The COVID-19 pandemic has stirred up a storm throughout the world, forming a threat not just to public health, but also to the global economy. The crisis may have a direct and indirect impact on your information and systems, i.e. on your organisation. It is important to take measures to mitigate the related risks, so as to safeguard your ability to continue as a going concern and ensure information security. Once you have taken those, it is time to rethink your IT investments and projects; this will allow you to streamline and, where possible, digitalise your processes later on. The pandemic has caused IT security to become an instant priority as people were suddenly expected to be working from home on a massive scale. It has also resulted in organisations wanting to speed up process improvements through digitalisation.
Three phases: REACT, RESILIENCE and REALISE
The situation is different for each organisation and sector. We have identified three phases that you and your organisation will have to navigate in the COVID-19 crisis. This three-phase model will help you gain a clear understanding of your potential challenges and business priorities. We will elaborate on the three phases below.
REACT: anchoring critical business processes and information security
As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic had reached the Netherlands, the Dutch government advised people to work from home if at all possible. This may have seemed like a relatively simple measure, but the impact on many organisations was more pervasive than you might initially think. These practical pointers will help your organisation facilitate working from home while effectively protecting your organisation. Now that working from home has become the standard, cybersecurity is gaining traction as a focus area.
To limit the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic on your organisation and its information and systems, you need to think and act on your feet.
RESILIENCE: process optimisation and rethinking of IT projects
Once you have made sure that your organisation is a going concern and your information systems are secure, it is time to think about streamlining your processes. In this phase, you can start considering the redesign of your processes. The current economic conditions may prompt you to rethink your IT projects and investments: which projects would you be best advised to discontinue and which are safe to pursue without jeopardising your organisation’s continuity over time? Would you be able to cut back on the costs of managing and maintaining your existing IT infrastructure while it is processing peak loads now that your employees are working from home? BDO can help you see through things quickly so that you can make informed decisions.
REALISE: a future-proof organisation thanks to digitalisation
In the realise phase , it is important to implement the lessons learned in the two previous phases. This is the time to turn your organisation around and make it future-proof.
Robotic Process Automation
You may have found that some – basic – processes were critical, yet vulnerable in a crisis situation. It may be worth exploring whether these types of processes are suitable for automation to reduce your vulnerability, increase your flexibility and future-proof your organisation so that you can absorb the shock of any future calamities. In times of crisis, organisations need to be creative, efficient and flexible about continuing their operations. Technology such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can take over repetitive and labour-intensive manual work from humans. Robotics can be used, for instance, to generate reports and management information, e.g. to gain an understanding of payables and receivables, or to operate a digital desk for frequently asked questions and complaints.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought home the relevance of digitalisation. As a result, you are now more likely to want to create transparency, set new goals and look at how to digitalise processes. Technological advances and continuous automation offer organisations options for data analysis that can be used to predict consumer behaviours. That said, digital transformation also comes with risks, such as cybersecurity threats .
Understanding your tax opportunities and threats
If you run a business, the tax authorities may decide to audit you at any time. Rather than auditing your entire tax position, they increasingly apply statistical sampling. Despite the fact that organisations are still reeling from the crisis and may have just started recovering at this point in time, one little oversight can have major tax implications. BDO can tell you all about statistical sampling and help you learn more about your tax opportunities and threats.
BDO VAT Monitor
The tax authorities and other stakeholders are increasingly embracing information-driven supervision, mostly based on data analysis. This is causing more and more focus to be placed on VAT. Smarter application of audit tools allows the tax authorities to detect errors in processes and VAT returns earlier. Once they have identified an error in a VAT return, it is too late for voluntary disclosure. As a result, a tax audit may result in additional tax assessments, including penalties and interest, before you know it. You can prevent being slapped with an additional tax assessment if you use the BDO VAT Monitor to screen your processes and VAT returns for tax errors and opportunities based on data analysis.
Tax incentives
In uncertain times, you need to be able to leverage your labour potential and your available resources. As your employees’ usual work dries up, you may want to consider reassigning them to your innovation effort. This is the time to avail yourself of tax incentives for innovation, such as for research and development. You need to know what boxes to tick to qualify for tax incentives for innovation. Please do not hesitate to contact our specialists to find out more.
More information
Please feel free to contact one of our specialists if you have any questions about how to improve your IT security and your digital processes. They can help you perform an in-depth analysis. BDO is there for you.