Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best
By Donna R Childs
“Disasters occur more frequently than we realize. Research consistently shows that for small businesses, the effects of a disaster can be devastating…”
After the events of 9/11 and the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile it should come as no surprise to auditors that disasters can and will take place. As with any other risk management review auditors need to ensure that the business has a proper disaster recovery plan in place. The author of this book was a former senior executive of one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies who then started a business located in Lower Manhattan. After the devastation of the attacks on the World Trade Center the author shares lessons learned that you can use to help your company prepare for possible uncontrollable events. The book focuses on risk and contingency planning and is logically divided into three sections; prepare, respond and recover. The preparation section covers such areas as IT strategy, financial liquidity, safety practices and mail procedures. The respond and recover sections focus on two subjects, IT strategy and financial liquidity. The list of resources and the author’s companion Web site round out the coverage for your organization.
While this book is directed at small businesses the principles and lessons learned can be adapted to organizations of any size. Auditors can use this book as a roadmap for their company risk management, continuity and disaster recovery planning.
JK2010