Disaster Planning &
Business Recovery

Did you know…

US Department of Labor Statistics indicate:
One in five organizations will suffer a major disaster every five years Only 43 percent of companies suffering a disaster ever recover sufficiently to resume business Among those that do reopen, only 26 percent are doing business two years later. If their data is lost, 50 percent file for bankruptcy immediately Why? Because trying to operate the business while concurrently managing the consequences of disaster such as proving losses to insurance companies, restoring property, rebuilding customer databases, and so on prove to be impossibly taxing.

What can you do? The best way to minimize the impact of a business disaster is to have thought through the business’ activities, considered the consequences of various disaster scenarios and prepared contingency plans.

At Scholl, Chyo & Company we are qualified to assist you in preparing contingency plans that will ensure you are not amongst those businesses, which collapse in the face of disaster. To give you an idea for the sorts of issues involved and how we can assist, we have set out for you the key activities in disaster response and business recovery planning

1. Critical Information Assessment, Recording, and Preserving

Secure data back up

Each business has its own critical data sources though some, such as customer inventory and supplier lists, will be common to most businesses. Without them how long could a business carry on? Data such as this will need to be recorded, backed up regularly, kept virus free, and be stored in a second location off-site.

Systems redundancy

Redundancy costs money of course; if risk is high and costs low, just do it! On the other hand low risk, high cost systems might be left aside. The real danger is in ignoring the medium risk, medium cost features.

Other means of information recording

Other information on record can also make recovery easier such as a set of photographs of the business premises against which damage can be assessed.

2. The Plan for Disaster Recovery

Following a disaster it is imperative as a business owner that you be able to:

Stay focused and get critical business processes back online

After a disaster the priority for businesses is to get critical processes back online.

Address any issues directly effecting customer service

The business owner needs to be free to focus on customers, suppliers and team members. The later should not be forgotten – they too may have suffered in the disaster or have been effected personally by the fallout from the disaster.

Leave other issues to a support team

Use support people, such as your accountant, to deal with peripheral issues such as finance while you concentrate on the key issues of getting your critical business processes back and dealing with your customers, suppliers and team members.

To ensure you support team are able to deal with these priorities the disaster plan should include:

• A Directory of essential recovery services

• A Detailed plan for notifying business associates and team

• Designated contacts to start dealing with the legalities of claims and tax matters

These provisions will allow an immediate swing into action.

3. Business Information System Reviews

Of all possible disasters the most likely these days will be loss of information housed on a computer system.

Accountants are uniquely qualified and situated to help business owners conduct business computer use reviews to ensure that adequate IT security plans exist and are followed.

Reviews typically cover:

Security planning and management

An initial assessment of the risks to hardware and data leading to decisions on what policies and controls are needed.

Software protection

Systems need to be in place to protect both applications and system software from modification and unauthorized access.

Access level determination

Establishing different access levels for different personnel depending on their need to access information ensures against unauthorized access and deletion or alteration of data. Setting up an organizational structure and associated polices in regard to the segregation of duties also helps pinpoint the source of damaging input.

Redundancy and backup

Provisions to ensure that when unexpected events occur, critical operations continue without undue interruption and vital and sensitive data is protected.

FREE Consultation & FREE Business Health Test

Learn for yourself, with absolutely no obligation, how Scholl, Chyo & Company can help you and your business prosper. We offer a free initial consultation, at your office or ours, covering the topics that matter most to you. We'll even use your current financial statements to perform a no-charge Business Health Test and provide you with a written report about your particular situation.

No Surprises

Nobody likes unpleasant billing surprises from their professional advisors. That is why, for many projects and ongoing work, you will be quoted a flat, all-inclusive, fee for our services.

Our Guarantee

If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with the quality of our service you will pay nothing for that service. You are the final judge!

Are you ready to experience a new and profitable approach to your accounting and business processes? Give us a call at 831-758-5966, 800-747-5967 or email info@schollcpa.com   for your free consultation and Business Health Test.

Bret Scholl, CPA, Certified Public Accountant, QuickBooks Certified Pro Advisor, tax preparation, QuickBooks training, QuickBooks classes, accounting, bookkeeping, outsourced bookkeeping, Scholl, Chyo & Company, Bridge21, Bridge 21, Valuestar, Forensic Accountant, audit, tax returns, tax tips, financing, financial planning

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