| CPA - Never Underestimate the Value CRISIS MANAGEMENT I use a team-approach to crisis management. This involves; 1) the CPA, me. 2) a banker. 3) a mortgage broker. 4) a business consultant. 5) a lawyer. Each crisis is different, please call me about your specific situation. Part One: Make Sure You Get A Good Captain: Can you imagine a ship surviving a severe thunderstorm without a captain? Of course not. And it’s no different when your business is hit with a disaster. Focus on defining roles so you know exactly who has the authority to invoke the plan. (and who is second and third in command if that person is unavailable). This gets rid of all the little decisions and ensures all the key people are clear on their roles and responsibilities in the event of a disaster. Part Two: Be prepared by understanding exactly what the plan is designed to do. What is included and what is excluded. What are the vulnerabilities of the plan, if any? This section ensures the critical functions of the business continuity process are prioritized. Part Three: Management Structure: Clearly identify what everyone's role is in the event of an emergency in a detailed organizational chart. Part Four: Immunize your business against chaos by clearly outlining what the essential and specific items are that everyone needs to do. For example, the IT manager may need to send the back up tapes to the recovery site. The CEO may be in charge of dealing with the media, someone else may be in charge of securing the disaster site, etc Part Five; Automatically keep everyone focused and calm with precise process maps which walk you through the end to end process and the decision steps that need to be taken into consideration. Part Six; Project Plan Every Minute Step-By-Step: Who needs to redirect the phone lines? Deal with the telecommunications centre? Manage the media? Transfer the fax lines? Co-ordinate the command centre (back up offices)? Who will make sure there are plenty of computers, phones, desks, etc? Can you see what sort of problems it would cause if you had no plan? Part Seven; Step By Step Checklists including: Contact List: So you have the contact details and phone numbers of everyone you need in the event of a disaster. Backup Data: Ensuring your backup data is available and how to retrieve it quickly. Alternative Office Setup: This ensures you can quickly get up and running in an alternative office so you don't lose thousands of dollars in wasted wages, lost customers and down time. It also ensures you have all the resources you need. Media Crisis Management: Exactly how to manage the media and beat them at their own game, so they don't embarrass your company and ruin your reputation. |

| Robert Lee Riley CPA, MBA-tax |
| Riley Accounting |