Improving Team Readiness for Peak Work Periods: A 5-Step Action Plan for Finance and Accounting Leaders

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By Steve Saah, Executive Director of Finance and Accounting Permanent Placement, Robert Half

You know exactly when the busiest times of year are for your finance and accounting organization. So, why does it always seem that you and your team are caught off-guard when workloads suddenly spike? The culprit could be the lack of proactive planning and preparation.

Getting ready for peak work periods requires the strategic allocation of resources and an increased focus on promoting your team’s well-being long before demands and deadlines intensify. Here are five steps that can help you improve your team’s overall readiness—whether you need them to juggle client deadlines and compliance requirements at your public accounting firm or manage financial reporting and closing the books in your corporate accounting department.

5 Steps to Help Finance Leaders Strengthen Team Readiness for Busy Seasons 1. Streamline workflows and prioritize high-value work 2. Use new and existing tools to increase efficiency and productivity 3. Redistribute workloads preemptively and strategically 4. Promote a supportive work environment 5. Bring in highly skilled reinforcements

1. Streamline workflows and prioritize high-value work

Crunch time is when workflow inefficiencies often come to light. Consider conducting a quick audit of your team’s processes to identify bottlenecks—whether it’s a cumbersome review process, manual tasks that could be automated or communication breakdowns that slow things down. Addressing these pain points early on can lead to quick wins in productivity and efficiency.

Keeping high-value tasks in focus helps, too. For leaders of public accounting firms, this includes confirming your team is ready to prioritize the needs of your most valued clients during the busy season. These are the clients who are the biggest revenue generators for your firm, or may have other strategic value for your business. Making sure their needs are met promptly and efficiently will help you safeguard your firm’s reputation and profitability. As for other clients, take care to manage their expectations, especially about potential delays.

For corporate accounting teams, work prioritization during peak work periods means focusing on mission-critical tasks such as financial reporting, compliance deadlines and strategic planning. Ensuring leadership has timely, accurate insights into the company’s financial position can help prevent bottlenecks and allow for better decision-making during the busiest times of year.

2. Use new and existing tools to increase efficiency and productivity

Technology like AI and automation can be game-changing for finance teams—and not just when workloads and deadlines intensify. While you may not have the bandwidth or budget to make large-scale upgrades or roll out advanced capabilities to address immediate workload demands, you can still find opportunities to implement robust tools and use them to your advantage.

For example, with automation solutions like workflow management software, you can reduce manual tasks for your team such as data entry, report generation or routine client communications. And with cloud-based accounting platforms, you can enable seamless collaboration, and give your team members secure access to client files from wherever they’re working.

Also, don’t overlook your existing technology tools. Sometimes, the most significant improvements in how your teams work stem from making the most of tech capabilities you already have. Take a few hours to review your current technology portfolio and identify underused features that could help your team work smarter, save time and improve accuracy.

3. Redistribute workloads preemptively and strategically

Uneven distribution of work is a common challenge for finance and accounting teams during busy periods. And it’s often your most valued players who end up feeling overwhelmed and stressed out because they have too much work piled up on their plates. Meanwhile, other employees may feel you aren’t fully utilizing their skills, or that you don’t think they can stretch their abilities.

You can address this talent management issue head-on by assessing your team’s capacity and redistributing tasks before it’s too late to change course. This approach helps ensure that critical tasks—and your firm’s high-value clients—can benefit from the expertise of senior staff because routine or lower-risk assignments are being delegated to others.

Taking a strategic approach to workload distribution is also a great way to maximize the potential of your multigenerational workforce. For example, by pairing less-seasoned staff members with more experienced pros in your organization, you can accelerate the learning curve for the former group while giving the latter an opportunity to mentor on the job without adding to their workload.

4. Promote a supportive work environment

Any busy season is inherently demanding, with long hours, tight timelines and a heightened focus on delivering top-quality, accurate work. But you can keep morale running high by recognizing the effort your team is putting in and celebrating small wins along the way. Regular and timely acknowledgement of your employees’ hard work can keep motivation up and help boost retention, too.

You can promote your team’s well-being with simple but effective strategies like providing meals or snacks during late nights or permitting flexible hours when possible. Wellness perks, such as resources for stress management, can also help your staff maintain their energy and focus.

Avoiding burnout should be a priority. It’s easy to push even the most talented and experienced employees to the limit through overwork. So, encourage your team members to take regular breaks and prioritize work-life balance, even when the deadline pressure is dialed up.

5. Bring in highly skilled reinforcements

Get hiring help

Many finance and accounting organizations rely on contract talent to provide support to their core team when workloads surge and deadlines loom. And research for Robert Half’s latest Demand for Skilled Talent report found that 68% of finance and accounting leaders are increasing their use of contract talent this year. According to research for Robert Half’s 2025 Salary Guide, finance leaders are also hiring contract professionals to access hard-to-find skills and specialized experience in areas like financial reporting and financial planning and analysis.

If you have yet to adopt a flexible talent model at your organization, you’re missing an opportunity to quickly access skilled professionals when you need them, for as long as you need them. You may also be undermining efforts to help your core team maintain a positive work-life balance during intense work periods through the year.

Experienced contract professionals can step in to manage complex accounts and handle work overflows. They can also provide fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that may enhance your team’s overall performance. Importantly, with their support, your permanent staff members can focus on your most important clients and projects.

Ideally, you won’t need to work through any of the steps above when you’re under a time crunch. But even when the calendar tells you it’s time to scramble, this action plan can help you quickly set a course for success, whether you’re leading a team at a public accounting firm or a corporate accounting department. Thoughtful, proactive planning is the key to delivering exceptional service to your clients or stakeholders even at the busiest times—without the risk of overburdening your employees.

Follow Steve Saah on LinkedIn.

The original version of this article appeared on the CPA Practice Advisor website.

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