The ongoing shortage of qualified accountants—compounded by the retirement of senior accountants and an insufficient influx of new graduates—has put CFOs in a dilemma.

On one hand, they need to do more with fewer resources: operating leaner teams to close books faster, cut costs, and support growth amid ongoing economic uncertainty. On the other hand, they need to ensure they can attract and retain skilled finance talent, which includes avoiding setting unrealistic expectations that could lead to burnout.

Mahati Mukkamala, Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations at HubSync, said building these "lean" teams means CFOs must think strategically about how to support their accounting and finance staff, including the technology they integrate and their approach to upskilling and mentoring. In short, they need to change how they think about return on investment (ROI) in this area.

"I think sometimes we only view ROI as: based on hard costs, are you getting your money back from this software?" Mukkamala told CFO Dive. "But I think the measure of ROI should be: Does it make my employees better? Are they doing more with less?"

Clarifying technology use cases

The accounting talent shortage has been a core concern for finance executives for years, especially as CFOs are expected by companies to both drive strategy and oversee financial data.

CFO Dive previously reported that a growing number of states have passed legislation creating alternative pathways to CPA licensure, helping to boost accounting program enrollment last year. However, other barriers remain to reversing the years-long talent downturn, such as higher starting salaries in other professions or uncertainty about the role of AI and automation in accounting—which puts greater pressure on finance leaders who need to attract and retain accountants, Mukkamala said.

"In a world with a shrinking workforce, what you want to do is empower your existing employees, make them enjoy their work and become more analytical," he said.

Mukkamala said his "core area of expertise is the post-transaction and/or post-funding stage in private equity," involving treasury management and financial planning & analysis (FP&A) roles. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined HubSync in his current role last October, previously serving as VP of FP&A at Digital.ai. He has also served as Principal FP&A Consultant at Seed 2 C Consulting and Treasurer at Asian Women for Health.

Viewing technology as a means of empowerment rather than replacement may be one way to shift the ROI mindset and better support teams. Mukkamala sees technology as a great equalizer, but "I think we still need to get back to the fundamental question: What is the purpose of your technology use?" he said.

"Whether it's fixed asset software, ERP software, procurement software, or any other software, write down the problem you're trying to solve and actually verify whether it solves it," he said.

Resetting realistic expectations

Mukkamala said another challenge finance leaders face in finding top talent is pressure from unrealistic goals at the top of the organization, which now falls on the finance team itself.

For example, a company that has raised funding and is eager to meet the growth targets underpinning its valuation is likely to turn to the CFO, he said. In the private equity space, teams will look to cut costs or improve margins, but "all of that is just a stopgap for the fundamental issue, which is: you've promised growth that may not be realistic," he said. "I think if you can't have that conversation, the pressure cascades down to the accounting team: 'Hey, why aren't you closing the books fast enough? We can't make decisions faster.'"

In a world with an "insatiable appetite for data, data quality, and speed," this challenge is only heightened, and the burden of meeting that demand often falls on the accounting team, he said.

"If the accounting close is done, there aren't that many more decisions you can make compared to 5 days or 11 days, but people can point to it and say: 'If I could close in 4 days, maybe I could make different decisions, right?'" Mukkamala said.