Opinion – Accountants are not benefiting from flexibility.

Opinion - Accountants are not benefiting from flexibility.

What a sad lot accountants are – or at least it seems so if you read a recent study from the ICAEW on what it euphemistically calls ‘flexible working’. According to a random sample of 3,000 of its members, 99% of accountants are working over their contracted hours by an average of about 10 hours. They are, in effect, working more than an extra day a week.

Many words spring to mind to describe this, and flexibility certainly isn’t one of them.

The findings probably come as no great surprise to many hard-working accountants, while others will no doubt take comfort in the fact they are not the only ones suffering.

But the mere fact the ICAEW has chosen to highlight the issue, and make the point that long hours are not really a good thing, is encouraging.

It is clear from the institute’s statistics that many employers have not got very far in promoting policies that allow their staff more flexibility and to have a decent life outside work.

However, the report points out that those who do offer effective flexible working practices are perceived as the ’employers of choice’.

When the labour market is tight, therefore, employers have something obvious to gain from not working their staff until they collapse.

But there are other business reasons for treating staff well – including better performance and fewer mistakes.

Employers should not forget these if attracting new staff becomes less important to them.

It would be a shame to see moves to make working life better become a victim of falling business confidence.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource