• In the case of unforeseeable events, a business continuity plan defines the necessary procedures that will ensure timely and orderly resumption of the business cycle.
• A business continuity plan does not deal directly with the disaster itself, it deals with the aftermath.
• The goal of a business continuity plan is to preserve and protect the essential elements of any company and maintain an acceptable level of operations throughout a crisis and afterward, as the company recovers.

Business continuity planning involves devising a plan that guards against disruption of a business in case of unforeseen events. A business continuity plan defines the necessary procedures that will ensure timely and orderly resumption of a business cycle through the ability to execute plans with little or no interruption to service or operations.

A business owner needs to be prepared. What will happen if the business is hit by a fire, flood, or cybersecurity breach? What will the company do if the owner or other key personnel die, or leave the company unexpectedly? What will the company do if a technological disaster hits, such as having all the business’s data and records wiped out by a computer malfunction or malicious attack?

More importantly, in the transportation industry, what will the business do if the owner or one of the drivers has a major accident, causing a loss of a vehicle or vehicles, total loss or damage of a customer’s load, or loss of life?

Yes, all of these things should be covered by insurance, but a business continuity plan does not deal directly with the disaster itself, it deals with the aftermath. Besides ensuring the health and safety of all personnel, the objectives of a business continuity plan should include minimizing interruption to the business’s ability to provide service. In a trucking company’s case, this could mean renting equipment or contracting another hauler to move the customer’s freight. Along with computer systems' protection from attack, a complete backup of the systems along with policies and procedures to enact post-attack are essential. In short, a business continuity plan should minimize financial loss, and provide for the resumption of critical operations within a specified time after a disaster or major incident.

The goal of a business continuity plan is to preserve and protect the essential elements of any company and maintain an acceptable level of operations throughout a crisis and afterward, as the company recovers.

It’s always easier to minimize risk than to recover from a setback. Those who prepare financial statements know that failure to identify risks correctly can have financial consequences severe enough to put a company out of business. It is only a small stretch, mostly common sense, to identify and minimize risks that could destroy a business regardless of the source. That is the underlying purpose of a business continuity plan.