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Business Continuity Management

Helping your organisation be crisis-prepared.

A crisis can happen at an inopportune time when you least expect it to. What more with the speed of today's business and technology, a disruption of a short period of time may lead to a catastrophic impact to the organisation. While you may not be able to predict a crisis, you certainly can be prepared for one.

The value of embedding BCM in your organisation

Business Continuity Management (BCM) is an investment that enables your organisation to turn any crisis into a competitive advantage with the following: 

• Increased employee readiness in responding and recovering during a business disruption
• Quick return to a state of 'business as usual'
• Minimised cost, losses and duration of disruption
• Higher confidence among customers and other stakeholders
• Stronger brand trust and reputation in the public's eyes
• Compliance with legal or regulatory requirements, if applicable
• Potential reduction of insurance premiums with the proper risk mitigation measures in place

Our services include

Development and implementation, exercising and testing, review and assessment, awareness and training.

We offer end-to-end BCM implementation covering the BCM lifecycle in the following phases:

• BCM framework to govern your organisation's BCM programme
• Risk assessment and business impact analysis to understand and identify the potential threats and your organisation's critical business activities
• Business continuity strategy to enable the organisation to resume business operations with the most practical and cost-effective solutions
• Business continuity procedure to document workable processes to be performed by employees during a crisis. Aside from Crisis Management Plan and Business Continuity Management Plans, we can also assist to develop other contingency plans catered to specific situations to further support your company's BCM programme, such as IT Disaster Recovery Plan, Pandemic Plan, Contingency Funding Plan, Recovery and Resolution Plan and more.
• Exercising and testing to ensure that the plans and strategies developed are effective and reliable

We are also able to implement selected phases focused to fit your organisation's objectives and needs. 

Putting the procedures and strategies to test not only helps to identify gaps and opportunities in your BCM programme, but also creates awareness among your employees. We offer the following types of exercises and tests:

• Notification tree exercise An exercise to evaluate the effectiveness of the layered hierarchical communication structure practised in your company for crisis communication purposes.
• Desktop walkthrough exercise A facilitated tabletop discussion for participants to walk through the response and recovery actions based on realistic scenarios crafted.
• Crisis simulation exercise An engaging "live" exercise that involves participants in role-playing and interacting with one another to address scenarios crafted for the simulation.

Aside from testing Crisis Management Plan and Business Continuity Management Plans, we are experienced in conducting exercises involving the testing of various contingency plans, such as Emergency Evacuation Plan, Crisis Communication Plan, IT Disaster Recovery Plan, Cyber Incident Response Plan and Contingency Funding Plan. We are able to tailor scenarios and materials to help you achieve your exercise objectives and requirements.

Already have a BCM programme in your organisation but unsure how relevant and robust it is? We offer the following solutions to address these concerns:

• BCM effectiveness review An independent assessment of your organisation's BCM documentations against best practices or relevant standards and guidelines to identify gaps and improvement points. This review can also be part of your organisation's internal audit plan.
• BCM maturity assessment An evaluation to study the maturity of your organisation's existing BCM capabilities against best practices and relevant standards and guidelines.

While plans and infrastructure are important, the success of your BCM programme depends on your most valuable asset--your people. It is important that your employees are aware of your company's BCM programme and their respective roles and responsibilities. To help you achieve this, we can conduct customised training workshops or refresher courses based on your objectives and target audience.

Looking to automate the implementation and maintenance of your organisation's BCM plans for greater efficiency? You may check out our Business Continuity Planner or contact us to learn more.

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Award and Recognition

Disaster recovery institute - best service provider for business continuity management (bcm) 2013, 2014, 2016.

DRI's Best Service Provider for Business Continuity Management award recognises the best BCM service delivery in the industry, as well as the commitment in promoting business continuity to the community, and the ability to respond to the changing BCM landscape.

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William Mah

Partner, Risk Assurance Services, PwC Malaysia

Tel: +60 (12) 337 6681

Gayathri Jaganathan

Director, Risk Assurance Services, PwC Malaysia

Tel: +60 (3) 2173 0420

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Senior Consultant Financial Services Risk w/ focus on Resilience and Business Continuity Management

Job description.

At EY, you will have the chance to build a career as unique as you are, with the global scale, support, inclusive culture and technology to become the best version of you. And we are counting on your unique voice and perspective to help EY become even better too. Join us and build an exceptional experience for yourself, and a better working world for all.

The opportunity

Our Consulting business offers a broad range of functional and cross-country services dedicated to providing high-value and trusted advice to clients, with a specific focus on business transformation programs in the Financial Services industry.

We are currently looking for a motivated and committed Senior Consultant or experienced Consultant (80-100%) with Operational Resilience, Business Continuity Management (BCM) or Information Security related experience to further strengthen our practice within the Financial Services Consulting – Risk & Actuarial team in Zurich.

Within Financial Services Consulting - Risk & Actuarial, the GRC (Governance, Risk, Controls & Internal Audit) Team is part of a global network of risk management specialists working together with most of the largest financial services companies. We support our clients with solutions to identify, assess, steer and monitor non-financial and compliance risks.

Your key responsibilities

A unique opportunity to explore a wide range of solutions to our clients’ issues and needs. This will enable you to quickly develop a wide breadth of skills and competencies, with many of these being focused around non-financial and compliance risk management, as well as internal control systems and internal audit. Specific topics include business continuity management, outsourcing / third party risk management and IT Risk, with a strong focus on process and control design, optimization and automation. Specific tasks with regards to Operational Resilience / BCM include:

• Provide advice, design and implement Operational Resilience / BCM frameworks in line with Swiss and international regulatory requirements (e.g. PRA, FINMA, EBA)
• Support Internal and External Audits on Operational Resilience and BCM Frameworks at banks and insurance companies
• Work together with our Third Party Risk specialists to ensure adequate coverage of Operational Resilience aspects in TPRM frameworks
• Keep track of the latest regulatory developments in Operational Resilience and develop going-to-market material for client sessions

The nature of consulting promises a fast paced and engaging career. You will also have the opportunity to actively support in innovation and shape EY solutions on current and upcoming market needs.

Your skillset will grow rapidly through numerous training events and client facing engagements including touchpoints with clients’ senior management.

Skills and attributes for success

To qualify for the role you must have

• Prior experience in Operational Resilience, BCM or Information Security / IT Risk, either in an execution or advisory role
• Interest in risk, compliance and / or internal audit in the financial services industry
• Fluency in English

Ideally, you’ll also have

• Previous experience as a Business Continuity Manager/Officer
• Basic knowledge of Operational Resilience, Information Security, IT Risk Management and/or IT Service Continuity Management (in addition to your core experience)
• Fluency in spoken German, intermediate level in written German
• A degree in a business or technology related area, ideally with interdisciplinary focus (e.g. interfaces between business and IT)
• Strong PowerPoint and Excel skills
• Experience in the banking, insurance or consulting industry
• Strong interest in technology

What we look for

• Entrepreneurial mindset and an innovative spirit
• Motivated, ambitious and self-driven personality
• Willingness to go the extra mile
• Goal-oriented team player with analytical and organizational skills

What we offer

• International multi-cultural team of highly motivated professionals
• Constant personal development with a steep learning curve – a system of trainings, mentoring, counselling and on-the-job learning
• Modern working environment and equipment, fostering mobile working flexibility
• Transparent performance-based recognition and progression system
• Acquire a fully accredited corporate MBA (EY Tech MBA) from Hult International Business School, whilst working with EY, completely free*

* exception of EY contractors, interns and alumni.

If you can demonstrate that you meet the criteria above, please contact us as soon as possible . For further information please contact our recruitment team ([email protected] / +41 58 286 33 66).

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Business Continuity consulting

A well-rounded consulting partner, with a hands-on approach, how we support you, let us guide you along your operational resilience journey.

Are you seeking to build a robust Business Continuity Management Program, or looking to use innovating ways to embed a culture of resilience? Count on an experienced partner to support your organization. Don't stay in the fog of war. Increasing organizational resilience, that’s our mission too. ‍ As specialists in Business Continuity for 25 years, Premier Continuum has been providing consulting services in Business Continuity, IT Disaster Recovery, Crisis Management, Emergency Response, Risk Management and Public Safety. ‍ Get the help you need to boost efficiency and achieve cost savings across the entire resilience process.

6 Fields of expertise

Let’s increase your organizational resilience, business continuity.

Business Continuity is the foundation of a solid and successful growth strategy. Our tactical skills, our field experience and our keen approach make us a partner that can really help you develop a broader vision.

Emergency Response

Identifying an organization's risks is crucial to ensure a proper business recovery and to rise from it. This fundamental activity is one of the strengths that distinguishes our clients when a crisis strikes.

IT Disaster Recovery

Within today’s growing cyber threats, an exhaustive and tested IT disaster recovery plan is inevitable. Our experts assess your IT infrastructure in order for your organization to stay alert and prepared for any critical disruption.

Risk Management

Assessing and addressing risk for an organization is key to success. Our team excels at creating safer work environments and increasing the stability of organizations like yours.

Crisis Management

No matter its industry, an organization that is trained and equipped to deal with a crisis is extremely resilient. Our team uses collaboration, active listening and agility to strengthen your crisis management plans.

Operational Resilience

Get an overview of your organization's operational issues and analyze the results with the help of our experts in order to get a tailored approach to operational resilience.

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continuity and resilience services

Build the foundation of your business continuity program.

Every organization needs a key document that outlines the purpose, the context, the scope and the governance of its whole program. Build an efficient and adapted project with the support of our consultants to define the extent and the requirements aligned with your core business values.

We support you by :

Initiating your BCM policy and scope definition

Defining governance and all your stakeholders' roles and responsibilities

Setting up a complete programme management structure

Embed awareness and good practices to organizational culture

A valuable BCM Program must engage all collaborators. By using collaborative approaches, involving top-management, staff and partners as well as use all innovative ways to raise awareness, our consultants are 100 % invested in your programme's success.

Engaging your stakeholders with a suitable awareness program

Developing competencies and skills with certified training

Embedding operational resilience in project management

Assess your organization's objectives, constraints and operating environment

Often completed through the Business Impact Analysis (BIA), this phase aims to identify the urgency of each activity led by your organization, according to the impact caused by any potential or actual disruption over time. Working on your BIA with our experts will give you a better idea of the solutions to implement in order to manage risks.

Clarifying the scope with a concise BIA

Making a risks and threats assessment

Concluding with final infrastructures and organizational resilience analysis

Select and design winning solutions to ensure business continuity

Your Business Continuity Program needs to meet your organization’s agreed requirements and solutions in the last stages. Work in collaboration with our experts to implement them and to develop a response structure for a flexible program, adapted to specific incidents.

Proceeding to a risk mitigation, a capability assessment and a gap analysis

Designing a global a risk mitigation solution strategy combining all you need

Consolidating and prioritize the activities and resources

Implement Business Continuity plans, according to the requirements and solutions

Establishing a well-thought response structure

Developing strategic, tactical and operational plans

Managing your plans (business continuity, emergency response and IT disaster recovery)

Ensure everything about your business continuity program is effective

Usually executed continuously, the validation’s purpose is to confirm  your Business Continuity solutions and your response structure accurately reflects your organization's reality. Our team partner with you to validate that the developed plans improve the overall level of your organizational resilience.

Developing and managing your maintenance program over time

Developing and conducting various tabletop and IT disaster recovery exercises to continuously increase resiliency over time

Performing ongoing review of your program as your organization evolves and conducting your ISO 22301 audit

Elevate your organizational resilience

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For the third year in a row, ParaSolution is named a leader in SoftwareReviews 2023 Emotional Footprint Report. Its powerful software capabilities and its exceptional customer experience made our solution the most appreciated by all BCM software users.

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Business Continuity Management System (BCMS)

React quickly in times of crisis with a business continuity management system

You want to resume productive operations as quickly as possible after disruption or failure of your business processes, particularly those that rely on critical IT systems? Our business continuity management system (BCMS) as per ISO/IEC 22301 and ISO/IEC 27031 allows you to react quickly and correctly with practical emergency plans, IT emergency concepts and recovery plans.

A BCMS bundles interrelated methods, procedures and rules to safeguard the continuation of critical processes and can be integrated in or based on existing management systems. We define an individual strategy, which we derive from your specific requirements. With these necessary resources in place, it becomes possible for you to restart operations in order to avoid unacceptable downtimes.

You want your employees and business operations to continue to function even in times of crisis? Contact our experts now.

Safeguard your productivity with business continuity management and IT emergency management

Business continuity management is the best way to prepare for potential crises and minimize the impact of disruption. Use effective emergency planning to ensure that everyone at your company follows the plan when an incident occurs. Our pragmatic emergency concepts and recovery plans enable you to return to productive operations as quickly as possible after disruption or failure of your business processes, services, IT services or systems.

You can effectively reduce disaster related costs, meet compliance requirements and create an integrated risk management system that offers you legal certainty and a market advantage. By improving your availability level you also gain a considerable competitive edge, as your customers and business partners can rely on your company to stay functional even in times of crisis.

We develop your business continuity management system in just three steps

In just a few steps, we determine the maturity of your business continuity, develop a shared procedure for its continuous improvement and work with you to develop shared emergency strategies and plans:

• GAP analysis We analyze the existing aspects of your business continuity management system or IT emergency management system and therefore its maturity level.
• Improvement planning Based on this analysis we identify the measures needed to improve the maturity of your business continuity management system. We develop pragmatic approaches and measures that help you establish a suitable business continuity management system that evolves and improves over time.
• Implementation We work with you to implement the improvement plan and coach BCM officers how to implement and establish management tasks. This will give you the tools you need to handle a disaster or major incident, so you can act and react precisely and effectively in the event of an emergency.

The BCMS is designed, implemented and operated based on the standards ISO/IEC 22301 and ISO/IEC 27031.

On-demand webinar | ISO/IEC 22301 Business continuity managerment

Resilience of your business processes especially during critical incidents.

Learn how to deal with risk situations and limit potential losses due to interrupted supply chains.

Active crisis management with business continuity management

Our experts have extensive experience in the field of business continuity management. We help you introduce comprehensive BCM solutions and provide quality assurance while the project is in progress. We also help you coach your BCM officer and create tests and training concepts.

In addition, our "survival mix – risk and business continuity management" offer can bring together various analyses of threats ensuring alignment of your BCMS with identified risks.

Learn more about BCM. Make an appointment with our experts.

FAQ: Questions and Answers about Business Continuity Management

What is a business continuity management system.

A business continuity management system, or BCMS for short, is a management system that bundles interrelated methods, procedures and rules to ensure that critical business processes keep running in the event of damage or emergencies and continuously develops and improves them.

What are the advantages of Business Continuity Management?

With our emergency concepts and restart plans you can return to productive operation quickly after disruption or failure of your business processes, whether they are IT-assisted or not, and thus reduce downtimes. This is an effective way to lower follow-up costs and create a risk management system that provides legal certainty. You also gain a considerable competitive edge through a high level of availability.

What are the requirements for a comprehensive Business Continuity Management System?

A comprehensive BCMS should pursue a process-oriented approach and requires interaction between management processes, business processes and support processes. A business impact analysis (BIA) identifies the essential processes and assesses their availability requirements. Once the company has been analyzed, strategies and plans are developed to counter potential risks and scenario-based tests and exercises are conducted.

What standards underpin a BCMS?

A BCMS is designed, implemented and operated on the basis of standards ISO/IEC 22301 and ISO/IEC 27031.

What are the stages of developing and operating a BCMS?

We analyze your business processes and identify potential threats. On this basis we identify your actual protection needs. As part of a business impact analysis (BIA) we assess your business processes and IT services in regard to their availability requirements in case of an incident. Then we work with you to develop a suitable and detailed emergency strategy. We help you implement and operate the BCM software and create test and training concepts. During the project you also receive quality assurance from our certified experts.

What main BCMS-related questions does a business need to ask?

• How heavily is our productivity affected in the event of an incident?
• How do my customers and business partners react to a production outage?
• What is our maximum tolerated outage time?
• How can we maintain critical processes?
• What are the legal and regulatory requirements that could be breached?
• How can losses and effects be minimized?

Our experts on business continuity management systems can answer all these questions for you. Contact us now to find a solution that is tailored to your business.

Will my business automatically have permanent protection once the BCMS has been implemented?

No, setting up and operating a BCMS is not a one-off process, it requires regular testing and adjustment. This process is referred to as a continuous improvement process (CIP for short). We offer suitable training courses to ensure that the employees involved also receive continuous training.

Can a BCMS only run as an isolated management system?

No, it can be integrated in or based on existing management systems (e.g. QMS, ISMS).

Can a BCMS be certified?

Yes, if a BCMS has been implemented in line with ISO/IEC 22301:2019 it can be certified by an accredited company. Certification as per standard ISO/IEC 27031 is not possible.

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Safeguard your business continuance during system outages!

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Our experts help you develop a data protection management system.

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Strengthen your corporate governance with software-supported automation of your management systems.

ISMS According to ISO/IEC 27001

Improve systematic control over your company’s information security.

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COVID-19 business continuity plan: Five ways to reshape

EY Asia-Pacific Deputy Area Managing Partner

Harsha is an experienced leader in deals, capital advisory and succesful transactions in Asia. He has pioneered many businesses in Asia-Pacific and is a passionate supporter of team diversity.

EY-Parthenon Asia-Pacific and Japan Turnaround and Restructuring Strategy Leader; EY Asia-Pacific Reshaping Results Leader

Experienced restructuring advisor. Has held positions as President, CFO, Global Strategy Officer and Board Director. Extensive global and broad industry experience. Traveler. Family man.

EY Asia-Pacific Strategy and Transactions Leader

Thought leader in making transactions work. Practice builder and coach. Keen runner.

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How companies can reshape results and plan for covid-19 recovery (pdf), global companies have to be predictive and proactive in their decision-making to preserve business continuity and build enterprise resilience..

A s companies navigate the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, there are a number of key issues corporate leaders should be thinking about, as well as steps they can take to not only react to severe business shocks now but also reshape their business and plan for recovery.

We have identified five priorities for business leaders to consider – many based on perspectives and experiences from China and other countries in Asia, where COVID-19 first impacted.

1. Prioritize people safety and continuous engagement

Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the employees in the workplace is essential. People are looking to their employer, community and government leaders for guidance. Addressing their concerns in an open and transparent manner will go a long way to engaging them and reassuring the business continuity.

One of the adjustments companies have to make is to initiate or expand flexible work arrangements and other policies that allow people to work remotely and safely. Depending on the sector, companies will want to reorganize teams and reallocate resources, and establish employee wellbeing programs and policies that support a safe working environment. Additionally, companies will want to produce regular communications that align with current government and health authorities’ policies to help employees remain engaged as they and the organization navigate through the crisis.

Finding ways to reimagine a business-as-usual environment that minimizes disruptions for the organization requires a fine balance. Where telecommuting or flexible work arrangements aren’t possible and companies must have workers on site or in direct contact with customers, it is important to provide infection protections measures.

To help companies provide safe work environments, some municipal governments are working with big data amassed by technology companies and mobile operators to develop a health QR code system that allows people to track their movements over the previous 14 days to prove that they haven’t visited any high-risk areas. Still other governments centrally and locally are exempting or deferring, in part or in full, social insurance and rental payments.

Finding ways to reimagine a business-as-usual environment that minimizes disruptions for the organization requires a fine balance.

Even with all these measures, there will be businesses that will experience workforce disruptions. Labor shortages and increased costs due to mobility restrictions that various state and local government authorities have imposed will impact businesses. Companies that experience unique challenges, not covered by specific policies already issued, should seek advice from their local governments. Many governments have introduced fiscal stimulus and assistance programs for small businesses and sectors such as tourism and hospitality which have been severely impacted.

2. Reshape strategy for business continuity

Most businesses are likely to experience significant disruption to their business-as-usual operations and will face business underperformance throughout the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. At the start of this crisis, supply chain challenges were significant for companies with exposure to China. But now the crisis has spread to Europe and the U.S, many more companies are experiencing operational disruption, as well as significant shifts in consumer demands and behavior impacting sectors from consumer and retail, to manufacturing, life sciences to automotive.

To help address these challenges, companies should:

• Evaluate short-term liquidity. Companies will want to instil short-term cash flow monitoring discipline that allows them to predict cash flow pressures and intervene in a timely manner. They’ll also want to maintain strict discipline on working capital, particularly around collecting receivables and managing inventory build-up. Additionally, it’s important to be creative and proactively intervene to lighten the working capital cycle. Throughout the crisis, companies will want to maintain regular contact with suppliers to identify any potential risks.
• Assess financial and operational risks and respond quickly. Companies will need to monitor direct cost escalations and their impact on overall product margins, intervening and renegotiating, where necessary. Companies that are slow to react or unable to renegotiate new terms and conditions may be vulnerable to financial stress that could carry long-term implications. 

Just as companies need to monitor their in-house vulnerabilities, they also will need to monitor the pressures that may be impacting some of their customers, suppliers, contractors or alliance partners. In particular, companies will want to stress test any tier one and tier two suppliers that may be impacted. This is especially important for sectors such as automotive and pharmaceutical, which are highly dependent on third-party suppliers. Finally, be aware of covenant breaches with banking facilities and other financial institutions relating to impairment risks in asset values, which may impact the health of the overall balance sheet.

• Consider alternative supply chain options.   Companies that source parts or materials from suppliers in areas significantly impacted by COVID-19 will want to look for alternatives . For example, a Japanese industrials manufacturer is considering moving the assembly of commercial air conditioners to Malaysia from the Hubei Province capital of Wuhan, which remains under lockdown. Similarly, a global apparel company is looking to move production of its products from facilities in Wuhan to Vietnam and Indonesia. Such quick moves will create temporary capacity to meet customer obligations. Companies that have arrangements with agile manufacturing facilities to make spot buying decisions, or have loose contractual arrangements with various service providers and logistics providers, should consider the initial disruption as well as post-crisis scenarios given the potential for demand spikes.

Organizations that operate with transparency and open communication have inherent advantages when events require quick actions to react and reshape.

How can companies meet the challenge of supply chain disruption?

• Determine how the COVID-19 crisis affects budgets and business plans. Companies will want to stress-test financial plans for multiple scenarios to understand the potential impact on financial performance and assess how long the impact may continue. If the impact is material and former budget assumptions and business plans are no longer relevant, companies should revise them to remain agile. Where the business is significantly impacted, companies will need to consider minimum operating requirements, including key dependencies of workforce, vendors, location and technology. 

There is also the issue of short-term capital demands for continuous business operations. Based on the outcome of the assessment, companies may need to look at near-term capital raising, debt refinancing or additional credit support from banks or investors, or policy supports from the government. At the same time, companies will need to review overall operating costs and consider slowing down or curtailing all non-essential expenses.

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3. communicate with relevant stakeholders.

Clear, transparent and timely communications are necessary when creating a platform to reshape the business and to secure ongoing support from customers, employees, suppliers, creditors, investors and regulatory authorities.

• Customers. Companies will want to keep customers apprised of any impacts to product or service delivery. If contractual obligations cannot be met as a result of supplier or production disruption, it is important to maintain open lines of communication to revisit timelines or invoke “force majeure” or “act of God” clauses. Such proactive action will help to mitigate punitive damages or liabilities associated with disrupted customer obligations.
• Employees. For employees, communications plans should try to find the balance between caution and maintaining a business-as-usual mindset.
• Suppliers. Companies need maintain regular contact with suppliers regarding their capability to deliver goods and services during the COVID-19 crisis and their recovery plans, so that the company can consider alternative supply chain options in a timely manner.
• Creditors and investors. Companies will want to review terms and conditions on loan contracts to identify sensitive debts and avoid vital technical debt breaches. These reviews will have the added benefit of giving companies a chance to proactively manage the dialogue and communications with creditors regarding any necessary amendments to existing terms or refinancing arrangements.
• Government and regulators. When communicating with relevant stakeholders, companies will want to consult with their legal teams for advice on potential liabilities and with their business units regarding how to manage communications around ongoing breaches and collection of proof, if any.

Companies have to ask themselves whether they have the right supply chain and agility to withstand a three-month disruption.

4. Maximize the use of government support policies

Central and local governments in China have released several financial, social insurance and tax-related policies to support companies. This includes the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s (CSRC) interim policy on listed companies refinancing. Recently the US, UK and many other developed nations have announced amendments to tax and financing policies. 

Companies should monitor nation-wide government and organizational opportunities for support and how they may best serve the individual circumstances of their situation. It is important to note that government support may differ based on jurisdiction and sector. Companies will need to identify and understand each offer of support and determine which ones are best for their organization.

The China State Taxation Administration (STA) has published a series of policies to provide support for preventing and treating the epidemic, including:

• Exempting and refunding value added tax (VAT) for enterprises providing certain services for epidemic control or manufacturing key epidemic-related necessities.
• Offering a full corporate income tax (CIT) deduction for purchasing equipment to manufacture epidemic prevention-related supplies.
• Providing an individual income tax (IIT) exemptions on bonuses and allowances relevant personnel receive for treating the epidemic.
• Issuing other policies that encourage public-benefit donations.

Temporary social insurance contribution reductions and exemptions the STA and Ministry of Finance (MOF) have introduced also have helped to ease the burden on companies.

Other countries impacted by the crisis, including Singapore and Japan, are introducing similar government policies. Companies should monitor the availability of these kinds of programs and use them to mitigate the risks they face.

5. Build resilience in preparation for the new normal

Once companies have solidified strategies based on stress tests and communicated any new directions with relevant stakeholders, they will need to execute based on revised plans while monitoring what continues to be a fluid situation. Senior management should report any material deviation from the plan in a timely manner so that their companies can take additional action to avoid further negative impact.

Once the COVID-19 outbreak is controlled, companies will want to review and renew business continuity plans (BCP). They’ll want to assess how existing BCPs are working. If there are deficiencies, companies will want to identify root causes, whether it’s timeliness of action, lack of infrastructure, labor shortages, or external environment issues. Companies will then want to consider putting new internal guidelines in place based on lessons learned, as well as solid contingency plans to build resilience and better respond to future crises.

Financial services organizations have an ethical opportunity to develop more agile products for working capital and short-term loans to support the economy.

Plan for recovery now, not later 

The COVID-19 crisis was impossible to predict with conventional wisdom and forecasting tools. However, there are many lessons companies can learn and carry forward once the crisis has passed and they’ve had a chance to analyze their response.

In the meantime, companies should be making decisions and taking actions during crisis with recovery in mind. When the crisis is over, it will be clear which companies have the resilience and agility to reshape their business strategy to thrive in the future.

Longer term, companies will need to consider how robust their business, management team and initiatives were in facing the crisis. It will also be important to consider and reset the business assumptions that underpin the supply chain and other concentrations that many businesses have been exposed to over time.

Once the situation is mitigated, companies should reevaluate how robust their business management was facing the crisis, and then analyze options to become more resilient against future disruptions.

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Companies around the world are trying to come to terms with the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) is having on their business. Although the risks are considerable, the crisis also reveals areas where companies can build resilience and reshape themselves for a post-crisis world.

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