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39263With recent natural and man-made disasters, planning if something similar happens to my business is top of mind. How do you suggest I prepare my company in the case of a disaster event?
We share your worries, and our thoughts go out to those dealing with the aftermath of last week’s hurricane. You just never know when a (small or large-scale) disaster will strike in your area, and it’s important to prepare your business for such an event, just as you would your home and family. It is critical to have abusiness continuity plan in place in case of a prolonged power outage, property damage, computer hacking or any other kind of disaster event that can disrupt your processes and customer service.
Understanding what needs to go into a business continuity plan isn’t always the easiest though, nor is ensuring it is up to date and regularly reviewed. This is what our MCM Risk Advisory and IT security specialists recommend to our clients.
Plan for the worst
While it is never a fun place to start, challenge your leadership team to play out a few worst case scenarios. If your physical offices, plants, stores or operations hubs have to shut down for several days or more, which programs would be affected? If computer access, even remote access, isn’t possible, what would happen to your operations? What about roads and community infrastructure? Think about where your company would be if all or any of these situations were to come to fruition, and then plan out possible responses.
You should also make a point of designating a disaster preparedness team. The team members should represent your full operation, from IT to sales to customer service. If you have a Board of Directors, a member of this group should be appointed as well. This team will be tasked with creating, reviewing, assessing, and modifying the written plan that will dictate your company’s response in disaster scenarios.
One task that will be important to delegate is a multi-pronged communications plan. All of your various stakeholders will need to be reached, from your internal staff, to your vendors, to your customers and clients. You may also need a spokesperson for your company (if you don’t already have one in place) who is prepared to correspond with fire, police or government officials who may be needed, as well as with media.
Ultimately, any disaster plan will need to include a training component as well. Your business continuity plan, once finalized, should be communicated to your staff in the form of a training or meeting.
IT preparation
When it comes time to triage a disaster response, data and systems recovery are typically top priorities. Experts recommend that you develop recovery strategies for all of your IT systems, applications, and data, including networks, servers, desktops, laptops, wireless devices, and connectivity. Identify the IT personnel and resources you will need, and ensure they are aware of their responsibilities. Data back-up is important to businesses in general, but it’s especially critical in disaster situations, so make sure your company is practicing it using the most up to date methods.
Be proactive before a disaster strikes. Consider engaging professionals that can assist your company identify weaknesses in your IT systems before you are hacked or held for ransom so you can protect confidential information related to your company, employees and customers/clients.
Be Prepared
Catastrophes are difficult to prepare for, but a plan will help ease the stress when they occur. Developing and maintaining a business continuity plan will ensure you are a step ahead of the recovery process, and that your organization will be conducting business as usual sooner rather than later.
Tom Cooney and Crystal Faulkner are partners with MCM CPAs & Advisors, a CPA and advisory firm offering expert guidance and beyond the bottom line thinking for today’s public and private businesses large and small, not-for-profits, governmental entities and individuals. For additional information, call 513-768-6796 or visit us online at www.mcmcpa.com.
BusinessWise
Tom Cooney & Crystal Faulkner
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