The Workload Distribution Challenge
A Geneva fiduciary employing 25 accountants specialized in different areas (SME accounting, consolidation, taxation, auditing) faced a recurring problem of mandate distribution. New files arrived irregularly, and the administrative manager had to manually identify the most appropriate accountant based on skills, current workload, and availability.
This process took about two hours daily and regularly led to imbalances: some accountants found themselves overloaded while others had slow periods. Assignment errors sometimes required reassigning a file, creating delays and frustration. Management sought a solution to automate this distribution while respecting complex business constraints.
The Solution Architecture
We developed an intelligent allocation system integrating Microsoft Teams, Planner, SharePoint, and Power Automate. The architecture relies on several interconnected components.
Each accountant has a profile stored in a SharePoint list including their skill domains (mandate types they can handle), experience level, working languages, and contractual workload rate. A second system in Planner tracks each accountant's workload in real-time: number of active files, remaining budgeted hours, and upcoming deadlines.
When a new mandate arrives, the administrative manager fills out a Power Apps form describing the mandate: required service type (bookkeeping, annual closing, tax filing, etc.), estimated complexity, client language, hour budget, deadline, and any special requirements. This information is stored in a SharePoint list.
A Power Automate flow triggers automatically and orchestrates the allocation process. The flow first queries the accountant list to identify those possessing the required skills for the mandate. It then calculates an assignment score for each eligible accountant based on several criteria: current workload (less loaded accountants get higher scores), exact skill match (domain expert gets more points than generalist), language (bonus if accountant speaks client's language), and collaboration history (if client previously worked with this accountant, continuity bonus).
The flow ranks accountants by score and proposes the top three candidates to the administrative manager via an adaptive message in Teams. This message displays for each candidate their name, relevant skills, current workload percentage, and assignment score. The manager can accept the automatic suggestion or manually choose among the three candidates if there's a particular reason.
Once the decision is made, the flow automatically creates a Planner plan for the mandate with standard tasks for the service type concerned. For example, for an annual closing, tasks include account review, depreciation calculation, balance sheet preparation, income statement, and tax filings. The assigned accountant receives a Teams notification with all mandate information and a direct link to their Planner plan.
A dedicated Teams channel is created for each new mandate, enabling collaboration between the accountant, administrative manager, and potentially other specialists if needed. All mandate-related documents are automatically organized in a SharePoint folder linked to the Teams channel.
Measured Benefits
After eight months of use, results are convincing. Mandate allocation time dropped from two hours daily to 20 minutes, an 83% reduction. The administrative manager now simply validates system proposals, which are relevant in 92% of cases.
Workload balancing improved considerably. The standard deviation of load between accountants decreased by 65%, and no accountant experiences significant overload (over 110% workload rate) whereas this regularly happened before. Slow periods are also better distributed, allowing use of this time for training or internal tasks.
Accountant satisfaction strongly increased, measured at +28 NPS points. They appreciate receiving mandates matching their skills, with balanced workload, and immediately having all necessary information and tools (Planner plan, Teams channel, SharePoint folder) without having to create them manually.
Client service quality also improved. Mandate start delays decreased by 40%, dropping from an average of 4 days to 2.4 days between file arrival and actual work beginning. Clients appreciate this increased responsiveness.
Evolution and Continuous Improvement
The system includes a feedback mechanism. At each mandate's end, the accountant evaluates allocation relevance and signals if the hour budget was appropriate or if complexity was misjudged. This data is analyzed quarterly to refine the scoring algorithm.
We also added a predictive functionality after three months of use. The system analyzes historical patterns to anticipate high-load periods (for example, annual closings in February-March) and proactively suggests to management limiting new mandate acceptances during these periods or calling on partner freelance accountants.
A Power BI dashboard enables management to monitor team load in real-time, mandate types in progress, profitability per accountant, and processing deadlines. These indicators facilitate human resource management decisions.
Technical Architecture and Integration
The system relies entirely on Power Platform and Microsoft 365, thus avoiding introducing third-party tools. SharePoint lists serve as databases for accountant profiles and mandates. Power Automate orchestrates all flows with over 15 interconnected flows managing different scenarios (new mandate, reassignment, closure, escalation, etc.).
The Power Apps application used by the administrative manager is optimized for mobile use, enabling mandate creation from a smartphone during a client meeting. The interface is intuitive with fields intelligently pre-filled according to client history.
Planner plans are generated from templates stored in a SharePoint library, allowing the fiduciary to standardize its processes while remaining flexible. Each template can be adjusted according to experience feedback.
The total system cost is limited to Power Automate Premium licenses for unlimited flows (about 15 EUR per user per month for 3 key users) and initial development, approximately 100 CHF monthly. The time saved represents the equivalent of 40 hours per month, providing an ROI exceeding 3000%.
Future Extension
The fiduciary plans to extend the system to other processes. A pilot project currently tests automatic allocation of audit tasks between auditors using similar logic. Another explored avenue is integration with the invoicing system to automatically trigger interim billing when certain Planner milestones are completed.
Conclusion
This allocation system illustrates the power of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem when intelligently orchestrating its components. Without complex custom development, using only Power Platform and standard tools, we created a solution that solves a real business problem and generates measurable benefits for both the organization and employees. The fiduciary now has a structured, fair, and efficient process that constitutes a real competitive advantage.