Long Hours in Finance: When to Push Back and When to Leave
Long hours are part of finance culture. Month end, year end, audits, budgets and board deadlines all create peaks. Most finance professionals accept some late nights as part of the job.
But for many, the peaks have become the norm. Every month end runs late. Every week has extra requests. The team is always stretched. Holidays are hard to take. And it starts to affect health, relationships and enjoyment of the work.
This article looks at how finance professionals can manage long hours and heavy workloads, push back effectively and recognise when it is time to leave.
Why finance workloads grow
Finance workloads often grow for predictable reasons.
The business grows but the finance team does not
Manual processes that never get fixed
New reporting requests layered on top of old ones
Vacancies that stay unfilled
Poor systems or data quality
A culture where long hours are expected and rewarded
Understanding the cause helps you choose the right response.
Separate peaks from the baseline
Some peaks are normal. Year end and audit will always be busy. The question is whether the rest of the year is sustainable.
Track your hours for a month or two. Note which weeks are peaks and which are normal. If “normal” is consistently well above your contracted hours, there is a structural problem, not just a busy period.
Fix the process first
Many workload problems are process problems. A month end that takes ten days with late nights might take five with a better calendar, earlier accruals and automated reconciliations.
Look for the biggest time drains. Manual data entry, repeated reports, rework caused by errors, and waiting for information from other teams. Fixing even one or two can make a big difference. For ideas, see quantifying process improvement.
Push back with evidence
When workload is too high, raise it with your manager using facts, not frustration. Show the volume of work, the hours required and the risks.
“Over the last three months, month end has taken an average of 60 hours of overtime across the team. Two people are at risk of burning out, and we have had two errors reach the board pack. I would like to discuss options, such as automating the bank reconciliations or adding a part-time role.”
That is far more persuasive than “we are too busy”.
Prioritise and say no well
Not every request is equally important. When new work arrives, ask about priority and deadline. Offer trade-offs. “I can do this analysis by Friday if the reforecast moves to Monday. Which is more important?”
Saying no, or not yet, is a skill. Done respectfully, it shows judgement, not reluctance.
Look after the team
If you lead a team, their workload is your responsibility. Watch for signs of strain, such as mistakes, sick leave, irritability and resignations. Share the load fairly and make sure people take leave.
A team that is always exhausted will eventually lose its best people.
Look after yourself
Long hours affect health, sleep and relationships. Protect some boundaries where you can, such as evenings, weekends or holidays. Talk to people you trust. Use any employee assistance program offered.
When it is time to leave
Sometimes the workload is a symptom of deeper problems that you cannot fix. Signs it may be time to go include:
Long hours are constant, not seasonal
Your manager dismisses concerns
Resources are never added despite growth
Your health or relationships are suffering
Long hours are rewarded more than good work
Leaving an unsustainable role is not failure. It is a sensible decision.
Choosing a better next role
In your next job search, ask about workload directly. What time does the team usually finish at month end? How often do people work weekends? How long have team members been there? What systems are in place?
Speak to people who work there if you can. A role with realistic workload and good systems is worth more than a slightly higher salary with constant late nights.
How to explain it in interviews
If asked why you are leaving, avoid saying “the hours were terrible”. Focus on what you want. “I am looking for a role where the finance function is set up to succeed, with good systems and realistic resourcing, so I can focus on adding value rather than just keeping up.” For more, see answering “why are you leaving?”.
Common time drains in finance
Certain problems appear in almost every overloaded finance team.
Manual bank reconciliations that could be automated
Reports rebuilt from scratch every month in Excel
Waiting for information from other teams that always arrives late
Rework caused by errors earlier in the process
Ad hoc requests with no clear priority
Approvals that sit in someone’s inbox for days
Fixing even two of these often saves many hours a month. Start with the one that causes the most late nights.
Using data to make your case
A simple log can transform the conversation with your manager. Record the hours spent on each major task for a month, plus any extra requests and their size. Then show the total against your contracted hours.
Numbers turn a complaint into a business problem. Most managers respond far better to “we spent 60 hours on manual reconciliations last month” than to “we are stretched”.
Building a sustainable month end
Many long hours come from month end. A well-designed close can reduce them dramatically. Move accruals and reconciliations earlier, set clear deadlines for other teams, automate repetitive steps and agree what is truly needed by each day.
A sustainable close is also a strong achievement for your resume. For more, see making month end and audit read as value.
Culture change starts with leaders
If you lead a team, your behaviour sets the norm. If you send emails at midnight and work every weekend, the team will feel they should too. Model the behaviour you want. Leave on time when you can, take your leave and encourage others to do the same.
Flexibility as a solution
Sometimes the answer is not fewer hours but more flexible ones. Working from home on certain days, adjusting start times or compressing hours outside peaks can make a demanding role much more manageable. For more, see part-time and flexible Finance Manager roles.
A worked scenario
Consider Rachel, Finance Manager at a $60 million wholesale distributor in Christchurch. Her team of three works until 9pm for most of month end, and she spends most Saturdays catching up.
She logs every task for six weeks. The results are clear:
18 hours a month on manual bank reconciliations across four accounts
12 hours a month rebuilding the sales report in Excel for the Sales Director
10 hours a month chasing late purchase orders and approvals from the warehouse
Around 15 hours a month of ad hoc requests with no agreed priority
She sets up bank feeds with matching rules, builds a reusable sales report linked to the system and agrees a day-two cut-off for warehouse approvals with the Operations Manager. She also starts a simple request list that the Managing Director reviews each Monday.
Four months later, the team finishes month end two days earlier and late nights have dropped to one or two a month. Rachel has a strong resume line and her weekends back.
A 90-day plan to reduce the hours
Days 1 to 30: measure
Log hours by task for yourself and the team. Note every ad hoc request, who asked and how long it took. Do not change much yet. You need a clear baseline.
Days 31 to 60: fix and agree
Choose the two biggest time drains and fix them. At the same time, take your data to your manager and agree priorities, cut-offs and any resourcing changes.
Days 61 to 90: hold the line
Keep the new deadlines and priorities in place, even when it feels uncomfortable. Track hours again and compare them with the baseline. Share the improvement with your manager and the team.
If the numbers have not moved after 90 days of genuine effort, that tells you something important about the role.
What a recruiter hears
Recruiters and hiring managers are used to candidates leaving busy roles. What worries them is a candidate who sounds like they want an easy job. Show that you are happy to work hard during peaks, and that you want a role where the baseline is sustainable. Then give one example of how you reduced hours in your current role. That turns a reason for leaving into evidence of good judgement.
Common mistakes
Accepting constant overload as normal
Complaining without evidence or options
Never fixing the processes behind the workload
Letting the team burn out
Staying too long in an unsustainable role
Your next step
Track your hours for the next month and note the biggest time drains. Pick one to fix, and prepare an evidence-based conversation with your manager about the rest.
If you decide it is time to move, my Gold package covers your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn and positioning strategy.
If you want an outside view on your situation, book a complimentary Clarity Session.
