A well-thought-out contingency plan ensures your company's ability to maintain operations if you as the business owner are suddenly out. Regardless of whether such an absence is due to illness, an accident, or other unforeseen events – a clear concept protects your company and employees against financial and organizational uncertainties.
Clear regulations guarantee that a company remains able to operate.
Advance directives, powers of attorney, and bank access facilitate business continuity without delays.
Responsibilities and decision-making authority are clearly established.
Provisions or insurance can minimize financial risks.
Check whether any guidelines for an unexpected sudden absence already exist.
Identify potential ares of weakness (e.g., lack of deputies, insufficient financial reserves).
Signature policy: Make sure that powers of attorney and deputizations are clearly established so contracts can continue to be concluded, orders can continue to be placed, and new orders can continue to be accepted.
Bank powers of attorney: Define who has access to bank accounts in case of an emergency to ensure that payments can be made and financial obligations can be met.
Documentation: Document all key information such as access data, contracts, and ongoing projects.
Legal protection: Draw up an advance care directive and powers of attorney certified by a notary to establish legal clarity.
Contractual arrangements: If several shareholders have a stake in your business, make sure you establish clear rules in a shareholders' agreement, which should define rights and duties, succession rules, and restraints on competition.
Check whether you need business interruption insurance or similar policies.
Build sufficient reserves to stabilize the business in case of declining sales or additional costs.
Ensure short-term and long-term coverage: e.g., daily benefits insurance (up to 720 days) and long-term insurance (from 721 days).
Establish clear rules for your succession in the event of death.
Plan your digital estate to define accesses and rights.
Update your contingency plan annually or in case of significant changes within your organization.
As an independent financial partner, smzh ag offers:
Contingency plan check: We analyze your existing regulations and identify gaps.
Personalized concepts: We help you establish a tailored contingency plan that is aligned with the requirements of your company.
Insurance: We assess whether your insurance policies, powers of attorney, and financial reserves are sufficient and, if necessary, recommend suitable solutions.
Do you have any questions regarding contingency planning or would like us to assess your existing plan? Schedule a free consultation with our experts:
We handle questions such as those shown on the right on a daily basis. You don't need to deal with them by yourself – our 360° Check-Up is free of charge and non-binding.
It needs to clearly state responsibilities, decision-making authorities, financial protections, legal documents such as advance directives and bank powers of attorney, as well as documentation of ongoing projects.
Contingency insurance, business interruption insurance, provisions to bridge absences/outages.
At least once a year or in case of organizational changes such as a management change.
Key persons within the company such as deputies, the management team, and, if needed, external partners.
We develop a tailor-made contingency plan, review your insurance cover, and make sure that your business remains operational even in case of emergency.
