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)