Hurricane Dorian – It’s Not too Late for Businesses to Plan Ahead for Storms by Daniel Hughes, CPA

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Posted on August 29, 2019 by Daniel Hughes

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As Hurricane Dorian menaces the Florida coast,  it is not too late for businesses to prepare for the threat of a potential disaster that can interrupt normal businesses operations and cause millions of dollars in damages and lost revenue.

Following are just a few things that businesses should consider as part of a well-thought-out disaster-preparedness and business-continuity plan.

• Develop an emergency plan or review and update last year’s plan based on changes in circumstances, personnel, etc.;
• Review your property insurance and business interruption policy, and understand the terms, policy limitations, exclusions and other loss considerations. Up-front preparations can help you to mitigate losses and more quickly recover lost revenue;
• Update contact information to help you communicate with employees, vendors, customers and any other people your business relies on for maintaining and sustaining normal operations;
• Ensure records of inventory, orders and events are up-to-date;
• Confirm accuracy of historic, current and projected financial data, including balance sheets, profit and loss statements, budgets;
• Document valuables, including taking photographs and video of business assets, such as real estate, equipment, machinery;
• Create and store in a safe place (such as the cloud) electronic copies of important business documentation and inventory of assets; and
• Have data duplication, backup and recovery systems in place to help you access files and restore data as quickly as possible.

 

The forensic accountants with Berkowitz Pollack Brant have extensive experience helping businesses prepare for, document and defend commercial insurance claims that result from natural or man-made crises.

About the Author: Daniel S. Hughes, CPA/CFF/CGMA, CVA, is a director with Berkowitz Pollack Brant’s Forensics and Business Valuation Services practice, where he helps companies of all sizes assess economic damages, lost profits and the quantification of business interruption insurance claims. He can be reached at the CPA firm’s Miami office at (305) 379-7000 or via e-mail at info@bpbcpa.com.

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