Post-Covid Leadership Role Needs To Be Played By Accountants

Some countries are experiencing post Covid-19, while others are struggling to pull through. Therefore, there is a need for finance professionals to guide others.

All economic catastrophes are bound to bring change in the environment of the business world. Post Covid-19, the market will have many changes in it.

One could say that lives, economies and businesses changed overnight and indeed, these changes will continue to disrupt industries for a long time.

The way in which businesses will survive and adapt depends on the strategy and leadership of their accountants.

Cost Structure

In the coming months, businesses have to cut costs and find new ways to eliminate waste and come up with savings. They also need to become flexible, resilient and nimble. Therefore, accountants have to work for shareholders so that they can identify areas with chances of better productivity. By being able to deliver sustainable cost structure while avoiding any impact of customer resiliency, security requirements and compliance is of key importance. This can be in the form of a lot of digital channels or cost variables.

FP&A Turbo Charge

The FP&A, Financial Planning & Analysis team will need to create and use every resource available, in order to provide a trustworthy projection on expenses and revenue. Moreover, companies will need to rely and hire the best people in this field for accurate forecasts.

Processes will need to be developed so that information can be collected, like; intelligence from external and internal stakeholders, industry oversights, economic trends, insights from social media and news scanning. While trusting their intuition, they need to be objective, using a professional skepticism to work. The approach of top down and bottom up in a balanced manner is the best way to deal with this.

The FP&A team also needs to monitor, in real time, the actual performance and course correct if needed. One thing to keep in mind is that when people are down, so are the numbers, which means that their effectiveness can be enhanced by putting together business experience with accurate evidence.

Remodel Cash Flows

When it comes to cash flows, vendors and customers lengthen the timeframe for making payments. One thing to always keep in mind is that your vendors and customers tend to face the same issues, so the right balance has to be maintained.

Revisiting Financing

Accountants need to change their way of perceiving the current arrangements of debt. There can be chances of breach of covenants or material adverse changes. Therefore, accountants should be proactive with financiers. Secure lines of credit can have an upper hand on low interest rates. Taking up government grants and loans is one way to go about it.

Risks

The meaning of risks will change with the market flow. Whether it is the company’s continuity plan, inventory management or forecasting, it all needs to be integrated seamlessly into a sustainable model.

Ensure & Comply Security

The post covid-19 world will need your business model to continue while evolving channels, digital platforms, increasing interconnectivity and working from home.

Protect your Employees

You should be sure of how you can support your people and extend the organization for long term distancing. Professionals need to use their ability to narrate assumptions and numbers in an accurate form. Communication is key when dealing with critical stakeholders and giving them the best solutions, rather than focusing on accounting alone.

Conclusively, finance professionals should play their leadership role properly for everything else to run smoothly. As sharp observers, they analyze macroeconomic trends and bring about changes for the company accordingly.