CPAs are at the heart of the financial systems and processes of the organizations they work with. As people in leadership positions, it is important for them to delegate work so that they can dedicate their precious time and resources to higher-order tasks. However, for many, delegation is easier said than done.

CPAs are accountable to the management, and it can be hard to trust others with complex, critical, and time-bound tasks. But delegation isn't just important; it becomes imperative as organizations grow and the complexity and scale of their processes and workflow increases. 

Not handing over enough work to your employees can lead to a stockpile of unfinished work. Moreover, it can affect the morale of your junior colleagues, who may feel that they are not trusted enough. Efficient delegation, on the other hand, can lead to a smoother workflow and boost team morale. 

Here are a few tips that you can make use of to delegate more effectively. 

1. Delegate to the Right People

Rule number 1 of any job is finding the right people for the job. Know your workforce well and understand the strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and specializations of your team.

 When you have a task at hand, you can quickly match its requirements with the skills of the people at your disposal and find the best match. You can also hold a meeting and provide your team with the opportunity to come forward and select the tasks they would like to take on. This approach has the advantage of clearly assigning ownership from the very beginning of the task. 

If you cannot find an exact fit between the task at hand and the talent available, you may consider a quick knowledge transfer or training. It may seem time consuming in the short term, but it ensures that no such mismatch occurs in the future. 

2. Define the Task Clearly

Even the most talented employees will not be able to deliver an output up to the required standards if they do not know what is expected of them. You must communicate the requirements clearly and unambiguously. 

Of course, in order to communicate the tasks clearly to someone else, you need to make sure that you first have a clear understanding of the task and its desired output. This means you must spend time analyzing the task. Then, you can draw up a plan for effectively defining its parameters and output, thereby ensuring that no room for ambiguity remains. 

3. Accept That Mistakes Will Be Made

It is not possible for all your employees to exceed your expectations all the time. When you delegate a task, you should, therefore, be prepared to accept mistakes and slip-ups. 

Of course, this doesn't mean that you should accept shoddy or below-par work or stand in for your employees' mistakes. Rather, make it an opportunity for the employee to learn from their errors. Give them the required guidance and allow them to correct it. 

4. Monitor and Review 

Delegation does not imply washing your hands of a task. You must periodically monitor the task and ask the delegatee if they need any support. 

Sometimes the person to whom a task is assigned may want some help but might be too hesitant to ask. At the same time, it is important to draw a line between offering support and micromanaging. There is no point assigning responsibility if you are going to control every aspect of its implementation. 

There is a thin line between monitoring and micromanaging - and you must know how to walk it. 

5. Make Sure You Provide Feedback

Finally, once the delegated task is delivered, make sure you take time to provide constructive feedback. If changes need to be made to the task, give clear instructions and ask the delegatee to implement them. Never make the changes yourself. If you do, the appointed person will never learn what they did wrong. 

In addition to providing specific suggestions, make sure you also offer a general piece of feedback that explains how the employee implemented the task overall. This can include an assessment of everything - from showing initiative to ensuring the work was done on time.

While giving feedback might appear time-consuming, it ensures that there are fewer kinks to smooth out the next time you delegate a task. 

In Closing

Great leaders, it is said, don't create followers. They create more leaders. 

Delegation is the essence of leadership. Delegating tasks not only saves time and increases efficiency but also ensures that your employees feel empowered. This way, they develop leadership skills themselves that will shape the future of the organization. 

At the same time, effective delegation ensures that you, the CPA, who is at the heart of business operations, are freed up to devote your energy to tasks that could benefit from your valuable skills, time, and resources. 

Bryan Kesler, CPA, is a passionate CPA exam mentor with a mission of helping all CPA Candidates struggling to pass the CPA exam find success. He aims to provide affordable mentoring and tutoring solutions to smart accountants to pass the CPA exam. You can connect with Bryan on Linkedin and follow him on Twitter.