The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced quite a few modifications to our every day lives, together with the workforce, which noticed a major shift.
The finance and accounting sector, specifically, has been deeply affected because the tempo of the fashionable office was exacerbated by COVID-19 and has change into a strain cooker for controllers and their groups as they confronted tighter deadlines, increasing compliance obligations, a shift to distant work, and better scrutiny from administration.
In reality, based on a latest examine by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, this more and more intense environment has led to greater than half of accountants admitting melancholy and anxiousness causes them to dread work, and 43.5% believing their job is a key contributor to poor psychological well being. To make issues worse, fewer people are becoming a member of the accounting career. Enrollment in James Madison College’s College of Accounting has dropped 34% up to now 4 years, and CPA companies’ hiring of accounting grads can also be down 30%.
The pandemic has inspired companies to rethink the way in which we work and embrace modifications that shall be important to their survival. Listed here are my predictions for the accounting trade in 2022:
A rise in automation will improve groups and drive larger productiveness
Automation has large potential to learn employees, notably people within the finance and accounting industries, as a result of it helps streamline and shorten mundane or repetitive processes, improves work-life stability for workers, and empowers firms to scale and innovate in an more and more aggressive trade.
Automation instruments permit for processes to be standardized, streamlined and shortened, whereas additionally lowering the dangers of missteps, finally serving to groups work extra effectively. Forrester, a market analysis firm, has discovered that when automation is launched, shut cycles take, on common, three to 5 days and audits take 40% much less time. Additional, when groups are in a position to automate their processes, staff have about 25% extra time to pivot to deeper and extra purposeful duties, like collaborating with colleagues on technique, or brainstorming progressive methods to drive progress. Moreover, when staff have a extra constructive headspace and time, they’re in a position to uphold more healthy work-life balances and fight burnout, one thing we’ve seen change into significantly extra necessary within the period of COVID-19.
Lastly, automation instruments take management of mundane capabilities and permit groups to concentrate on scaling, modernizing and driving innovation, like increasing the group via IPOs and mergers and acquisitions, giving them a leg up in more and more aggressive industries.
Digital and hybrid groups would be the norm for firms
Two years in the past, firms the world over ushered their staff out of workplaces to earn a living from home. At first it appeared like a short lived answer; nonetheless, it’s now clear that digital and hybrid work is right here to remain. Distant work has not solely created new job alternatives, however supplied extra versatile schedules to staff, finally boosting happiness and productiveness and reducing attrition charges.
A number of research have proven staff are wanting to proceed a versatile working surroundings: Future Discussion board’s International Pulse Survey reported the variety of distant or hybrid employees elevated by 12% up to now yr, Microsoft reported 70% of staff need to preserve the distant work choice we’ve seen flourish in 2020 and 2021, and Harvard Enterprise Evaluation reported that greater than 90% of employers are planning to undertake a hybrid working mannequin this yr.
In 2022, we should transfer previous the “distant versus workplace” debate. The way forward for work is versatile and offers the important thing to worker satisfaction and productiveness. This new fashionable workforce will meet staff the place they’re as an alternative of form-fitting workflow to 1 fashion.
Firms will concentrate on boosting tradition and worker retention via coaching
Along with implementing digital and hybrid choices for workers, firms will look to spice up worker tradition and happiness by offering their staff with the instruments and abilities they must be profitable.
A examine from Gartner discovered that 58% of the workforce will want new talent units to do their jobs efficiently. The whole variety of abilities required for a single job has been rising 10% year-over-year since 2017, but there may be an rising abilities hole on account of ongoing enterprise disruption and quickly evolving wants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As companies look to cut back attrition, guaranteeing staff have the coaching and abilities they should excel is vital. In reality, main tech giants like Fb and Twilio are more and more paying candidates to be taught important abilities on the job to fill within the gaps, based on Gartner.
When firms concentrate on boosting firm tradition, notably by giving staff the time and sources to advance their profession, the businesses themselves usually obtain as much as 29% increased revenue, 19% increased gross sales, and a 72% decrease attrition price, based on Gallup. It’s actually a win-win.
After a tumultuous two years, the workforce is due for some needed modifications, notably the finance and accounting sector. As firms and companies rethink the way in which we work, start to focus extra on worker happiness and retention, and put together for a brand new yr of development and success, these three developments are certain to rise to the highest.