Coco Hou (pictured) is a CPA accountant and CEO of Platinum Professional Training (PPT) and Platinum Accounting, and she believes that while many businesses are feeling the pressure of the pandemic it is an important opportunity to shed some light on the mounting mental health matters involving accountants.
“Most accountants enjoy their jobs, but their roles can be very stressful and at times quite lonely, and the current climate is only amplifying this reality,” Hou said.
“Accountants are under increasing stress across the country as businesses face the fight of their lives.
“The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that in May 55 percent of businesses were accessing financial support from the government, including wage subsidies and commercial rent relief, and many had changed their business operations – by operating with a reduced workforce or shifting to online sales.
“Accountants have always worked with people and businesses who are experiencing some level of stress around their finances. However, our role to support them and look at ways to keep them viable has significantly increased through COVID-19. More and more businesses are needing help to work out how they can cut costs, restructure, and survive the unpredictable coming months and even years.
“As accountants, we have always tended to carry and absorb a lot of our clients’ stress ourselves – which is only natural because we care about our colleagues and our clients. In wearing the stress of countless businesses, accounts are becoming unofficial counsellors. Currently, many are at breaking point.
“Not only are they having to assist businesses that urgently need help, they are doing so when businesses can least afford their services and they are also having to keep up to date with the accounting and tax implications of all the government’s ever changing COVID support initiatives. It is an extremely difficult time for accountants.”
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According to Hou, accountants often don’t get the recognition and praise that they deserve. Most people don’t understand an accountant’s role, so they don’t recognise the challenges they face in their roles.
“While accountants are often in need of support, they are usually the ones providing support. If an accountant has a client who’s isolated, stressed or working flat out, like many are at the moment, their accountant could be one of the only people they talk to on a regular basis,” Hou said.
“Accountants could actually be the people best placed in society to help individuals facing mental health problems that are a result of financial stress. After all, if your business is facing financial problems, you’re far more likely to hire an accountant than a psychologist.
“An accountant will never be able to replace a trained mental health professional, but they can at least know the benefit of asking: are you ok? Accountants need to be able to empathise with a client’s situation, and comfort them in times of stress.
“In the current environment, not only do accountants need to support their clients, they also need to ensure they are looking after themselves too.
“I believe the mental health of accountants is something we should all be aware of, especially at this time.”
Hou has years of experience under her belt as an accountant. At Platinum Professional Training (PPT), a business that specialises in practical accountant training to assist people to be job ready and advance in the sector, Hou ensures that graduates of her training program are aware of the importance of taking care of themselves, as well as their clients. She has four tips that she believes all accountants need to hear at the moment.
- Talk to colleagues
“Coffee breaks, microwave meetings, work parties, networking nights – many of which can be done via ZOOM, are all great ways to connect with your colleagues. At the end of the day, no one knows the true emotional toll that accountants face than another accountant,” Hou added.
“I would also encourage accountants to approach their bosses with some ideas to reduce stress in the office and create a positive environment for everyone. This could be regular mental health morning teas or creating a more collaborative office set up.”
- Separate yourself from your clients
“Separating your clients’ emotions and your own is critical. Working within an emotionally challenging field you want to feel for your clients but you do not want to feel like them. If you do not create this distance you will risk undermining your own health and ability to help them,” Hou said.
“When you are helping a client through a difficult situation it is natural to connect with their emotions. However it is important to remember that emotional distancing does not make you less caring, just more clear headed and less of a potential burnout case.”
- Open up with family
“Keeping your family in the loop with how you are feeling is a great step in ensuring you are supported at home. If your family is aware that you are feeling stressed, sad, angry or frustrated at work, they can help you create a routine to leave these emotions at the front door before you enter your safe space,” Hou said.
“No one likes working on the weekends, so put practices in place to avoid taking home your emotional workload or compartmentalise work and home life.”
- Create a stress-free zone
“A stress-free zone could be for the whole office, or just for you. Declaring a stress-free zone will give you the opportunity throughout your workday to momentarily take a break from your desk. This zone could be a quiet space in your office building, home, or a bench in a local park,” Hou said.
Platinum Accounting Training (PPT) is Australia’s largest private accounting training institution for accounting graduates. PPT was founded by Hou in 2008 after she personally witnessed the challenges that accounting graduates faced in the workplace.
