This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM Report site at 11:40 a.m. on Mar. 31, 2026.
Accountants once called the "guardians of capitalism" and the "flower of the professions" are reeling. It is the result of an entrenched system of overwork that recurs every audit season. A widespread practice known as "time-eating," which means cutting recorded work hours, is also rampant. We examined on-the-ground conditions through testimony and a survey of more than 200 current and former accounting industry workers. [Editor's note]
An accountant identified as A, who works at a domestic accounting firm, said spring scares A every year. The period from January to March, when corporations must submit audit reports by the end of March after their December settlement of account, is "audit season." It is the industry's peak season and a time when overtime is routine.
A said the heavy workload is a problem, but the structure also makes it hard to receive fair compensation. Even after working more than 100 hours a week, it is difficult to record actual work hours as they are due to fears of adverse performance evaluations. A said there were even instances of entering hours as if another team member had worked them.
◇92% of respondents say workload increased from last year
After two accountants in their 30s died within three months at a major accounting firm, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) launched a special labor inspection, but criticism continues that this is an industrywide problem, not confined to a single firm.
On the 31st, a ChosunBiz survey of 260 current and former accounting firm employees found that 88.7% (205) of valid respondents (231) said their average work hours during audit season were at least 80 hours a week.
The survey was conducted from the 24th to the 27th through the anonymous workplace community "Blind." Those currently employed at accounting firms or certified as having worked there participated.
Looking closer, the largest share, 37.2% (86 people), said their average audit season work hours were 100–120 hours a week. Another 35.9% (83) said 80–100 hours a week, and 15.6% (36) said 120 hours or more.
The response rate for working less than an average of 80 hours a week was just 11.2% (26 people). No one said they worked fewer than 52 hours a week.
Most said the intensity of work had increased. In response to a question about changes in workload from last year, 92.3% (192) of 208 valid respondents said it "increased." "No change" and "decreased" were 7% (15) and 0.4% (1), respectively.
They cited multiple reasons for the increased workload. The number of corporations audited per person has grown, while headcount within organizations has decreased. Some also said the burden has increased as non-audit services, which pay less relative to the time invested, have risen.
◇Time-eating leaves pay short of hours worked
On the ground, a broad practice known as "time-eating," which means recording fewer hours than actually worked, appears to be widespread.
In the survey, 99.2% (245) of 247 valid respondents said "there is a practice of reducing recorded work hours." Only 0.8% (2) said they record actual hours as they are.
B, who works at an accounting firm, said, "I worked until dawn while pregnant, but the company didn't consider my situation at all," and added, "Pregnant employees are instead restricted from leaving a record of working more than eight hours a day." B said, "Because my colleagues are overwhelmed with work, I plan to hold out through this audit season and then resign."
There are many cases where employees are pressured to enter only the hours that fall within the scope of the audit contract with corporations. An accountant identified as C said, "If you exceed 52 hours a week, the firm has to provide time-off compensation, which burdens upper management's performance," adding, "It inevitably creates a gap between actual hours worked and what is recorded."
The industry points to aggressive "low-price bidding" as the root cause. To secure revenue, firms win audit contracts at low fees, then, unable to cover labor costs, repeatedly underreport work hours in a vicious cycle.
A representative at a major accounting firm said, "Industry revenue is declining while competition is getting fiercer, so we have effectively begun 'eating our own.' If the structure of not being paid in line with actual audit hours continues, accountants alone will keep bearing the brunt."