JAKARTA - Coronavirus (COVID-19) which has been spreading in Indonesia since the beginning of last month not only has a serious impact on public health but also threatens the country’s economic stability. Even the Indonesian economy is predicted to enter its worst scenario during this pandemic. Grant Thornton Indonesia summarizes 5 (five) areas that could be the focus of entrepreneurs to get through this crisis.
Johanna Gani, Managing Partner Grant Thornton Indonesia stressed, "The key to survival is to remain optimistic and always adapt to the situation, entrepreneurs who can develop structured plans both in this pandemic and after the crisis has subsided will be able to move faster back to the original growth trajectory."
The first focus is cash management where companies need to take steps to secure their cash inventory including taking necessary actions such as extending creditors' payments.
The second focus is contingency planning which is structured to find out what are the crucial sectors in the company and ensure that the strategies to be taken are safe for future business continuity. Third is the stakeholder management. Grant Thornton advises companies to be proactive and take initiatives to actively engage with tax authorities, lenders, landlords and key suppliers to avoid missing out on financial and other support that may be available.
Then, the fourth focus is paying attention to employees. A clear policy for work from home, unpaid leave until when employees must be quarantined in certain health conditions needs to be conveyed so that employees know what their position is and can receive messages from business leaders. The last one is setting up a crisis management team and making sure representatives from each division communicate with each other to discuss and determine the priorities of the problems faced by the company and anticipate problems that may arise in the future. (LM)