Peaks & Troughs for the CFO
September has arrived, which signals an increase in business for many organisations. Halloween kicks off the Autumn closely followed by Thanksgiving, Black Friday and then the ultimate C word … Christmas! For many organisations, this season brings with it a peak in workload. Add to this the regular quarterly reporting and monthly cycles, and the peaks really stand out. This puts both the business and the finance team under stress. The extra workload is inevitable, and the general workload doesn’t decrease.
For Finance Directors and CFOs of medium to large UK-based enterprises, managing the peaks and troughs during this critical time can be a real challenge. The finance team feels the pressure as season build up begins and end-of-year period approaches but there are ways to prepare for and manage these peaks to ensure business continuity and team well-being.
The People
The Autumn/Winter season and the year-end bring increased expectations for performance, particularly from finance teams tasked with closing the books, generating financial reports, processing more invoices and transactions and managing cash flow. This influx in work affects the people within the finance team directly. Burnout risks increase as they face longer hours, tighter deadlines, and a heightened sense of urgency.
Communication is key in ensuring the team remains resilient under pressure. Recognising the human element behind the numbers and creating an open dialogue about workloads and stress management ensures team members feel supported. Leadership’s role in offering flexibility, such as remote working options or staggered time off post-peak season, can go a long way in maintaining morale and productivity.
The Workload
Finance teams are often at the heart of the business's operational pulse, and during peak times their workload can swell to unsustainable levels. With Black Friday sales, Christmas spending sprees, increased payrolls, holiday bonuses, and an impending financial year-end for many, finance professionals face a surge in demands that can strain even the most well-resourced teams.
The impact on workload is felt across all tasks – from financial forecasting to reconciliation, compliance, and reporting. It isn’t just the extra work from seasonal events; regular activities such as month-end and quarter-end reporting continue, compounding the pressure. This spike in activity without a corresponding decrease in other areas can lead to inefficiencies, mistakes, and burnout, particularly if not managed well.
Planning & Preparation
The key to managing these peaks effectively is a combination of proactive planning, workload prioritisation, and adopting the right tools—such as automation—to alleviate pressure on the team. CFOs and Finance Directors must ensure that the team is adequately prepared for what’s to come and that resources are deployed efficiently.
Planning for the Team
Effective planning for the holiday and year-end peaks starts with understanding the capacity and capabilities of your finance team. Finance leaders must anticipate the increased workload and ensure the team is positioned to handle it by strategically mapping out both the tasks and the people responsible.
Start by forecasting the busy period well in advance, leaving room for bottlenecks or any unexpected demands that may arise. For example, Black Friday sales may generate a sudden surge in revenue that requires immediate reconciliation, or a tax-related deadline may shift unexpectedly. By having a clear understanding of the key tasks that need to be addressed, such as year-end financial statements or compliance reporting, finance leaders can assign responsibilities with enough lead time to avoid unnecessary stress.
Clear communication is paramount. Ensure that deadlines are well understood by all team members, and regularly check in to assess progress. Everyone in the team needs to know their role in meeting these goals, whether they are handling basic tasks like data entry or managing high-level reporting.
However, balancing the workload requires more than just task assignment. Establishing a temporary team structure is often necessary during peak times. Junior team members can be assigned to handle lower-risk, more routine tasks, such as data entry, while senior staff can focus on high-priority areas like forecasting and strategic planning.
While this approach can relieve pressure on senior team members, it’s not without its pitfalls:
Pitfalls in Temporary Team Structures
Training and Onboarding Temporary Staff: Bringing in temporary staff or reallocating junior team members may seem like a quick fix, but the reality is that these employees often need additional training. Without proper onboarding, temporary workers are more prone to making errors, particularly in a finance environment where precision is crucial. Even a small mistake in data entry or reporting can lead to significant disruptions. According to research, manual data entry has an average error rate of 1%. In periods of high workload, this can escalate quickly, resulting in financial inaccuracies or compliance risks.
Increased Pressure on Core Team
When junior staff or temps make errors, it falls on the core team to correct them, adding even more pressure to an already overstretched workforce. This creates a vicious cycle where senior employees, who should be focusing on critical tasks, are forced to spend valuable time troubleshooting avoidable mistakes. Not only does this slow down the process, but it can also lead to frustration, burnout, and disengagement within the core team.
Error-Prone Tasks
Routine tasks like data entry, which are more mundane, become increasingly error-prone as the volume increases. During high-pressure periods, fatigue can also contribute to higher error rates. Studies show that repetitive, manual data-entry tasks performed under time constraints can have error rates as high as 4%, which can significantly impact financial reporting and operational efficiency.
Strategies to Avoid Pitfalls
To mitigate these risks, it’s important to consider the following:
Enhanced Training: If temporary staff are part of the solution, ensure there is a robust onboarding process. Train them well in advance and provide ongoing support, reducing the likelihood of errors and reducing the burden on senior team members.
Strategic Oversight: Assign a senior staff member to oversee the temporary or junior team members, ensuring any errors are caught early and corrected before they snowball into larger problems. This way, oversight is built into the process rather than becoming an afterthought.
Leverage Automation
Automation can be a game-changer for finance teams during peak periods. With so much repetitive and manual work, automation tools can handle data entry, reporting, reconciliation, and even certain aspects of compliance. By automating these routine tasks, the finance team can focus on more complex, value-added activities, ensuring smoother operations during the busiest times.
AI-powered finance process automation with business analytics gives finance leaders the technology to streamline processes, reduce human error, and save valuable time. The upfront investment in automation can pay dividends during periods of peak workload, reducing stress and improving overall efficiency.
Incorporating these strategies can help your finance team stay efficient and accurate during high-demand periods, ensuring smoother operations and avoiding many of the pitfalls commonly associated with increased workloads. Planning starts with understanding the team’s capacity. Leaders should map out the holiday and peak period well in advance, allowing room for potential bottlenecks or unforeseen demands. Identifying key tasks and assigning responsibilities with enough lead time can mitigate much of the stress. It’s also essential to communicate deadlines clearly and ensure that everyone understands their role in achieving collective goals.
Conclusion
Peaks and troughs in the finance team’s workload are unavoidable, particularly during the busy holiday and year-end period. However, with the right planning, workload management, and intelligent use of automation, finance leaders can support their teams effectively. By anticipating these challenges and preparing well in advance, organisations can navigate these peaks successfully, ensuring both business continuity and team well-being remain intact.
If you’d like help planning for the peaks and troughs with an automation project get in touch with Documation below.
