By: Amanda Saxton, Manager, Education, FMI

Over the past year or so, hurricanes, fires, and cyberattacks have devastated areas across the United States. For many businesses impacted by these unanticipated events, it has prompted a much-needed conversation around the relevancy of business continuity plans. The same goes for the food retail industry, even grocers must ensure their offices continue to operate during a crisis.

Chief Financial Officer for the Food Marketing Institute, Sam DiCarlo, explained, “One of the largest challenges in business continuity planning remains how people will communicate when systems are down.”

In a world that’s quickly moving from hard-copy binders to intranet portals, new opportunities and challenges arise for financial officers evaluating their plans. Leveraging technology to transfer mission-critical functions to cloud storage or mobile apps enables employees to have one-button-anytime access.

“More than ever businesses are vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches,” said DiCarlo. “It’s about having agile, effective, and highly responsive business plans in place to respond to a not-if-but-when situation.”

How can you prepare for business continuity in the aftermath of disaster? Attend the Financial Executive and Internal Auditors Conference in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida from April 29 - May 1, 2018. Find more information here.