3 Signs Your Accounting Department is Understaffed

When it comes to the ideal corporate structure, growth, and evolution is the ultimate goal. Although quality usually trumps quantity, you want to keep an eye out to make sure you have enough employees to handle that growth.

Your accounting department manages numerous tasks, including tracking financial metrics, payroll, and documenting cash flow in and out of the company. This is why having an understaffed accounting department should be something you avoid at all costs.

After all, if your accounting department is not robust enough, the workload will fall on other members of your team. This can have a negative impact on their productivity, and cause a ripple effect throughout your company as a whole.

Here are a few signs that your accounting department isn’t adequately staffed:

1. You’re Noticing Numerous Reporting Errors & Discrepancies

Because accounting departments deal primarily with numbers, you want to avoid any errors in reporting those numbers. It’s a basic formula: if workload goes up, the team member needs to increase the pace of his or her work to complete it on time.

If there is too much to do, you could start to see an uptick in number-related errors on documents, reports, and during presentations.

This is inherently bad for business and puts added pressure on team members. Be cognizant when these errors start to become a pattern across the board; it may be time to bring on another set of eyes to ensure complete accuracy.

2. Company-Wide Morale is Low

No amount of company-wide Friday happy hours or Monday night mini-golf sessions can rectify low morale in the face of an overwhelming workload.

If the business is growing, that’s great! But the number of team members has to grow along with it, or it can feel ostensibly impossible for your accounting department to meet their deadlines.

You will be able to feel low morale hanging in the air during a meeting, or you may notice a dip in coworker interaction. A new team member would restore a healthy balance to the workload, which is directly correlated to higher team spirit.

3. You’re Relying on The Same Employees to Work Overtime

While employees will often appreciate overtime hours, if you’re giving overtime to the same employees to handle an influx of accounting-related tasks, it can quickly turn into a negative.

Beyond the fact that overtime cuts into the company budget, it simply requires more out of your employees and can overwhelm them if it’s constantly being required.

It also calls for everyone’s personal schedules to be amenable to impromptu overtime, which can often be frustrating. Extra hours at work can also contribute to stress and anxiety in the workplace. By avoiding an understaffed accounting department, you can steer clear of long-term budgetary issues, and overworked employees.

Avoid an Understaffed Accounting Department

If any of the signs listed above seem applicable to your company, then it’s time to recruit one (or several) candidates to help meet your accounting needs.

As the premier boutique recruiting agency in Texas, Green Lion Search can help you quickly find candidates for accounting positions. We take our time when searching and interviewing candidates, to ensure the person you hire is the ideal fit for the role.

To get started, contact us today or call 512-609-8562!