Accountants after dark: Evening work is common, research finds

The notion that accountants are notorious for burning the midnight oil is a cliché for a reason.

Numeric recently looked at when 1,000 accountants using its software marked month-end closing tasks as complete in 2023, finding that 34% of tasks were completed after 7 p.m. That stands in contrast to the 18% of tasks completed by 10 a.m.

On the other hand, only a few accountants selected at random by Numeric are working weekends, with just 3.1% of tasks closed out on Saturdays and Sundays.

During the traditional workweek, “Hump Day” and “TGIF” are the least productive days for completing month-end tasks, Numeric found. While Wednesdays and Fridays combined to produce roughly one-quarter of completed tasks over the course of a typical week, accountants completed close to one-quarter of their tasks on Mondays, one quarter on Tuesdays, and one quarter on Thursdays:

Mondays: 21.4%

Tuesdays: 25.2%

Wednesdays: 14.4%

Thursdays: 24.7%

Fridays: 11.2%

Weekends: 3.1%

The results of the research probably wouldn’t be verified by an auditor as giving a truly complete picture of how an accountant spends the week, but the numbers are interesting nonetheless.

They also add up in this regard:

• With the largest volume of tasks completed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it stands to reason that the smallest volume would follow on the subsequent days (Wednesday and Friday) as new tasks are started.

• The low Friday number specifically should come as little surprise to anyone, regardless of profession.

• While the high number of tasks completed after hours aligns with the volume of work and the known work ethic associated with accountants, could it also signal a changing culture that affords accountants more flexibility over when they work?

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.