The Human Element in Finance: Leading and Mentoring Accounting Teams for Peak Performance and Compliance in a High-Pressure Environment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22399/ijcesen.4201Keywords:
Leadership, Mentoring, Emotional Intelligence, Team Performance, Compliance, Work PressureAbstract
This study investigates the human element in finance, focusing on how leadership and mentoring practices influence accounting team performance and compliance in high-pressure environments. Using a quantitative research design and a cross-sectional survey of 286 accounting professionals from banks, audit firms, and corporate finance departments, the study examines the relationships among leadership style, mentoring effectiveness, emotional intelligence, team performance, and compliance behavior, while considering work pressure and organizational culture as moderating and control variables, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, multiple regression, moderation analysis (Hayes’ PROCESS Model 7), and cluster analysis, ensuring reliability and validity through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha (α > 0.80). The results revealed that leadership style positively affects team performance (β = 0.41, p < 0.001), and mentoring effectiveness enhances compliance behavior (β = 0.38, p < 0.001). Emotional intelligence significantly moderates the leadership–performance relationship, whereas work pressure negatively moderates the mentoring–compliance relationship. Cluster analysis identified three distinct respondent groups, with high-performing teams characterized by strong leadership and emotional intelligence. The study concludes that emotionally intelligent and mentor-led leadership fosters superior performance and ethical compliance, even under demanding financial pressures. These findings highlight that technical skills alone are insufficient in modern finance sustainable excellence depends on human-centered leadership, empathetic mentoring, and supportive organizational cultures that collectively strengthen performance integrity and compliance resilience.
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