RECAP OF WEBINAR ON RETOOLING COMPANY BUDGETS AND RESOURCES
We were incredibly pleased to have had such a strong attendance for our Webinar on Retooling Company Budgets and Resources. We also appreciate our sponsors Grant Thornton, also a Vice President Club Member. Below are the key highlights from the discussion.
President Michael Davis pointed out the laxity with which the general public is taking measures to stop the spread of COVID19. In his opinion, this might deter the containment of the virus should the situation get out of hand.
Younusu Musoke from Grant Thornton thanked AmCham Uganda for making the Webinar happen. He retaliated Grant Thornton’s support should any matter arise from the distress as a result of the COVID19 pandemic.
Companies need to go back to the drawing board and reassess their budgets in line with their relevance and highly exposed aspects so as to avoid complete devastation. Businesses should think deeply about their resourcing plans and build internal capacity to reduce income outflows.
A disaster can strike an organization at any time. Every business should update their business continuity plan and identify gaps in every area which can hinder business success. There's a need to elevate thinking to focus on agile strategic plans with an emphasis on value proposition, scenario modeling, and focused initiatives. Companies need to constitute and empower their crisis management teams for proper planning.
It’s important for companies to carefully manage their liquidity. The cash flow plans need to be both short and long term. New out of the box strategies should be thought out for businesses to thrive. Companies that have not looked at the new opportunities and adjusted accordingly are likely to get extinct. Companies need to shift from fixed to transactional contracts, stop the financial bleeding, and save as much as possible whiling leveraging the digital world.
According to the Assistant Auditor General, the National COVID19 taskforce will be audited by the Office of the Auditor General. OAG has been working with the accounting team of the taskforce to ensure that the basic accounting principles are followed all through. Businesses should take full advantage of the Government relief plans.
Many thanks to our panelists; Ms. Keto Nyapendi Kayemba – Assistant Auditor General, Mr. Sam Mwogeza – Chief Financial Officer, Stanbic Bank and Ms. Hemal Shah – Manager Advisory, Grant Thornton Uganda. The moderator Mr. Kenneth Kitungulu – Executive and Head Global Markets, Stanbic Bank did a wonderful job steering the discussion