December’s year-end close is pushing finance teams to work harder and faster, perhaps more intensely than before. Certainly there is some evidence of burnout, not helped by a heavy reliance on spreadsheets and slow AI adoption.
The year-end close compresses months of reconciliations, reporting, audits, and compliance checks into a matter of days. Long hours are expected. Stress is normalised. Burnout is quietly accepted as part of the job. According to the Medius Q2 2024 Financial Census, more than half (55%) of finance professionals say they are burned out. The problem is particularly acute in mature markets:
- 58% of finance professionals in the US are actively looking for a new job.
- 71% in the UK say the same.
These are not junior roles feeling temporary pressure. The survey covered 1,533 senior finance executives: the people ultimately accountable for financial accuracy, controls, and compliance.
When the leaders responsible for financial integrity are this stretched, the risk extends beyond wellbeing. It becomes an operational and governance issue.
A report from Unit4 suggests the pressure has reached a breaking point, and it raises a bigger question: is the year-end close still fit for a modern finance function?
Manual Work Is Still Dominating the Close
Despite years of digital transformation rhetoric, much of finance is still running on tools better suited to the early 2000s than the AI era.
The Rossum AI Document Automation Trends 2025 report indicates:
- 49% of finance departments still operate with zero automation, relying on manual data entry and Excel spreadsheets
- 66% of UK finance teams remain dependent on Excel
- 35% of UK leaders classify their own departments as “laggards”
Even more noticeable is how much time is lost to low-value work. The Medius census found that 87% of finance professionals personally respond to vendor invoice emails, averaging 28 emails per day, equivalent to six hours a week spent answering routine queries.
AI Is Here, But Value Isn’t Guaranteed
According to Deloitte’s Finance Trends 2026 study: 63% of finance leaders globally say they have fully deployed AI in their finance function
However, AI deployment does not automatically translate into impact and only 21% say AI has delivered clear, measurable value and just 14% of respondents have fully integrated AI agents into day-to-day operations.
This gap matters. Many organisations rushed to adopt AI tools without redesigning processes or addressing data quality, security, and integration. The result is fragmented automation that adds complexity instead of removing it, especially during high-pressure periods like year-end close.
Fear and Uncertainty Are Slowing Progress
Adoption is also being held back by anxiety. For example, the same survey found that in the U.S:
- Only 12% of finance departments currently use Generative AI
- 32% of finance leaders fear automation could replace most finance roles
- 34% see more risks than opportunities in automation
The data shows the opposite outcome when automation is implemented well. Yet as automation increases, so does responsibility. Year-end data includes an organisation’s most sensitive financial information. AI and cloud platforms must be secure by design, with strong access controls, audit trails, and governance frameworks. Speed without security simply shifts risk elsewhere.
