9 out of 10 CFOs report difficulties finding professionals with requisite skills. Core accounting and finance teams are overloaded by unexpected projects and most workers require reskilling. There is an ongoing struggle to find and hire skilled professionals and a need for competitive packages to attract and retain talent. 58% of US companies now use cloud-based solutions for accounting and finance functions. Keeping up with changing technology is a pressure point and budget/time constraints limit automation efforts.

1. Source: Robert Half and Financial Education & Research Foundation's Benchmarking Accounting & Finance Functions: 2019 report
© 2019 Robert Half International Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disability/Veterans.
CFOs REPORT DIFFICULTIES FINDING
PROFESSIONALS WITH REQUISITE SKILLS9 out of 10
Challenges
• Ongoing struggle to find and hire
skilled professionals
• Core teams overloaded
by unexpected projects
• Reskilling or upskilling of most
workers required
• Need for competitive employment
packages to attract and retain talent
Trends
• Increasing use of interim staff
• Management of major initiatives by
outside providers
• Outsourcing payroll and tax functions
still common among many firms
• Enhanced compensation and career
advancement opportunities
Benchmarking Accounting & Finance:
Workforce Management

2. Source: Robert Half and Financial Education & Research Foundation's Benchmarking Accounting & Finance Functions: 2019 report
© 2019 Robert Half International Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disability/Veterans.
OF U.S. COMPANIES NOW USE CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS
IN ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE FUNCTIONS58%
Challenges
• Keeping pace with changing technology
a top pressure point
• Lack of budget and time constraints on
efforts to increase automation
• Emerging technologies, like blockchain and
cryptocurrency, requiring expanded skill sets
• Legacy IT solutions preventing or slowing
adoption of cloud-based systems
Trends
• Increasing shift toward technology
solutions to increase efficiency
• Cloud-based technologies now
commonplace in many organizations
• Most companies not planning to
automate processes, like financial
decision making and planning, which
require human strategic thinking
Benchmarking Accounting & Finance:
Automation, Cloud Computing and Financial Systems

3. Source: Robert Half and Financial Education & Research Foundation's Benchmarking Accounting & Finance Functions: 2019 report
© 2019 Robert Half International Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disability/Veterans.
AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORKING DAYS PER YEAR U.S. COMPANIES NEED
TO REPORT FINANCIAL RESULTS24:
Challenges
• Transition to automation affecting
organizationsʼ ability to reduce the
number of general ledger (GL) accounts
• Manual reconciliation processes
still employed by nearly half of
U.S. companies
Trends
• Technology helping organizations move
away from manual processes and reduce
time to close books and report results
• Number of active GL accounts continuing
to trend down
• Automation of routine processes helping
to reduce human errors and freeing staff
to focus on more value-adding initiatives
Benchmarking Accounting & Finance:
Accounting Operations

4. Source: Robert Half and Financial Education & Research Foundation's Benchmarking Accounting & Finance Functions: 2019 report
© 2019 Robert Half International Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/Disability/Veterans.
OF U.S. COMPANIES NOW USE CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS
IN ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE FUNCTIONS59%
Challenges
• Regulatory compliance mandates a top
accounting and finance pressure point
• Struggle to stay on top of regulatory
change and keep employeesʼ skills
current
• Staffing shortages and lack of budget
creating formidable impediments
• Costs of compliance rising along with
compliance burdens for many organizations
Trends
• Automation of internal controls over
financial reporting potentially reducing
compliance costs
• Companies still concerned about potential
regulatory influences disrupting how
they do business
• Majority of organizations having fewer
than 100 key internal controls
• Most firms providing training to staff and
engaging external consultants for support
Benchmarking Accounting & Finance:
Internal Controls and Compliance