David Anderson is principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of fraud investigation, forensic accounting and marital dissolution services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.
Hurricane Matthew, in addition to tragically killing more than 900 people this past week, is believed to have caused between $4 billion and $6 billion in damage in the Caribbean and southeastern United States.
Yes, that’s billion with a “B.”
Countless buildings – including many homes and businesses – were destroyed and while most homeowners and business operators here in the U.S. probably had insurance to cover the financial loss, what about the loss those businesses suffered involving sales orders, customer lists, software programs, business contracts, and other critical documents and data?
A well-prepared, up-to-date disaster recovery program can help a firm stay in business or get back to business sooner than companies without such plans in place. As high as 80 percent of companies affected by a disaster never reopen or shutter their doors within two years of reopening.
“The businesses that do survive are the ones who prepared in advance for something they fervently hoped would never happen,” says David Anderson, principal of David Anderson & Associates, a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, including development, implementation and management of comprehensive contingency and disaster recovery plans. “Creating a business continuity plan is just smart business. It greatly enhances the chances that your business will survive the disaster and that your livelihood — and that of your employees — will be protected.”
Anderson said some business owners think they are covered as long as they have purchased insurance and backed up their computer files. But a comprehensive contingency and disaster recovery plan covers myriad details of a business’ operations, some of them not always obvious. And every business, no matter how big or small, needs to have a business continuity plan in place, Anderson said.
Can your business survive a disaster? Ask yourself these questions:
- Are both your electronic and paper business records protected? Is vital information backed up in case a computer hard drive crashes?
- If one or more of your offices or production facilities are severely damaged or destroyed, where will you relocate?
- What steps need to be taken to resume operations and how fast can you be up and running again?
- Do your employees know what to do and where to go?
- Do you have adequate insurance to rebuild your business?
- How do you assure your customers will keep paying you?
- Will your vendors continue to extend credit to you?
- How will you replace key employees injured or killed by the disaster?
- Are you prepared with step-by-step procedures to react to different types and severities of disasters?
Having a comprehensive contingency and disaster recovery plan (business continuity plan) in place can minimize your financial loss and help your business survive a disaster.
If you are in need of a comprehensive contingency and disaster recovery plan or require any other forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, please contact the Philadelphia forensic accounting firm of David Anderson & Associates by calling David Anderson at 267-207-3597 or emailing him at david@davidandersonassociates.com.
About David Anderson & Associates
David Anderson & Associates is a Philadelphia forensic accounting firm that provides a full range of forensic accounting services in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The experienced professionals at David Anderson & Associates provide forensic accounting, business valuation, fraud investigation, litigation support, economic damage analysis, business consulting and outsourced CFO services. Company principal David Anderson has more than 30 years of experience in financial and operational leadership positions and is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Valuation Analyst.
