Crisis Management

“NEVER LET A GOOD CRISIS GO TO WASTE” (Winston Churchill)

The COVID19 pandemic triggered an acute crisis within a short time that threatens all areas of our lives. In this existential exceptional situation, decisive steps to cushion the effects of the crisis on the company must be taken without delay. 

For many companies it’s time to critically analyse the fundamentals of the business with everything on the table for inclusion. There are numerous examples of famous companies that changed strategic direction after such a re-think and hugely boosted corporate performance as a result. 

Based on the analysis of your risk situation, we will help you to develop tailor-made solutions to contain the economic setback and offer you professional support, in particular in the following areas:

• Compensation for a sales shortfall
• Liquidity and corporate planning
• Financing & refinancing / debt restructuring
• Communication / negotiation with authorities, banks and business partners
• Revision of business models – identification of new business areas and sales channels
• Identification and utilization of cost reduction potentials
• Valuation and selling of non-operational assets
• Selling of unprofitable and non-core business units, respectively
• Development of Post-crisis strategy based on the respective scenarios
• Start-up assistance when the peak of the crisis has passed and the company is to be gradually started up again

The recovery strategy could be broken down into 3 imperatives:

SURVIVE – IMPROVE – SEIZE OPPORTUNITY 

While it’s normal to focus on what is happening right now, especially in light of the constantly changing situation, business owners also need to spend time thinking about how to rebuild once the crisis has passed. 

Businesses first need to deal with cash flow and liquidity issues, considering how to potentially repurpose to keep those in check. The next step is to think about possible areas for improvement, such as modernization of technology. Lastly, for those less impacted, now could be the time to take advantage of new business opportunities.

A new business environment

Our advice is designed to help in the immediate aftermath of a crisis, however, it could also help business owners navigate what is set to be a new economic landscape once the outbreak passes. 

That shift will likely play out in four ways:

1. more businesses will begin to operate remotely, as working from home becomes more viable
2. a rapid ramping up of technology
3. globalization will need to be rethought to make supply chains more robust to global shocks
4. businesses will need to become more robust generally, focusing on long-term planning

GRA:FIN does not offer only relevant expertise from the SARS crisis in 2003 and the financial crisis in 2008/09 as commercial banker based in Singapore, but also assumes the role as moderator, supports clarification processes, pushes processes forward and supports the conception and implementation.