Is your old accounting software causing staff burnout?

Accounting’s ongoing burnout problem Burnout in accounting is well documented – notably by caba, the charity for well-being in the ICAEW community. The issue continues to spark debate. And rightly so. Workload (87%), long hours (72%) and the complexity of the work with no room for error (63%) were all cited in a caba study earlier this year. But in our view, the problem runs even deeper than that. Each of those three stress triggers has its roots in something far more fundamental…the tools for the job. The straw that broke the accountant’s back There’s an old saying: “People don’t leave companies; they leave bad bosses.” But how many finance professionals leave their organisation because they can no longer tolerate its insufferably poor accounting software? Outdated on-premise and fake cloud accounting platforms can be notoriously frustrating and labour intensive because of their: inability to provide consolidated accounts – leading to manual rekeying and spreadsheet workarounds (extra work, longer hours) failure to provide one version of the truth in real-time – making it harder to complete complex work with no room for error inability to integrate with more modern, true cloud systems – resulting in yet more soul-destroying rekeying, fudges and spreadsheet workarounds. Endless days of this drudgery will eventually impact on a user’s feeling of self-worth. Continually nursing creaky software through each stressful day eats away at the user’s morale and often in their pride in the job. Add to that the increased pressure that people now face as they try to juggle workplace and homelife commitments. Something has to give. Why mid-market organisations feel the most pain The mid-market suffers disproportionate pain because this is the segment that’s been overlooked by most accounting software developers. Small firms have credible cloud-based alternatives in the form of Xero or QuickBooks. And at the other end of the scale, the corporate sector can choose between NetSuite, Dynamics and Intacct. But the middle ground remains a huge void. Languishing there are thousands of SMEs and medium-sized nonprofit organisations that have outgrown Xero or feel ‘stuck’ with their legacy on-premise platform. And yet these mid-market users continue to struggle along because they aren’t aware that there’s now a real alternative in true cloud accounting software that’s both affordable yet comprehensive. It’s as if they’ve spent so long at the coalface that they haven’t had time to step back and see how much has changed in the world of accounting software. Transform working lives, improve workplace cultures, boost profits We’ve seen the excitement on users’ faces when their old software is replaced by a powerful and intuitive new system. It’s as if a huge weight has been lifted from their shoulders. True cloud accounting software should pay for itself very quickly. If it doesn’t, it’s likely that the organisation hasn’t chosen the right system for itself. Easier and more efficient processes mean less drudgery – freeing up accountants to do strategically valuable work that enhances both the business and their self-esteem. But this isn’t just about accounting software. In this day and age, modern organisations require very little, if anything, on internal servers. Finance and IT directors alike recognise the expense and hassle of maintaining an old server when there’s a wealth of proven cloud-based alternatives available to them. An old Chinese proverb… “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” We’re encountering many CFOs and heads of finance who wish they’d migrated their accounting software to the cloud before Covid. They face growing pressure to: accommodate working from home provide enhanced reporting connect their accounting software to other cloud-based solutions. Many of these CFOs feel stuck with what they have because they fear the pain and disruption of changing systems. But when it comes to true cloud accounting software, the new ‘tree’ no longer takes years to grow. Implementing a new platform no longer means months of disruption. That’s because – unlike many of the complex alternatives – you no longer have to go back to square one for each implementation. Good mid-market accounting software is no longer a kit of disparate bits that must be painstakingly assembled each time. Now it’s based on a pre-built ‘rolling chassis’. This has slashed implementation times dramatically – to an average of just 16 applied days over a time period to suit the user. Often, when FDs discover that comprehensive accounting software is now available without punitive costs or unacceptable disruption, they realise that they no longer have to put up with a suboptimal status quo. Especially if it’s contributing to burnout among their best resources.