The tough time facing many organisations would not go away quickly as the pandemic’s domino effect will continue to impact businesses, said ACCA recently.
The problem is a collapse in customer demand for many organisations, with 53% of more than 4,500 ACCA members in our June survey citing purchases as completely stopped or reduced, said Jamie Lyon, head of business management at ACCA.
“It’s a domino effect, with both product launches and investment plans being deferred, further compounded by supply chain challenges and issues with customer order fulfilment,” he pointed out.
According to ACCA’s latest report, the data for June reveals continued cash flow challenges, with almost half of respondents saying this is a problem.
Since the March research, the new data reveals greater concerns over financing and debt issues, and given the global economic climate, it means these will be difficult matters to resolve, ACCA noted.
Survey highlights
- 83% expect revenue to be down compared with the previous financial year.
- 81% have now adopted flexible working from home strategies, with 50% adopting staff rotas to accommodate social distancing requirements.
- 71% identify workplace transformation as the longest term Covid-19 impact.
- 32% now see government interventions as effective, compared to 17% in March 2020.
The poll also asked respondents about the effectiveness of recent government schemes, with two-thirds of respondents from China and Singapore rating the interventions undertaken by their government as effective but challenges remain across many other countries.
Looking ahead, firms are broadening their horizons, focusing more of their time on medium-and long-term planning — fewer than one-fifth of organisations are mainly focussing on the short term of 4 – 6 weeks, ACCA pointed out.
‘The pandemic has had a profound effect that will resonate well beyond 2020,” Lyon predicted. “The crisis has raised fundamental questions about the future of work, and our working lives. 71% of respondents identified the transformation of working practices with less reliance on using physical space as the most likely long term implication.”
There are other potential long-term implications as well such as the scaling-up of digital investment, a continued prioritisation of employee and customer health, and possible global supply chain transformation, he added.
