I had been with a company for nearly 15 years. During the first wave of the Great Resignation began, I joined that movement. The role I was in was stagnant, new leadership did not wish to listen to or act on any ideas I had, and I was seen as an overall threat to new leadership since I too had interviewed for the company's leadership role.
That all being said after taking a break and regrouping, I started a leadership accounting role with a non-profit. After joining I found that the Accounting department had been a revolving door, training was not a priority, equipment for the position was not ready on day one and then became a constant quality issue, and accounting tasks had been let go for some time. Upon opening a desk drawer of bank statements still in their envelopes for some time, and being told that info I provided could not be validated since the person receiving it was rather new themselves and I was the 4th person in the roll in the 24 months since they were there, I decided to move on. Good people, just not truly working as a team and using the accounting department as the scapegoat.
I find another leadership accounting role a few months later. One of the priorities I set forth in the interview process is that I did not wish to make another mistake. I needed some assurance that the books were up to date, that the staff truly were working in the same direction, and that adequate equipment for the job would be provided. After being offered the job, I asked for a meeting with all staff that I'd be working with to ask questions and see if I would be a fit. My questions were answered, and I really liked the group of people. I felt that they were genuine and worked as a team. They were good actors. Upon arrival, I found that there were many lapses in accounting records, payments, and reporting. The people really are great, but there isn't a whole lot of accountability. The software they are using isn't known well by all who use it. In the first 60 days of being there, I have spent 8 hours on training calls where we still don't have final answers to the question that kicked off the entire training session in the first place. I'm really trying to get things caught up and in order, but I feel "dumb" when using the software the company uses. I'm just now seeing that not even the software company is good at using their own software.
So my question is, since the pandemic, is it common company practice to have left the accounting function to just coast along and not really keep up on daily, monthly, and annual duties? I know that in my 15-year role as the accounting department leader, it was difficult for that role to be heard. Marketing, Operations, and leadership often did not want to hear the accounting department news. But in that case, there was the requirement to keep things up to date and complete for outside reporting. Now it seems that accountability and up-to-date aren't required in the realm of accounting. Is that now a thing in the business world? I'm just trying to understand how the rest of the business world works. Was I so sheltered for nearly 15 years that I missed what all was happening on the outside?
Insights are appreciated. I'm struggling to understand and not ready to just retire or totally switch career gears.
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Struggling Accounting Leader
South Central PA
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