Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/83718
www.iltanet.org 2012 Financial Management Poll Results ILTA's Financial Management Peer Group undertook a poll earlier this year, and their ambitious approach covered several areas: finance department staffing models, hiring practices, collaboration with other departments, technology adoption and overall economic outlooks. We're pleased to report the results in the following pages. Average Firm Demographics With only a modest response rate for some questions, we advise our readers to consider their practices alongside the aggregate results published here. You'll see that the average firm size of our respondents is around 500 total employees, with 236 attorneys and 23 full-time equivalent staff in the finance department. Staffing Levels Of particular interest are the responses to various questions around staffing, with 72% of our respondents reporting that they're "just getting by" or "inadequately staffed." We provide a snapshot of how firms are managing finance staff workloads, given the apparent lack of wiggle room with the staffing levels; and the payment 6 ILTA White Paper of overtime and reprioritization of work are the most common practices. When asked about the impact of the economic downturn, 78% of our respondents reported their staffing levels had remained the same or increased since the recession. Hiring Practices The poll results give us insight into considerations in hiring new finance department staff. Not surprisingly, experience matters — both within finance and in the legal profession. Analytical and communication skills are highly valued. In seeking/recruiting qualified candidates for staff positions, traditional newspaper ads, CareerBuilder and association job boards were leading sources. 60% of our poll respondents indicated that they used agencies routinely or sometimes, depending on the position or situation. And Much More . . . Check out the detailed findings on many other areas of interest; and please participate in future polls/surveys of our financial folks!