Finance bosses report ‘high’ stress levels and expected need for business support

The vast majority of finance bosses in Scotland say they feel highly stressed, while there will be a probable pick-up in the hiring of temporary workers in the next 12 months, a new survey has found.

Kirsty MacKenzie, iMultiply CEO. Picture: Paul Bock.

iMultiply, the finance and accountancy search specialist with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast, has published the results of a survey, conducted in April, of 60 finance leaders north of the Border about the impact of Covid-19.

Respondents were from a wide range of sectors including energy and utilities, construction, manufacturing, education, retail, technology, transport and the public and third sectors.

When asked whether government support initiatives were adequate, 57 per cent agreed, 20 per cent disagreed, and the rest were unsure. The study also found that 88 per cent of Scottish finance leaders are experiencing greater demands on their time, while more than 80 per cent identified feeling high levels of stress. Major challenges cited include communication and collaboration within teams – while cash-management and forecasting are current top priorities.

Additionally, in what iMultiply said will be a boost for recruitment, over the next 12 months a third of those surveyed said they will need more support, most likely in the form of temporary workers.

Kirsty MacKenzie, chief executive of iMultiply, said: “It was important to reach out to those in financial leadership positions across Scotland. We are all finding the current situation difficult and it was vital for me to know how clients, colleagues and friends were managing to cope. We need to collaborate and support each other as a community if we are to weather this storm.

“Our finance leaders provide an incredibly useful perspective into so many sectors and will be vital in providing insight into what our future could look like beyond Covid-19

“It’s clear there are increased pressures that are impacting on people’s health and peace of mind, but there are opportunities to approach work in a new way, which benefits employees and employers alike. Planning must start now for the ‘new normal’ and it must be a race to the top, not the bottom, with people and their needs at its heart.”

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