Preparing for the what ifs

Becoming a dad has changed my life in quite a few ways. There is obviously the lack of sleep, forcing me to become less selfish (gone are the days of me doing what I actually want), having to have Thomas the Tank Engine on TV instead of sport, holidays abroad seem a distant memory and the list goes on.

One big thing however that has changed is my added sense of planning for the worse-case scenario. The amount of things we have to pack just to leave the house is absurd. As a typical accountant I have made a checklist but we have to constantly plan for what if. After all there are so many things that could happen that are out of our control.

The world of business is quite similar. After all there are a lot of factors that are out of a business’s control. Planning for these and being aware of such risks are what’s known as business resilience. You only have to turn on the TV in the morning to hear about many businesses and large organisations facing economic challenges. This is why I would really advise a business to undertake an exercise on business resilience.

It doesn’t have to be a big exercise but considering how prepared you are for:

• Losing a key customer

• Getting hit with a bad debt

• Losing a key member of staff

• Change in regulations that may affect your business

• Increased competition

• Loss of a key supplier

• Demands on cashflow

• Tightened working capital

• The ability to obtain finance fast if required

• Exchange rates

• What to do if you are faced with administration

There is no ‘one size fits all’ here, every business is different and will have their own risks. This is why it is so important to have a business resilience plan in place. Know what your risks are and how to mitigate them.

So as I plan for a day out, I get my checklist and ensure that I too, am prepared for every eventuality that I think my child could throw at me, or as prepared as I can be.