Workload Compression Survey Results

How Does Your Firm Cope?

The AICPA characterizes workload compression as a condition of excessive job demands caused by the 1986 Tax Reform Act (TRA). The TRA severely limited the ability of businesses to use anything other than a calendar year-end reporting for tax purposes. Consequently, professional accountants find their tax and audit work compressed into the first quarter of each year. In an earlier study, Cluskey and Vaux (1997a) found job stressors, such as excessive job demands, contributed to job stress, which ultimately leads to degraded job performance. Cluskey and Vaux (1997b) also found workload compression to be a possible contributor to occupational stress in professional accountants. Many firms have incorporated specific management practices to help their employees cope with the extremely high job demands during this period of workload compression.

Workload compression has consistently been a top five issue for the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) firms across all sizes. In 2016, CPA Firm Management Association (CPAFMA) worked with PCPS to survey over 125 members of both organizations to identify strategies firms are using to mitigate the impact of seasonality and workload compression.

Workload Compression Survey