Webinars aimed at helping businesses through Covid-19 pandemic to be hosted

A series of webinars are set to be hosted to help brief businesses on how best to handle the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) will be joined by some of Scotland’s top business leaders in delivering the webinars. The first of which will come on 25 March at 10am, with it focussing on subjects such as managing cash flows; director’s duties and obligations; supply chain issues; possible business rescue measures; and the importance of financial forecasting.

The following speakers will be providing free practical advice during the first session:

  • Paul Atkinson, Partner, Par Equity
  • Duncan Raggett, Insolvency Practitioner, AAB
  • Lyn Calder, Partner & Head of Central Belt Deals, AAB
  • Chris Thompson, Corporate Finance Senior Manager, AAB

Over the coming weeks, the SBRC will also organise a further suite of webinars covering:

  • Organisational health
  • How to lead remotely
  • Renegotiating contracts
  • Employee wellbeing/Mental health
  • Communicating with media, stakeholders and employees
  • Cyber Security and the risks around COVID
  • How to solve problems that did not exist a few weeks ago?

Paul Atkinson, partner at Par Equity, commented, “Business leaders in Scotland have been faced with a challenge like never before and to tackle that must think differently – from how we work to how we share advice. Rather than have 30 identical conversations each day, now is the time to be smarter to guarantee that we emerge from this crisis to the same vibrant business community that we had just a few weeks ago. It would be a shame if some businesses fail just because they didn’t have the insights they needed to re-shape their operations.

“We are grateful for all the people who have come forward to support this webinar and will work together to see how we can continue to provide practical and pragmatic support to leaders over the coming weeks.”

Jude McCorry, CEO of SBRC added, “The Scottish business community is one that is both resilient and strong. While none of us have faced such a volatile market before, our strength lies in our collaborative, innovative and fearless nature. Now is a time to unite and be proactive. We have established this cross-industry group to help people navigate this strange new world and prepare for a different way of being in business.

“We are not going to sit back and watch companies fail who could have survived if they had some sort of mentoring, practical advice or simply a confidence boost to keep going. This board will help give every business a fighting chance, but to also have a solid network so that if they have to fail, that they do so among friends and feel supported.”

Lyn Calder, partner and head of Central Belt Deals at Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB) said, “Whilst these are uncertain times there are a number of key areas businesses should consider and various proactive steps they can take to mitigate impact.

“The SBRC is actively trying to bring businesses together to collaborate for the greater good of the business community and we are here to assist in any way we can. AAB see this very much as a partnership; we are all in this together and we are here to support businesses through these challenging times.”

To register for the first session on Wednesday 25 March at 10am, click here.