The end of the financial year is one of the two major peak seasons Australian accountants are well versed in dealing with. However, just because the familiarity of a high stress season returns year after year, it doesn’t make the task of handling burnout any easier. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) found that 58% of participating accountants reported stress and mental health concerns in 2023 making the need for EOFY stress management a high priority.
The best strategy when managing stress during the end of the financial year is through preparation. Organisation and time management are essential soft skills to ensure you’re as prepared as possible to handle any curve balls or difficult client conversations. Preparation doesn’t just pertain to your accounting firm either. Your personal well-being and your employees well-being factors in when evaluating how you can best be as prepared as possible to handle high stress. Don’t know where to begin? Use this as your go-to guide when the end of the financial year reaches its peak.
It’s time to check in with yourself and your staff and be sure to ask the fundamental well-being questions. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you taking time to switch off? Are you eating regularly and exercising in your down time? It may seem simple, but when stress is left unchecked, the most basic of tasks can fall by the wayside. It’s crucial that you and your firm’s staff are able to work in a space that encourages breaks and reasonable overtime. Although peak seasons can mean a higher volume of work, if you do have to work outside of regular hours, it’s important to maintain those fundamentals to ensure lower stress and higher quality output of work.
Planning and preparing are key when it comes to managing the end of the financial year. Whether it be scheduling meetings with clients, organising data, or planning an end of peak season morale boosting activity - keeping ahead of your tasks is a great way to manage stress. There’s software specifically designed to make scheduling and task management a breeze like Asana or Monday.com however it’s also worth chatting to your staff to assess how they like to plan. Each individual is different and it can be worthwhile to collaborate to exchange ideas and tips when it comes to planning out your peak season.
If you’ve found yourself in the thick of EOFY peak season and feeling like you’re lost in a sea without a liferaft, it might be time to delegate. Ask yourself, ‘is there anyone here I could see completing this task without guidance?’ and if there is, do not be afraid to delegate. If you’ve found that you and your staff are working at full capacity, look to outside resources to assist. Outsourcing compliance tax work is an incredibly efficient way to ensure your client’s returns are dealt with in a secure, trustworthy and credible manner that is tailored to your individual firm’s needs. Delegation is a vital skill and it works best when you are able to realise that the highest quality work comes from strategy and efficiency.
It’s no secret that work/life balance plays a crucial part in the accounting industry but how do you truly balance it when in the thick of the end of the financial year peak season? If you do have to work overtime, it’s essential to utilise your time off so that you are able to truly rest and recharge. Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, lean into what makes you feel energised. Planning doesn’t just extend within the workplace, either. Some Australian accountants have reported that simple tasks such as meal preparation for the week or scheduling a midday gym session can make the world of difference.
Although no matter how hard we try, stress has a way of seeping in even if you have completed all of the previous four steps. So how do you practice calm and mindfulness when stress inevitably presents itself? Meditation and breathing exercises are a great way to combat stress however, they might not be the first port of call while at your workplace. Stepping away from your desk for a quick walk can ease stress symptoms, while practicing awareness of your surroundings is a discreet and useful method that involves bringing your mind into the present by becoming aware of your five senses or things you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Mindfulness is something to be practiced and one workplaces across the country are using to successfully manage stress symptoms and improve work health and safety.
