Speaking at the Launch of the Workplace Flexibility in Accounting Case Study Findings

Tena Koutou Katoa, Good Afternoon.

It is a pleasure to be here today to outline the findings of the Ministry of Women's Affairs' study into flexible workplace practices in New Zealand's accountancy sector - of which I am a proud member. 

My thanks to our hosts, the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.  You have been instrumental in helping the Ministry reach the firms who participated in the study.

And thank you also to the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, who assisted the Ministry during the development stages of the study and put them in touch with some of the leading exponents of flexible workplace practices.

We are facing a number of significant challenges related to the nature of our workforce.  Chief among these is the serious and growing skill shortage in the sector.

Female accounting graduates have outnumbered their male counterparts since 2002.  In 2008, 57 per cent of accounting graduates were women.  As women increasingly join the workforce, they are taking up more and more of the lower and middle management positions in New Zealand accountancy firms.

While women are increasingly joining the sector at the lower levels, many of them do take a break from full-time accountancy after several years.  Usually to have a family, but sometimes to pursue other community and lifestyle choices.  They are often gone for some time because the role of caring for children in our society still falls more heavily on women than men.  And because the reality is, in a long-hours culture like accountancy, there isn't much room for a part-time or flexible-hours worker.

We are also seeing men increasingly make work-life choices that may cause them to leave the workforce for a time.  Many young men these days are interested in having both a career and an active family life.  They want to be able to take time to raise their children or take part in extracurricular activities, such as sport or community involvement.  And I'm told that this will happen more and more as Generation Y accountants graduate and move into and up through the profession. 

So what happens when these women and men leave the sector to take on other responsibilities?  When they leave, even for short periods, there is an impact.  And it is significant.  Their skills, talents and experience disappear from the sector.

And some of them don't come back.  Others would, if they could, but they don't always get the chance.  If they do return to work, they often get put into lower paid jobs, at levels below their actual experience and expertise.

This is simply not sustainable.  If our trained and experienced accountants leave, who in the future is going to fill the roles of middle-grade accountants and, eventually, senior accountants and partners?

So where does that leave us?  Clearly we cannot carry on with things as they are now.

The answer may be flexible work.

Workplace flexibility includes arrangements that can cover when, where, and how much one works.  It includes options such as flexible arrival, departure and lunch times, reduced hours or part-time work, telecommuting, and job sharing.

The findings from the Ministry's study suggest that workplace flexibility is a significant resource and opportunity available to the sector, yet few accountancy firms in New Zealand are actively utilising it.

Workplace flexibility is a tool that, if used strategically, improves both business productivity and profitability.  Lost profitability for individual firms means lost profitability for the New Zealand economy.  We cannot afford to be wasting our talent in this way.

That's why the Ministry of Women's Affairs conducted the study of workplace flexibility in accounting.

Ministry staff surveyed twelve public practice accountancy firms, which they knew were using flexibility to some degree.  The firms ranged in size from four staff, to more than nine hundred.

Several key insights emerged from the study.  About the sector's current position, and why and how some firms are making workplace flexibility work for them.

The study found that the concept of the ideal worker, working long hours, persists within the accountancy sector and still appears to be a cornerstone of its culture.  Long hours are not just the norm, they are regarded as a fundamental stepping stone to career progression, as well as to maximising business returns.

But expecting staff to work long hours isn't necessarily in a firm's best interest.  One firm the Ministry spoke to capped the number of hours that staff could work at forty five per week.  After the cap was in place they found that staff were more productive and made fewer mistakes.

There is an assumption that doing things differently will have a negative impact on profitability.  The Ministry's study, and a considerable amount of international research, tells us that this is simply not true. 

As you will hear shortly from BDO Taranaki's managing partner Steve Waite, BDO Taranaki has adopted a flexible working structure and, in terms of profitability, they outperform all other BDO offices in New Zealand.

Flexible work practices, when adopted systemically, and combined with strategic business and individual career planning, can transform not only the way you work, but also your business results.

Flexible work practices benefit both employers and employees.  They allow firms to access the skills and expertise of an increasing number of people who have made the choice not to work within the traditional long-hours structure.

And there is overwhelming evidence in overseas studies that staff return the trust placed in them with greater dedication and higher rates of staff retention.

The Work-Life Balance and the Economics of Workplace Flexibility report, released at the recent White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility, found that companies with flexible work arrangements can actually have lower staff turnover and absenteeism, and higher productivity, and healthier workers.

At the same forum, United States President Barack Obama stated that "Workplace flexibility isn't just a women's issue.  It's an issue that affects the well-being of our families and the success of our businesses.  It affects the strength of our economy."

It is my intention today to launch not only the findings of the Ministry's study, but also a national conversation with the accountancy sector.  A conversation about flexibility in the workplace and how that will serve the profession.  Today, and for the future.

As part of my commitment to change, I will be initiating conversations with accountants in the main centres over the next few months.  I urge you to join the conversation.

At the same time, the Ministry of Women's Affairs will be working with accountancy firms to consider  regional meetings to engage in further discussion on the challenges and opportunities that flexible work practices present.

The issues facing the accountancy sector are clear.  We have a skill shortage and, if we don't do something, it is only going to get worse.  If we want our profession to remain sustainable, we need to start making changes.

The question we should be asking ourselves now is why not?  Overseas, flexible work is commonly regarded as a business retention tool, so why not here?  Why not introduce flexibility to the way we work?  Why not take advantage of the opportunities available to us?

Making flexible work options available and structuring workplaces to support flexible work, will go a long way towards addressing the sector's skill shortages.

There are wasted or underutilised skills and talents in abundance inside and outside the workplace, which we could usefully bring back to the profession.  Let's stop the waste, and make the most of the investment we have all made - as individuals, businesses and as a nation - in educating and training people who have, for whatever reason, decided to step out of accountancy.

I believe the profession could lead the way in being an early adopter of workplace flexibility and catalyse a transformation in workplace practice in the twenty first century.

I want to see the lead set by BDO Taranaki become widely practised. 

Our accountancy sector is ideally placed to take advantage of flexible work practices.  Technology can be harnessed to allow staff to work outside normal business hours and away from the office and still be in contact. 

Accountancy work shifts from book-keeping and statutory reporting to business consultancy advice.  Hence, billing methods can incorporate a time based, hours worked model, or a project or job cost basis.  These all make it more possible to plan for workplace flexibility. 

Workplace flexibility can lead to an overall better system of workplace design and better understanding of productivity.  Work load distribution and management of client contact can be anticipated and planned ahead.

I urge the sector to do this, not just because I am an accountant myself, but because we have to deal with the demographic and skills crisis.  And because it will, quite literally, pay off for us if we do it properly.

I would like to end by acknowledging all those firms who took part in the Ministry's study, especially those who are successfully integrating flexible work practices into their systems and structures.

In particular I want to acknowledge the success of BDO Taranaki.  They are true leaders in this area and, I think, a flagship for how to manage the challenges and the change that is ahead for all of us in the sector.  I am looking forward to hearing how they do it.

Thank you.