Don’t let a natural disaster become a financial disaster

Every year we see a fair share of natural disasters in different parts of the country and this should be a catalyst for accountants to re-think putting their disaster protection plan in the priority list. Unexpected disaster can affect your business but do not let a natural disaster turn into a financial disaster.

A number of natural and unnatural events including tornadoes, flash floods, fire, freezing weather and absence of key staff due to illness can put your day-to-day operations out of gear. Good planning can help small businesses minimize the impact of a disaster and this does not need a huge budget.

Here are some recommendations that can help accountants to deal with an unforeseen disaster.

Insurance – Having proper insurance in place to protect your business is vital. Assess your current insurance and check with your insurance provider to see if your insurance policy covers the most vulnerable areas of your business.

Along with a liability policy, you should look into purchasing a business interruption insurance which will compensate you for lost income related to a disaster.

Contingency plan – To save your clients from moving to another accountant it is essential for CPAs to deliver services on time and to continue operating without any interference. Having a robust contingency plan that will enable staff to work from home or another location in case your office area is damaged or unreachable is important. Review your contingency plan every year to ensure it is up to date and make sure you test them too – don’t leave it until you need it to discover it doesn’t work.

Put your staff first – As much as you are concerned about getting the work done on time for your clients, you also need to understand that in the event of a disaster the day-to-day life of your employees is impacted. Large scale loss and the impact of disasters can lead to mental health issues for employees. Be flexible, prioritize your job and provide options to employees to work from home or another location which is not damaged or affected.

It is important as an employer to ensure that your employees have access to cash, insurance, health care and other support programs.

Move to cloud – Go DIGITAL! if you still have not thought about it, opting for cloud backup technology not just reduces the risk of security, but it also lets your business continue operating without much disruptions in case of a natural or manmade disaster. Read here to understand more reasons for shifting to cloud accounting.

Getting your business back on its feet swiftly depends on emergency planning that you do today. Train your employees on what to do when a disaster strikes; put in your plan how the business will communicate post disaster instructions to employees and clients. Basically be prepared.