The Pursuit of Happiness; Survey: CFOs Cite Heavy Workloads as Greatest Workplace...

The Pursuit of Happiness; Survey: CFOs Cite Heavy Workloads as Greatest
Workplace Concern

MENLO PARK, Calif., June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's accounting and finance
professionals are used to having a lot on their plates, but a new survey shows
that growing to-do lists could be taking their toll. More than one in three
(35 percent) chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed cited heavy workloads
as the number-one workplace concern for their financial teams. Job security
ranked second with 19 percent of the response.
The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest
specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping
professionals, and conducted by an independent research firm. It was based on
telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs across the United States.
Executives were asked, "Which one of the following do you think is the
greatest source of work-related concerns for finance and accounting
professionals?" Their responses:
Heavy workloads 35 %
Job security 19 %
Corporate governance
mandates/compliance issues 17 %
Personnel issues (e.g.,
coworker conflicts, office politics) 14 %
Work/life balance issues 11 %
None of these 2 %
Other/don't know 2 %
100 %

"The combination of compliance mandates, traditional projects and shifting
priorities has challenged accounting and finance professionals to keep up with
their growing workloads," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half
International and author of Human Resources Kit For Dummies(R), 2nd Edition
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). "The problem is further compounded by a shortage of
highly skilled candidates in many specialties."
Messmer continued, "Managers should closely monitor employees' workloads
to right any imbalances and maximize the productivity of the entire group.
This might include realigning responsibilities, reprioritizing assignments and
bringing in temporary support during peak activity periods."
About the Survey
The national study was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and
largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and
bookkeeping professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm
and is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CFOs from a random
sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. For the study to be
statistically representative and ensure that companies from all segments are
represented, the sample was stratified by geographic region and number of
employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportions of
the number of employees within each region.
About Accountemps
Accountemps has more than 360 offices worldwide and offers online job
search services at http://www.accountemps.com.
SOURCE Accountemps

Michael Weiss of Accountemps, +1-650-234-6383, michael.weiss@rhi.com