Crisis management and response
Existing business continuity plans might not be appropriate for such a rapidly changing situation. Your business requires incident management and scenario plans specific to this crisis. Companies must quickly identify sensitive issues, communicate objectively and effectively with stakeholders, and minimise the risks of disruption.
Workforce
In addition to the health of employees, there are many other topics relating to the continuation of business activities which are of importance during the crisis. What changes are being made to labour and employment law? What problems exist in relation to mobility? How does remote working function, and how can it be optimised? Greater flexibility of HR departments and adjustment of HR processes may be required.
Operations and supply chain
A pandemic such as COVID-19 threatens global supply chains and puts pressure on production sites. Demand rises and falls quickly, suppliers experience delays, and there is little certainty in terms of predictability and planning. To reduce risks, global businesses can identify alternative supply chain scenarios or substitute materials. After immediate crisis management, mid-term goals become a point of focus. Does production need to be relocated?
Finance and liquidity
Economic downtime can threaten a company’s survival. Businesses need to analyse and guarantee their liquidity situation rapidly and regularly. How can financial resilience be reinforced in the short, medium and long term? Information about public subsidies and tax impacts is essential. Stress tests help to scrutinise planning calculations for specific scenarios and to analyse liquidity using planning tools.
Tax, trade and regulatory
Global insecurity requires more than an understanding of tax and regulatory systems. Tax managers need to take account of the broader economic, political and social contexts in which companies operate. Only in this way can companies make substantiated decisions which drive their business activity forward.
Strategy and brand
Companies will start to move from reacting to the crisis to developing strategies to emerge stronger from it. The shift towards remote working can help to identify problems in the IT infrastructure or digital skills. New models which take the economic effects of previous pandemics into account can better protect growth and profitability in future.
