A recent survey has found that 87 percent of chief financial officers in the United States and the United Kingdom "face a significant talent shortage within their accounting and finance teams." The survey, by tax and compliance software provider Avalara, also found that 47 percent of the respondents cited as factors in this shortage employee burnout around hours and drudge work, as well as accounting and financial professionals changing careers.

Fully 81 percent of the CFOs surveyed reported "a talent shortage in accounting roles, which sparks concerns over the future of financial departments." In addition, 49 percent of them of said that they are missing financial planning and analysis (FP&A) expertise within their organizations, and that "many businesses may lack the headcount for forward-looking financial operations."

The survey found that 63 percent of CFOs believe there’s a lack of experienced talent. And 54 percent of the respondents consider the talent shortage to be a result of fewer people majoring in finance functions. 

In addition, it found that the shortage of talent was more serious in the United Kingdom, where 92 percent of the CFOs surveyed were struggling to recruit their needed finance talent, compared to 76 percent of CFOs surveyed in the United States.

Ross Tennenbaum, CFO of Avalara, said, “Finance leaders must balance their company’s business dynamics while navigating unpredictable waters, given the pressures of high inflation, growing talent gaps, and concerns over an impending recession. He observed, "The rise of artificial intelligence will help finance leaders around the world find new ways to drive savings and help make their current teams more energized by streamlining and automating repetitive accounting and financial tasks to help manage the accountant talent shortage gap that the majority of CFOs are facing.”

In fact, 89 percent of the CFOs surveyed said they plained to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) in order to streamline finance functions.

The survey research was conducted by Censuswide with 307 full-time CFOs in the United States and United Kingdom between Aug. 25, and 31, 2023.