CPA_Practice_Advisor_March_2020 - 9

TECHNOLOGY IN PRACTICE

CORONAVIRUS:

Is Your firm Prepared for a Pandemic?
NATURAL DISASTERS AND cybersecurity concerns have pushed most firms to develop
ROMAN H. KEPCZYK, CPA.CITP

Director of Consulting
Xcentric, LLC.
roman.kepczyk@cpapracticeadvisor.com

a disaster response plan in the event of a catastrophic office or systems loss, but few
have considered the potential impact of a massive influenza (flu) outbreak, such as the
current Coronavirus epidemic.

Imagine how life would change if a significant
portion of the workforce had to stay home either
because they were sick or were caring for loved
ones that were ill. Think about the impacts on
public services such as transportation, schools,
restaurants and the simple delivery of products
to grocery stores and gas stations if the virus
spread to epidemic levels, particularly if it was
suggested by city governments that people stay
home and avoid public places.
To minimize the potential impact of such
an event, it is recommended that firms include
preparations for a pandemic within their business continuation plan comprising of annual
awareness training, "pre-packaging" useful
information resources, and implementing technologies to communicate and collaborate with
those physically unable to come to the office.
It has been said that prevention is the
first and best defense, so firms should include
educating personnel (preferably before the flu
season starts) on good health habits to bolster
immune systems and ways to minimize the
spread of any virus (proper hand washing and
covering up sneezes and coughs). The American
Red Cross provides resources on traditional flu
safety including a checklist that can be stored
on the firm's intranet and provided to firm
personnel (link below). In the event the level
of the flu reaches catastrophic levels akin to a
natural disaster, the Red Cross also has a Family Preparedness Fact Sheet which can also be
provided to firm members, so they are better
prepared for ANY disaster (link below).
The next level of preparation that all firms
should implement is remote access technology
that allows firm personnel to continue to communicate and collaborate if they must stay home.
This can mean utilizing remote access tools such
as GoToMyPC or LogMeIn for a small firm/sole
practitioner or tools such as Windows Remote

Desktop, Citrix, Virtual Private Networks, and/or cloud applications for
medium and larger firms. The 2020
CPAFMA Technology Survey found
that most medium and larger firms
had already moved the majority of
their applications to the cloud to
not only allow firm personnel to
work from any Internet-enabled
device but also provide more stable
remote access, security and disaster
recovery capabilities. Moving all
applications to the cloud allows
for a standardized remote access
platform that minimizes internal IT
requirements, system updates and
support which could be impacted if
the firm's IT personnel were sick.
Finally, in the event that a
serious pandemic occurred, people
could be asked to stay home for an
extended period of time which may
impact administrative and human
resources policies such as PTO and
flex time. In these situations, it is important
that the firm's human resources personnel have
already determined firm policies on working
part time, for handling payroll, and thoroughly
understanding health insurance benefits and
Family Medical Leave Act requirements. If there
is a region wide slow-down in business, firms
may have to draw upon credit lines to cover

ongoing operating expenses, so an adequate
amount of financial coverage should be discussed
amongst owners
By planning properly now, firms can minimize
the concerns of personnel and their families, as
well as implement the right resources to ensure
that the firm makes it through virtually any
situation including a pandemic. ■

Firm Pandemic Resources:
* American Red Cross Coronavirus Safety: https://rdcrss.org/2W8dluQ
* American Red Cross Flu Safety Checklist (PDF): https://rdcrss.org/2w2fYDU
* American Red Cross Disaster Preparedness: https://rdcrss.org/3aMDhA8
* World Health Organization Coronavirus Page: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
* Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Coronavirus Page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

MARCH 2020 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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