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Accounting and finance departments are hoping to diversify their workforce, especially with the ongoing shortages of young accountants joining the profession, but one segment of the population that's often left out of the discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion is "neurodiverse" or "neurodivergent" people.

Although stress in public accounting is unavoidable, especially during the busy season, excessive amounts can be dysfunctional for both individual CPAs and their firms. Prolonged exposure to high levels of stress can lead to psychological symptoms of depression and anxiety. Stress-related illnesses can decrease performance, generate health problems for individuals, increase group health premiums for organizations, increase absenteeism, and increase turnover. CPA firms can proactively address these stress-related costs by recognizing the drivers of the stress and tailoring responses accordingly.

Accounting ranked eighth out of nine industries with 23% of employees willing to discuss their mental health, a survey revealed.

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of accounting professionals globally want more from their employers when it comes to addressing their mental health needs as burnout remains a top concern, according to a report released Wednesday by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

It is widely understood that job stress can lower job satisfaction and performance while increasing feelings of stress and burnout. This is especially true in public accounting—a profession notorious for its high levels of job stress. For decades, employers have considered stress management an individual responsibility that employees should handle on personal time. Recent research suggests that there may be a more effective strategy. Active workplace interventions that help employees build resilience may help firms to effectively lower employees’ susceptibility to job stressors, retain valuable staff, and improve productivity. In fact, enhancing employee resilience levels can have a powerful protective effect against three common causes of job stress: role overload, role conflict, and role ambiguity.