By Steve Saah, Executive Director of Finance and Accounting Permanent Placement, Robert HalfFor many finance teams, the first months of a new year are essentially a pressure test. Financial close and reporting deadlines, audit requests, tax deliverables, and budget or forecast resets all hit in quick succession. By the time finance leaders revisit resourcing, workflows or tools, their teams are often already stretched thin.That “too little, too late” pattern doesn’t just elevate the short-term stress level across the finance organization. It can increase employee burnout risk. It can also affect the quality and timeliness of the insight business leaders expect from the finance team, right when they need it most.The good news for finance leaders? Even if your department is already deep into a busy period, there’s still much you can do to ease the workload burden on your full-time staff. The 5 steps below can help you strengthen capacity, protect work quality and support your core team throughout the crunch.
Meeting the challenge of peak work periods requires bench strength, and there’s a good chance your finance team could already use some backup. According to research for Robert Half’s latest Demand for Skilled Talent report, only 6% of finance and accounting leaders have the capabilities needed to accomplish priority projects this year.Before you can build an effective plan to support your team, take stock of what they’ll likely face in the coming weeks or months. For example, start with last year’s close and reporting cycles, then compare them to what’s changed since. Have volumes increased? Are you supporting new entities, new systems, new requests from leadership, or expanded responsibilities such as financial planning and analysis (FP&A), risk support or transformation work?Then, map that demand against your current capacity. Factor in paid time off (PTO), existing commitments and the ramp-up time for newer team members. If you find that senior leaders are regularly stepping in to clear work that should be handled at other levels, that’s a clear sign your staffing is already tight—and the next surge will be hard to manage.A practical capacity check can help you identify whether you need to add permanent headcount, bring in contract talent, refine processes or use targeted automation to take pressure off your core team.
2. Step up hiring for roles that can make an immediate impact
If you’re able to hire more full-time staff, prioritize roles that can provide the most relief in your department quickly. That could mean hiring mid- to senior-level professionals who can take ownership of recurring work and reduce bottlenecks. Experienced pros can step in fast to help stabilize reconciliations, strengthen reporting, handle complex accounting tasks, and support audit and compliance work.Think beyond immediate needs, too, so you can build a talent pipeline that helps the function become more future-fit while still delivering high-quality work consistently. And once you decide to hire, move swiftly to make an offer. In a tight market for skilled finance and accounting talent, waiting until workloads become unmanageable can push you into a reactive cycle where you’re competing for candidates already weighing other opportunities.
3. Use contract talent as a pressure-release valve
Even with a solid permanent team, there are points in the year when demand will outpace capacity. Quarter-end, year-end, audit cycles, special projects, system changes, backfills or unexpected business events are all examples. Contract talent can provide relief during these times, helping your team stay nimble and responsive without driving them to work an unsustainable schedule.With a flexible staffing approach, you can bring in contract professionals quickly to absorb time-sensitive execution work, provide specialized expertise or accelerate a backlog that’s creating downstream risk. Think of flexible staffing as another form of strategic hiring that can help your full-time staff deliver their best work and avoid the path to burnout.
4. Use AI and automation to help reduce routine work
Peak work periods require focus and precision. Yet many finance teams still lose hours on routine tasks such as document gathering, data checks, reconciliations, variance notes and first drafts of standard communications. During high-volume weeks, that work adds up fast and contributes directly to overload.The strategic use of AI capabilities and automation can help reclaim time without requiring a full-scale transformation project. For example, many finance teams now use AI-enabled tools to:Extract data from documents, and populate templates or workpapersAutomate status tracking and reminders for missing informationGenerate first drafts of routine summaries or emails to review and refineTo get the most value from AI tools, you’ll need to invest in staff training and set clear expectations for how AI can support daily workflows. That includes guidance on the responsible use of AI, data protection measures and the importance of reviewing AI outputs.Learn why tech modernization success for finance teams starts at the top.
5. Apply sustainable work practices to ease burnout risk
No matter how well thought-out your staffing plans or technology investments are, they won’t be effective if your employees still feel they’re facing unrealistic demands. Instituting sustainable work practices for the organization is a leadership choice, and it can have a significant, positive impact on your team, especially during peak work periods.Look for practical ways to reduce friction and stress, such as:Setting clear service expectations with internal stakeholders before workloads riseReinforcing to team members that accuracy, quality and collaboration matter more than constant availabilityEncouraging breaks after major deadlines—not just after an intense work cycle is overRecognizing contributions in visible, specific ways throughout a busy periodThese measures, combined with realistic capacity planning, proactive and strategic hiring, the thoughtful deployment of contract talent, and the practical application of AI capabilities, can help you avoid the trap of doing “too little, too late” when the workload burden rises for your core team.Sustainable work practices can also help improve retention in your finance organization overall. In a recent Robert Half survey, 38% of employed workers said they plan to look for a new job in the first half of 2026—up from 29% one year ago. Among the top factors driving job search plans? Burnout.Follow Steve Saah on LinkedIn.
