Today's announcement that the UK economy has entered a double dip
recession will have a definite impact on stress levels among
accountants, says Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Association (CABA).
During the 2008-09 recession, calls to CABA about the resulting stress on individuals were a common call to the charity, and there are already signs the new recession will also directly affect the wellbeing of many accountants.
Kath Haines, Chief Executive at CABA, explained: "While there is recognition that this new recession has only a fraction of the significance of the previous one, chartered accountants do seem to feel that, partially as an element of their job role, they will be directly impacted."
She explained that economic bad news of this type tended to affect accountants through a number of routes – with the obvious one being an increased feeling of vulnerability to unemployment and its resulting financial problems. However, much of their feeling of dread was linked to the type of work that they undertook.
Kath added: "There is very much a phenomenon where, when economic bad news is released, it tends to land on the desk of an accountant. The managing director of a company will walk down the corridor to the office of their accountant and start difficult conversations about how costs could potentially be further reduced.
"Clearly, the more of a managerial role that an accountant has, either working in a practice or in business, the more likely he or she is to be facing this kind of problem. It can be extremely stressful and, in many organisations where financial issues have now been dragging on for years and years, difficult to escape from.
"In many instances, the job of an accountant is to deal with the financial bottom line, and times like these make working to deliver an acceptable result very hard indeed."
Kath said that much of CABA's work was based on the need for accountants to learn to cope with stress and adopt strategies that safeguarded their wellbeing.
She said: "We can provide anything from training courses to online resources to simply being a listening ear. Any accountant who feels that they are not really coping in difficult circumstances such as these should get in touch. That's why we are here."
(Source - CABA Press Release)
During the 2008-09 recession, calls to CABA about the resulting stress on individuals were a common call to the charity, and there are already signs the new recession will also directly affect the wellbeing of many accountants.
Kath Haines, Chief Executive at CABA, explained: "While there is recognition that this new recession has only a fraction of the significance of the previous one, chartered accountants do seem to feel that, partially as an element of their job role, they will be directly impacted."
She explained that economic bad news of this type tended to affect accountants through a number of routes – with the obvious one being an increased feeling of vulnerability to unemployment and its resulting financial problems. However, much of their feeling of dread was linked to the type of work that they undertook.
Kath added: "There is very much a phenomenon where, when economic bad news is released, it tends to land on the desk of an accountant. The managing director of a company will walk down the corridor to the office of their accountant and start difficult conversations about how costs could potentially be further reduced.
"Clearly, the more of a managerial role that an accountant has, either working in a practice or in business, the more likely he or she is to be facing this kind of problem. It can be extremely stressful and, in many organisations where financial issues have now been dragging on for years and years, difficult to escape from.
"In many instances, the job of an accountant is to deal with the financial bottom line, and times like these make working to deliver an acceptable result very hard indeed."
Kath said that much of CABA's work was based on the need for accountants to learn to cope with stress and adopt strategies that safeguarded their wellbeing.
She said: "We can provide anything from training courses to online resources to simply being a listening ear. Any accountant who feels that they are not really coping in difficult circumstances such as these should get in touch. That's why we are here."
(Source - CABA Press Release)
No comments:
Post a Comment