountants across the UK and Ireland, which also found that one in four are overwhelmed multiple times per week, with six in ten experiencing this multiple times per month.
On average, they said they need an additional 1.5 days a week to complete their work. This conflicts with heightened calls from the government and businesses for a four-day work week and more flexible working according to the accounting software provider, AccountsIQ.
When asked what keeps them up at night, the top answers were inflation and rising costs impacting profitability (40%), cash flow and credit control (40%), revenue and profit targets (40%), followed by cybersecurity threats (36%) and accuracy of reporting (29%).
Cran: they need to regain precious time
But most significantly, CFOs are also feeling out of control, with 76% of respondents not feeling completely in control of their company’s financial health, which was one reason cited for the need for longer working hours.
Darren Cran, CEO at AccountsIQ, said: “Our investigation has shown that CFOs and finance leaders feel stressed, overworked and out of control, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Many of these issues are a result of these professionals lacking time.
“If they regain that precious time, then they can find ways to focus on strategy, reporting and innovation, and regain that much-needed control.”
Business and financial growth requires accurate reporting, yet over half (54%) feel their organisation doesn’t have the necessary information and analysis to make informed business decisions, or it could be improved.
“Long term and healthy growth is essential for businesses of all sizes,” Cran said. “However, achieving this with an overstretched finance function will always be a challenge. CFOs need scalable technology that can support them as they grow, removing tedious growing pains in the finance function.”
When asked about the potential for artificial intelligence applications in the finance function, 35% believe AI will transform their capabilities, enabling them to add much greater value to the business, 35% believe AI will save time and increase efficiency but it is not a game-changer, but 15% worry that AI could lead to job losses for themselves and colleagues.
Related
AccountsIQ’s CFO Mindset report
