Why is business resilience important during Covid19?

With COVID-19 now having been declared a global pandemic, I say that these have been some of our busiest weeks in recent memory at InCorp. A brutish confluence of events has impacted our region with a ferocity that has unnerved us all. This means we have been helping many organisations reassess their operations with a view to not just surviving through these uncertain times, but flourishing once we see their end.

Hong Kong’s well-publicised unrest has been affecting Southeast Asia for quite some time and shows no clear path to resolution. It had profound effects on our tourism industry, as well as confidence in the Southeast Asia area as a whole.

Despite the recent trade deals between the United States and China, their 2019 trade war saw the effects ripple into Singapore with our Republic’s slowest growth rate since 2008. Singapore exports and imports have been down across the board whilst the markets navigate to find some confidence.

Finally, as if with some malice, the COVID-19 disease has ripped through any illusion of international border (and financial) security across the globe. This virus is a global crisis in and of itself, however, when compounded with the previous two scenarios, it has created unprecedented insecurity in our region.

In a time where mixed messages almost encourage us to flinch in uncertainty, I’d like to make it clear to all small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that this is, in fact, a time to act.

To stabilise the issue, a programme to enhance business resiliency can be used to help your organisation develop adaptability in this unclear climate struggling with declining profitability, a poor cash position, or high gearing ratio.

For instance, a Financial & Operational Resiliency report highlights any risks for your business, in terms of both profitability and cash flow. A snapshot of your revenue model and cost drivers is created, and from there, a set of customised KPIs are developed to lead you back to certainty.

Through the retrieval of KPI results, you are able to identify any existing or potential weaknesses/gaps and resort to immediate remedies that could be adopted by your company.

What is the next course of action for your company?
Depending on the gaps discovered, you are able to do the following:

• Revenue Modelling to identify the most lucrative sections of your business and align your capacity to potential revenue
• Implement cost controls via cost analysis
• Improve your inventory and credit management in your working capital
• Take better control of your cash flow management in areas of capital expenditure management, debt restructuring and loan requirements
• Check if your company is eligible for any of the government grants and financing schemes available

We have provided this guide with the genuine hope that if you have the capacity to do this in house, it will help you forget your own path forward. However, we do acknowledge that not every SME will have the time or ability to undertake this process themselves and should heed necessary advice where needed as these can be complex issues.

In the meantime, we wish you every advantage, as we all do our best to move forward with positivity and resilience.