COVID-19 Business Update – 22 January 2021

Covid

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest.  Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward.

NZ Government Extends Pre-Departure Tests to More Travellers

The government has officially made it mandatory for almost every traveller entering New Zealand to present a negative COVID-19 test before they board a plane.  The new rules will be implemented starting 11:59pm on Monday, January 25.

Exceptions to this new policy include Australia, Antarctica, and most Pacific Island countries.  From February 8, all passengers (except those from exempted countries) arriving in New Zealand without a negative approved test or medical certificate would incur an infringement offence fee or a fine of up to $1,000.

NZ Business Confidence Improves

There was good news from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) Business Confidence Index as the latest Q4 report showed business confidence is on its way up.  Although the -6 reading is still in negative territory, it is a massive improvement from -70 in Q1 2020.  In fact, the latest figure was the strongest since Q3 2017.

New Zealand has weathered the COVID-19 storm remarkably well and its GDP has returned to pre-pandemic levels.  If you’re still struggling to get your business back on track, contact us so we can work out a plan.

Building Digital Resilience in 2021

Digital, Infrastructure

Digital resilience gained momentum in 2020, as businesses across industries increased their adoption of digital tools and systems to maintain certain levels of activity amid the pandemic.  In this Forbes article, different ways to boost digital resilience were shared including:

  • Build a pipeline of digital initiatives– You can leverage what your business already has or capture and develop new ideas from various sources.  Many companies have digital pilots already in place which were previously considered “nice to have”, but upon careful consideration were deemed essential in times of crisis.
  • Invest in a core digital infrastructure– Integrate new digital initiatives with existing IT rules, systems, and capabilities.  Keep in mind that digital transformation is an end-to-end process closely tied with back-end business processes and systems.
  • Design for privacy and security– At the height of the pandemic in 2020, over 18 million scam emails per day were spotted by Google.  Businesses can be prime targets for attacks such as phishing or malware.  You will never predict when you’ll be hit by a cybersecurity crisis, so design an effective cyber resilience plan to mitigate risks.
  • Increase visibility into your supply chain– Digital supply chain management leads to faster response time, working capital reductions, and increases in product availability.  While digital supply chains may mean different things to each business, end-to-end visibility of inventory and control can be helpful during a crisis.

Have you yet to embark on your digital transformation?  It’s time to get started.

Digital, Transformation

If you want to get rid of your traditional spreadsheets and move the accounting side of your business into the cloud, get in touch with us.

Aside from making your financial data more accessible and protected, cloud accounting also streamlines processes and can get things done faster.

Get in touch

Contact us if you have any questions or want to discuss the next steps for your business.