As more information becomes available about how the country and the economy rebuilds as the lockdown restrictions are eased, some of the bigger strategic decisions will become clearer. Regardless of how long it takes for things to return to ‘normal’, businesses need to look inwards before directing their focus outwards.

Undertake a business stock-take

It’s important to undertake a stock-take of your current business to fully understand your obligations and financial position. This reality check will make it clear what you can do to survive and what support you will need. It’s a challenging time for businesses, most of whom are desperately trying to keep their heads above water, while at the same time trying to plan for an uncertain future with limited energy, all while taking into account the needs of their own bubble. To help you develop an overview of your business and work through the priorities, we have created a Business Continuity template.

Business Continuity Plan

In a perfect world, we would all have a business continuity plan (BCP) set up prior to a global crisis. Yeah right! However, it is not too late to sketch out a plan. A BCP highlights the most important parts of your business, identifies the potential risks and the key factors to maintain and protect those critical parts, and helps you recover quickly. It also highlights the things you can control and, at the moment, we could all do with a bit of that.

Here is your free template BusinessContinuityPlan.pdf . The template will help you work through key areas to think about such as:

  • Governance and Communication
  • Your team
  • Essential roles
  • Core products and/or services
  • Key customers/clients
  • Cash Flow and financial assistance
  • Essential supplies/services
  • Essential Equipment
  • Work locations and different ways of working
  • Insurance

There are some great resources available to assist in compiling your plan. We recommend the Institute of Directors New Zealand for profit and non-profit organisations: www.iod.org.nz. Civil Defence also has some practical resources: https://getprepared.nz/organisations/business/.


What we offer

Once you’ve worked through the template, give us a call. We can highlight any potential issues and you can decide whether you want to invest some time and money to receive practical, actionable advice.


Julie Aitken
DDI + 64 3 443 0918
Email julie.aitken@aspiringlaw.co.nz

John Mezger
DDI + 64 3 443 0917
Mobile + 64 21 404 537
Email john.mezger@aspiringlaw.co.nz

Janice Hughes
DDI + 64 3 443 0911
Mobile + 64 27 434 2789
Email janice.hughes@aspiringlaw.co.nz

Business & Commercial