Do Accountants have a Work/Life Balance?

13th October 2009:  Research conducted by a leading online accounting provider e-conomic, shows that 86% of accountants surveyed work past normal working hours on a regular basis, and 52% do so every day.  38% regularly work past 10pm, and from those who responded that have children, a surprising 22% said it’s quite usual for them not to get home in time to see their children before bedtime.

28% of accountants think they are over-worked and under-paid.  When asked what single thing would most improve their work life balance, apart from a few respondents who said ‘winning the lottery’ and/or ‘retirement’, the most popular response was ‘less work for a higher margin’.

Anders Bjornsbo, founding partner and UK Operations Director of e-conomic said: “One of the key benefits of online accounting is the ability to access client accounts from anywhere at anytime – allowing for far more flexibility in the working day.  We wanted to find out the true state of accountants’ work/life balance and what impact technology and online accounting in particular could have on their daily lives.”

When asked if technology could improve their work life balance, 60% of accountants believe remote home working is beneficial.  One anonymous respondent said: “my work/life balance would be greatly improved by having remote access into clients’ data…I need technology that thinks like I do, but doesn't cost the earth!”

Anders Bjornsbo continues: “Technology, it appears, is the one tool accountants can use to make their working day more efficient.  Access to a value for money online accounting system like e-conomic saves accountants time and money.  While they might use the time saved for that all important bed-time story, they might also spend it on work that generates a higher margin rather than on admin.  Because the e-conomic system has been built by accountants for accountants, it thinks like an accountant, providing them with all the depth of functionality they need from accounting software, without the constraints of traditional desktop based software.”

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For more information please contact:
S-J Douglas
Tel: 07909546104
Email: sj@spotlightcomms.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

The e-conomic Work/Life Balance Survey was conducted in October 2009 amongst 2000 UK accountants.

e-conomic is an independent, self-funded company with offices in the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.  e-conomic is used by nearly 20,000 companies and 3,000 accountants/bookkeepers, from sole practitioners to some of the largest accounting firms in the world including KPMG and Ernst & Young.  Its clients range from sole proprietors to businesses employing over 100 staff.  Its UK offices are in Reading, Berkshire.  Visit: www.e-conomic.co.uk