How can organizations stay resilient and lean during times of change? Challenges to maintaining operations, mitigating risks, and meeting goals may increase, creating gaps in skills and experience. Surge resources can step in to provide the practical skills and experience needed to overcome urgent staffing needs — whether planned or unexpected — while giving the organization the flexibility to quickly adapt to future disruptions. This support can be crucial across all levels of the finance and accounting functions, from CFO to staff accountants.
Are most organizations truly prepared for unexpected staffing challenges? In this article, we will explore situations where skilled interim staff with finance and accounting experience can make a significant difference.
Surviving Organizational Changes
Organizations may embark on internal changes in response to external forces such as market conditions or as part of strategic business planning. Leveraging skilled, industry-savvy professionals empowers leaders to effect change while maintaining operational efficiency, especially in the finance and accounting functions. Common situations where surge resources may be urgently needed include the following:
Technological Upgrades
When updating technology — especially when needed for meeting accounting and financial reporting deadlines — interim staff can help alleviate stress for overwhelmed team members. Additionally, professionals experienced in the new tech solution can ease the transition by helping with implementation-related tasks and training.
Process Reengineering
Organizations may find it necessary to rethink and redesign processes to adapt to new conditions or simply to improve overall performance. In some situations, change must be swift and decisive. Professionals brought in on an interim basis can provide fresh perspectives, new insights, and best practices gained from working in similar situations.
Restructuring and Cultural Shifts
Business models often evolve, necessitating changes in structure, leadership, and culture that create initial operational disruptions. Interim staff, even if deployed for a brief time, can bolster management’s efforts across all organizational levels. Leveraging the specific skills and industry experience offered through surge resources can foster smoother transitions.
Strategic use of surge resources supports organizational change and can spur future growth and innovation for the business overall.
Harnessing Surge Resources for Growth
Growth often becomes more than a simple goal; it’s a necessity to survive and succeed in a rapidly evolving world. Surge resources are essential to growth initiatives, providing the experience and skill needed by organizations planning to develop, manage, and sustain expansions, including the following situations:
- Scaling operations: The process of increasing production and adapting processes can be rocky during planning and implementation. Temporarily augmenting the workforce with experienced interim staff can promote efficiency in the face of increased demand, empowering the business to meet current obligations while maintaining growth momentum.
- Entering new markets: When exploring the opportunities and challenges offered by new markets, operational efficiency can suffer. Leveraging interim staff for routine tasks can free up staff to focus on more intense projects, while swift deployment of surge resource professionals with specific industry-related and management skills can temporarily provide skills that current employees may not yet possess.
- Enhancing product development: As companies seek to develop new products and services, surge resources can offer support on several levels. Experienced professionals can provide the specific skills needed for only a brief time or to cover day-to-day operations so employees can focus on innovation.
The same qualities that make surge resources a key component in business operations can help when companies change course in bigger ways.
Managing Transitions Due to Transactions
Some business transactions redefine an organization’s entire trajectory. As expected, major changes can disrupt routine finance and accounting functions, potentially overwhelming staff already facing across-the-board changes. Surge resources can provide the necessary support to navigate these transitions.
For example, changes in leadership may bring new leaders who believe “a new broom sweeps clean.” While current finance and accounting teams manage sweeping organizational changes, experienced finance and accounting professionals can provide the essential support needed to maintain operational efficiency.
The market looks good for M&As in 2025, and, as with other major business transactions, the potential for disruption exists. As organizations move through the M&A process, interim staff can help bridge gaps in skills, provide flexibility in staffing, and help the organization stay lean.
Leverage Experienced Interim Staff as Surge Resources
Every organization goes through periods of unrest, disruption, and change that can increase their staffing requirements. Because of BDO’s extensive network of skilled professionals, our interim finance and accounting team usually acts swiftly to fill client requests for staff. Please contact our F&A Strategic Resources team to learn more.