Accounting for Overtime

From the beginning of time in Accounting, Overtime has been a requirement.

This weekend, KPMG advertised in major newspapers across Canada to inform their current and ex employees that they are offering them additional compensation for their Overtime. They are not doing this out of the goodness of their heart, but as a response to a class action suit launched by one of their former employees in 2007. (I'm curious as to how long it will take the other Big 4 in Canada to make the same offer.)

KPMG is being reactive rather than proactive, and I’m sure this will be a topic for discussion when it comes time to recruit staff, whether out of university or experienced staff, not only for KPMG, but all accounting firms, especially the Big 4.

Accounting firms have always had a reputation for requiring Overtime. Prospective Accounting graduates wanting to work at an accounting firm have always been aware of this requirement. So what’s changed?

It seems that Generation Y is not so interested in working too hard. And who could blame them? They don’t need to. Especially in Accounting, accountants with a few years of experience are in demand, and if they don’t like the conditions of their employer, they can find greener pastures elsewhere.

Accounting is a time sensitive business. Deadlines are always around the corner, and for work to get done in accounting, both at firms and at companies, overtime will be required. How companies manage the overtime they require their staff to work is how they will be rated by their employees, both current and prospective.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Progressive companies are compensating their staff for the overtime worked, either in cash or in time off. For Generation Y employees, giving them flexibility will be helpful in keeping them motivated and retained.

BlackBerry: Blessing or Curse?

Last week, I was one of the millions of BlackBerry users that spent a few hours cursing their BlackBerry because it wasn’t receiving emails. Once I found out that it was RIM’s fault, I was one of millions cursing RIM for the service outage (yet again).

And that got me thinking.

For all of us that rely on this device to keep us connected, is our BlackBerry a blessing or a curse?


Let’s count our Blessings…

• Our Blackberry lets us know what’s going on. In today’s age, immediate information is a key for success. With the correct information in our hands sooner, we are able to make better decisions quicker.
• We are in the office when we’re out of the office. We don’t have to be tied down to a desk to get ‘work’ done. We can be at lunch, waiting for an appointment, be getting dressed in the morning or walking around our company, and be constantly aware of what is going on. We can even be at the beach half way around the world, and still be ‘working’.
• Our calendar (when synced with our desktop) allows us to always know what our schedule is, who we are meeting, where and when.
• I particularly enjoy the Instant messaging application between BlackBerry’s. It has taken the concept of IM and turned it truly anywhere.

Now for the Curses…

• We always know what’s going on. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a break sometime?
• We are always in the office. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend time with other people (especially the people we love) and give them our full attention, showing them that they are important? Wouldn’t it be nice to take a real vacation?
• We always have the day planned. An unplanned day once in a while wouldn’t be so terrible. It would give us time to think.
• Personally, IM’ing while in the bathroom isn’t much better than taking a phone call while in there.
  

What’s the solution?

The BlackBerry is a great tool, although it’s not nicknamed the CrackBerry for nothing. It can be very addictive. As a user, you have the power to make it helpful, and not have it take over your life.

Some employers have instituted rules regarding BlackBerry usage off hours to take into account Work Life Balance issues. See here for a recent article in the news.

While I agree with the idea that BlackBerry usage should not intrude on personal time, creating rules for employees may be a bit much.

A few years ago I went to a remote cottage with my children, and one of the great ideas behind this vacation was that there was no cell phone coverage. This way I wouldn’t be able to check messages and it would force me to relax. As I was exploring the area near the cottage, I was on top of a rocky ledge overlooking the lake, and my BlackBerry started buzzing. I spent the next few days standing at the top of that ledge with my BlackBerry held high, looking like I was the Statue of Liberty.

Since then I’m a bit better with my BlackBerry. I’m turning the vibrate option off more often, and turning it off completely more often too. Being at my child’s birthday party or having dinner with my wife does not need me checking my emails every 2 minutes.

In the end, you are in charge of how you spend your time. A BlackBerry can give you more control of your time, and can be a useful tool to allow you to achieve better Work Life Balance. But if you find that the device is changing the balance to more Work and less Life, it’s time to turn it off more often.

Another Key to Success

Many accounting and finance professionals are noted for their dedication to their career and their company. There is a key to long-term success that many successful CFOs have learned that others haven't figured out, which could be why they didn't (or won't) make the C-suite.

The answer is community involvement.

Becoming involved in the community allows you to showcase your talents, skills and abilities to others, as well as learn things from a different perspective. Working with a Not-For-Profit can help you learn to make decisions that are not purely profit oriented. You can also learn how to facilitate decision making, learn new skills, and get to know people you would never meet otherwise.

As Colleen Johnston, FCA, CFO of TD Financial Group said recently on her community involvement, "I originally thought it was about what I could contribute in the community. I learned that it was not so much about what I can give, but what I can learn."

If you're serious about becoming a CFO, make the move and get involved.

Work Life Balance - No thanks, we're accountants

Work Life Balance is a significant issue today for all companies. Work Life Balance allows for increased retention and morale, and is an important sales pitch for hiring new recruits, especially Generation Y employees.

Can Work Life Balance be a reality in Financial Reporting Groups’ of companies?

Here are some issues going against Work Life Balance in Financial Reporting Groups’:

1) Month end. Quarter end. Year end.

Employees within a Financial Reporting Group face these deadlines and can basically forget vacations, weekend plans and family time. How can you have Work Life Balance in a Financial Reporting Group where you have these recurring deadlines?

2) Managers with old school training.

Many managers just assume that Work Life Balance is not an option within a Financial Reporting Group. They assume this because they were trained this way, just as their managers before them. Being a workaholic was a requirement for success in Financial Reporting Groups’ or in accounting firm (in many cases it still is). "Work smarter, not harder" is not a concept accepted by many FR professionals.

So what is the solution?

Hiring enough people to get the job done would be an appropriate solution. This is not a priority in many finance groups for many reasons. One reason is that Finance is not looked at as a value add group - it is managed as a cost group. (This topic specifically will be the subject of another blog).

Progressive companies are realizing that Work Life Balance is an issue that needs to be addressed. We are seeing companies that have implemented an overtime compensation policy in their Finance Group. This is an excellent tool to measure the real cost of deadline oriented work. Progressive Finance Managers measure the overtime as a way of compensating staff with flextime or additional vacation during off-peak periods. It is also an effective measure which allows for the necessity for hiring BEFORE your staff gets fed up and leaves you.

While Work Life Balance in a Financial Reporting Group may be difficult to achieve, for companies that care about their employees, it is possible. Where would you prefer to work?

Endangered Species

There is a profound shift happening in the North American workplace.

Employees are becoming an Endangered Species.

Just as Polar Bears in the Arctic are becoming endangered because the environment (weather) in the North is changing, so too are Employees facing similar issues because the environment (workplace) is changing.

The North American workplace, no matter the industry or specialization, faces one continuous constant – Change. Good Change or Bad Change. Growth or Consolidation. Technological change or Global competition. These changes seem to be here for good. The business world moves quickly, and the Labor force needs to adapt.

Generally, from my observation, employees change companies every 3 years (on average). This is because companies either cannot support longer term employees because of Change, or if they do, employees are looking for something “new and improved” as their job gets monotonous (code word for boring).

Companies that will succeed in this environment will need to start treating their employees not as assets they control, but as freelancers they need to continually invest in and work to retain.

Employees that will succeed in this new environment will need to start treating themselves as freelancers rather than employees, working to continually invest in themselves to add value to their employers (current or future).

Employees as we know them are becoming a thing of the past. How does this affect you?

The most overlooked skill in Accounting

Little boys and girls who want to be accountants when they grow up are usually interested in accounting because they LOVE numbers. They love adding, subtracting, number puzzles and like the idea of counting money.

This may have been the ideal profile for an accounting career in the past, but accountants today are required to be much more than analyzers of numbers. Accountants today are looked up to by business people to assist in making business decisions, preferably profitable ones. Successful accountants are not only able to analyze the decision options and make recommendations, but also have strong communication abililities, specifically written communication.

The accountant's involvement with the corporate MD&A (Management Discussion & Analysis) is a great example of how accountants are relied upon to provide analysis that need to be expressed clearly.

From my experience, accounting professionals with solid written communication abilities will have better career opportunities. While looking for your next career opportunity (or your next hire), keep in mind that a resume showcases written communication, a key success indicator.

Economic Outlook 2008: Effects on the Accounting & Finance Job Market

I have always looked at Economic forecasting as something of a voodoo science. Many economists and pundits have opinions of where the economy is going, and the beginning of a new year is always a good time to predict the future.

Thankfully, I’m neither an Economist nor a Fortune Teller. However, the general economic opinion on the North American market for 2008 ranges from “Cautious” to “Pessimistic”. I haven’t come across an opinion that says that 2008 is going to be a gangbuster year.

Being directly involved in the Job market for Accounting & Finance and subjectively watching trends, I do believe the following: No matter the economy in 2008, the Job Market in Accounting & Finance will stay strong.

I am confident in this prediction for the following reasons.

1) If the economy contracts, companies may cut people in core areas of the business directly related to revenue. However, companies, whether profitable or not, still need to produce and prepare their financial information on a timely basis. This still needs competent, intelligent and hard working accounting and finance professionals.

2) Accounting departments are not currently overstaffed. No one we speak to (either client or candidate) will admit to their accounting departments having too many people.

3) There may be fewer companies doing transactions, but I don’t believe that these transactions will grind to a halt. I do believe that companies with strong cash positions may acquire struggling companies at better prices than they could have bought them for in 2006/2007.

4) The strong economy has created a lack of work for Restructuring professionals. Many I have spoken to in 2007 are waiting for their turn for growth. This could be a great area to get new experience for candidates looking for something new and challenging.

One thing I am sure of – 2008 will be an interesting year. And as the Chinese Proverb says, “May you live in interesting times”.

Wishing you a successful 2008…

Samuel