Articles

Business Owner To Do List Pre-Hurricane Irma by Sean Chari


Posted on September 05, 2017

As Hurricane Irma approaches, there are steps business can take that go beyond shuttering windows and creating an employee hotline.

 

Based on the current tracking timeline, South Florida will begin feeling the initial weather impact at the end of the week. That doesn’t mean that productivity is not already dipping as people are worried, distracted and thinking about their personal plans.

 

We have prepared a quick-hit guide for businesses that will enable speedy resumption of productivity after the storm and minimize delays if your physical office sustains damage.

 

·       Validate IT redundancy and backup systems:  Ensure that whatever disaster recovery plan you have is activated and functional.  This group should walk through the plan and make sure that everything is applicable and up-to-date.  A frequent issue is having an out-of-date contact lists and telephone numbers.

 

·       Identify and activate a disaster recovery and business continuity task force

 

·       Validate that remote access is setup for key employees.

 

·       Compile a list of open orders for the next 30 days.

 

·       Create a customer contact list and information regarding open and existing orders or projects for the next 30 days.

 

·       Check the generator. If you have an onsite generator, make sure that you have fuel and that it is operational.

 

·       Make copies of insurance documents and contact information. Consider giving more than one person copies.

 

·       Determine if you will initiate early payroll processing. Consider that access may be limited for a few days.  Even if the office is not working, employees need their paychecks.

 

·       Complete current orders and activities. Expect that employees may not be in office Thursday or Friday and possibly the beginning of next week

 

·       Communicate potential shipping delays or issues to clients early.

 

·       Compile a list of upcoming payables due within the next 30 days.

 

·       Compile contact information for your bankers.

 

We wish all of our clients and friends of the firm safety during the storm.

 

About the Author: Sean Chari is senior manager of IT security consulting and a technology advisor with Berkowitz Pollack Brant. He can be reached in the firm’s Ft. Lauderdale office at 954-712-7000 or by email at schari@bpbcpa.com.