As a person, I am saddened by the devastation in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. As a CPA, I can’t help but wonder how many of the affected businesses have a disaster preparedness plan. I heard a statistic recently that 70% of businesses who experience a disaster never come back. Why? Very few businesses have proper preparedness plans, and the loss of files, information, and property in a disaster is often impossible to recover from.
For example, in the next few months, the affected Tennessee businesses will have to prepare 1099’s, W-2’s and tax returns, which will be an extremely challenging task with their information either damaged or destroyed. If you are a business owner, ask yourself if something catastrophic happened to your business would you be able to pick up where you left off and continue on as usual. If the answer is “no,” contact me and let’s see how I can help you with your disaster preparedness plan, whether it be business continuity planning, cost-effective offsite backups, or other means.