Business Continuity and the Pandemic

Now and again a "perfect storm" comes along. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of those. Generally "Business Continuity" focuses on localized events - a cyclone, a terrorist attack; but not usually on an event that affects everything, all over the world - at the same time!

COVID-19 has done just that - from shutting down international travel, stopping manufacturing, closing stores, malls, offices, schools, and more.

So just how are firms coping with events?

Read "Lessons from the front line -  How managers have coped with the pandemic" from The Economist. Click HERE.

Downturns are corporate fraudsters’ worst enemy

Booms help fraudsters paper over cracks in their accounts, from fictitious investment returns to exaggerated sales. Slowdowns rip the covering off.

As Warren Buffett once put it: “You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.” This time, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, the water has whooshed away at record speed.

Read the full Economist article HERE.

Will Covid-19 break the Internet?

As more and more countries across the world became subject to increasingly severe restrictions during March, the question popping up more and more frequently was "will the coronavirus break the internet?"



In the main the answer is "no" provided that we are talking about broadband; but what if you are connected over a mobile network?

The answer here is not all that straightforward.  Find out more HERE.

Death of the unicorn - Technology startups are headed for a fall

The unicorn reality check was already underway before America declared a national state of emergency over Covid-19 on March 13th. Venture capitalists reckoned that a third of American unicorns would thrive, a third would disappoint and a third would be taken over or die.

Read more HERE

What are the implications of Coronavirus for business? Update 25 June

The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy. McKinsey has published an extensive article that is intended to provide business leaders with a perspective on the evolving situation and implications for their companies.

Read the full McKinsey article HERE. 

PSD2 - what U.S.based merchants who sell into the EU need to know

PSD2, Europe’s new set of online payment security rules, was supposed to have a ripple effect on U.S.-based merchants when it took effect in September 2019. However, a delay in full enforcement of the new standards until the end of 2020 has given US companies more time to figure out whether they’re required to comply and if so, how to do so.

What do U.S.-based merchants who sell into the EU need to know now? Get the details HERE.

Risk Management and the Coronavirus

Vicky Yu a compliance professional currently in China, has seen the effects of the coronavirus firsthand. She offers lessons learned, hopefully, to protect those organizations that may yet get an up-close-and-personal view into the outbreak.

Since the coronavirus outbreak in China in late December 2019, many Chinese companies or multinational companies that have offices in China are facing stress from government regulations and their own employees. Vicky Yu offers some insight into how risk and compliance professionals can build a stronger system.

Read what she says at Corporate Compliance Insights HERE.