---
title: Five Ways to Cope With Crisis
description: Five ways to cope with crisis, with Daniel Harper (Spotlight Reporting), Carl Reader (Practise Ignition), and Phil Hobden (Capitalise)
image: https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/hubfs/ross-findon-mG28olYFgHI-unsplash%20(1).jpg
---

[![Return to homepage](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/hubfs/Brand_attributes/spotlight%20reporting%20logo.svg "Return to homepage")](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/)

- [Solutions](https://spotlightreporting.com/our-solutions/)
- [Product](http://spotlightreporting.com/product/)
- [Pricing](http://spotlightreporting.com/pricing/)
- [Resources](http://spotlightreporting.com/resources/)
- [Our team](http://spotlightreporting.com/our-team/)
- [Blog](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com)
- [Free trial](http://go.spotlightreporting.com/Member/Signup)

[Login](https://go.spotlightreporting.com/Member/Login?ReturnUrl=%2f)

# Blog

Keep up to date with all industry news, special events and thought leadership

# Five Ways to Cope With Crisis

Posted by [Preyanka Gothanayagi](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/author/preyanka-gothanayagi) on 30 Apr 2020

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

The circumstances of individual businesses across the world are changing at an alarming rate. As governments implement nationwide lockdowns, many businesses—including accounting firms—have had to make the transition from office life to working from home. Others still, due to the nature of the industry they operate in, have had to close up shop. With so many changes happening so quickly, the demands on accounting firms have increased exponentially.

Daniel Harper, our UK Account Manager, recently hosted a [webinar](https://info.spotlightreporting.com/crisis-coping-101) with Carl Reader, [Practice Ignition](https://www.practiceignition.com/) Ambassador, and Phil Hobden, Head of Education at [Capitalise](https://capitalise.com/), to discuss ways accountants and advisors could cope in the current crisis. Here are just five of the many points they touched upon:

![ben-garratt-mNEgPTHFP48-unsplash](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ben-garratt-mNEgPTHFP48-unsplash.jpg?width=5000&name=ben-garratt-mNEgPTHFP48-unsplash.jpg)  
**1. Analyse your firm's transition to working from home.**  
There are many different aspects to working from home that can be optimised for increased team motivation and productivity. Firstly, does your remote team have all the technology they require? This means both hardware, like laptops, and software, like apps and programs. You might have scrambled to send your workers home with gear that was “good enough”—but now’s the time to improve on that. Talk to your staff, find out what’s working and what isn’t, and make sure they are comfortable with the new normal. 

**2.Use video conferencing to communicate effectively.**  
With everyone working from home, video conferences have become normalised. Now that everyone is Zooming into work from their home setups, office culture has become more human. Most of us are juggling multiple responsibilities, and we’re all more forgiving about the occasional meeting interruption by irritated children demanding attention, or a spouse delivering much-deserved coffee. This glimpse into the personal lives of coworkers and clients is a unique byproduct of the times we live in, and is bringing us all closer together. Take advantage of the new culture of video conferences, and communicate more effectively than through a simple phone call.

![charles-deluvio-usxGRltb0Rk-unsplash](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/charles-deluvio-usxGRltb0Rk-unsplash.jpg?width=3961&name=charles-deluvio-usxGRltb0Rk-unsplash.jpg)

**3. Utilise your staff to share the workload.**  
Your biggest assets are your employees. But are they all working to their full potential? In quiet times, having 20 people in the office, and 5 client-facing staff, might have been optimal. However, as work picks up, having all 25 communicating with clients might be invaluable. Take some time out to multi-skill your staff. Allow individual employees to step into leadership roles, and get everyone invested in the future of the firm. A team who are engaged, supported, and working with purpose and direction, are more likely to see the firm through a crisis than one that’s floundering.

**4. Guide your clients to what they need, as they need it.**  
There’s no negating the fact that right now, we’re all in this together. Every individual has a part to play in the outcome of the economy, and we can do our bit by making sure we don’t take more than we need. Across the world, government subsidies and aid has been snapped up by businesses who weren’t in dire need, but who were worried about running out of cash down the line. The problem with this is there is sometimes nothing left for the businesses who are running out of cash *now*.

![ross-findon-mG28olYFgHI-unsplash (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ross-findon-mG28olYFgHI-unsplash%20(2).jpg?width=678&name=ross-findon-mG28olYFgHI-unsplash%20(2).jpg)  
**5. Don’t go back to business as usual.**  
There are some good changes to come out of this crisis. Take the time to make them permanent, and then incorporate them into your firm’s strategy if and when you transition back to office life.Businesses across the globe are learning that working from home doesn’t mean less productivity, giving rise to questions about more flexible working arrangements for parents and caregivers. Adopting cloud-based technology means new ways of connecting, encouraging more collaboration than ever before. As for accounting firms, the spotlight has been firmly placed on advisory services. Businesses of all shapes and stripes are now requesting cashflow forecasts, and are realising just how useful these forecasts are. Demand should remain high for advisory even as businesses recover, and the accounting industry will have an important part to play in getting the economy back on its feet.

Don’t go back to the way things were as soon as you have the chance. As the dust begins to settle, take the time out to evaluate and debrief. Survey your staff, and factor in their input. What worked well? What could we do better next time? Keep moving forward to brighter and better horizons. 

### Recent Posts

---

### Posts by Month

- [August 2020 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2020/08)
- [July 2020 (7)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2020/07)
- [June 2020 (7)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2020/06)
- [May 2020 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2020/05)
- [April 2020 (11)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2020/04)
- [March 2020 (12)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2020/03)
- [January 2020 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2020/01)
- [December 2019 (5)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/12)
- [November 2019 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/11)
- [October 2019 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/10)
- [September 2019 (5)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/09)
- [August 2019 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/08)
- [July 2019 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/07)
- [June 2019 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/06)
- [May 2019 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/05)
- [April 2019 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/04)
- [March 2019 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/03)
- [January 2019 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2019/01)
- [December 2018 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/12)
- [November 2018 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/11)
- [October 2018 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/10)
- [September 2018 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/09)
- [July 2018 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/07)
- [June 2018 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/06)
- [May 2018 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/05)
- [March 2018 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/03)
- [January 2018 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2018/01)
- [November 2017 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/11)
- [October 2017 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/10)
- [September 2017 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/09)
- [August 2017 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/08)
- [July 2017 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/07)
- [June 2017 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/06)
- [May 2017 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/05)
- [April 2017 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/04)
- [March 2017 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/03)
- [January 2017 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2017/01)
- [December 2016 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/12)
- [November 2016 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/11)
- [October 2016 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/10)
- [September 2016 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/09)
- [August 2016 (5)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/08)
- [July 2016 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/07)
- [June 2016 (5)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/06)
- [April 2016 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/04)
- [March 2016 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/03)
- [January 2016 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2016/01)
- [December 2015 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/12)
- [November 2015 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/11)
- [October 2015 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/10)
- [September 2015 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/09)
- [August 2015 (5)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/08)
- [July 2015 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/07)
- [June 2015 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/06)
- [May 2015 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/05)
- [April 2015 (6)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/04)
- [March 2015 (4)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/03)
- [February 2015 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/02)
- [January 2015 (3)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2015/01)
- [December 2014 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2014/12)
- [November 2014 (1)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2014/11)
- [October 2014 (2)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2014/10)
- [August 2014 (5)](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/archive/2014/08)

see all

### Subscribe for Email Updates

[![Return to homepage](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/hubfs/Brand_attributes/spotlight%20reporting%20logo.svg "Return to homepage")](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/)

- Our Company
- [Our Team](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/our-team/)
- [Careers](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/careers/)

- Solutions
- [Advisor](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/our-solutions/#advisor)
- [Owner & CFO](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/our-solutions/#owner-cfo)
- [Franchise](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/our-solutions/#franchise)
- [Not for Profit](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/our-solutions/#not-for-profit)

- Resources
- [Special Events](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/resources/#special-events)
- [Partner Success Centre](https://psc.spotlightreporting.com)
- [Webinars](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/resources/#webinars)
- [Help Centre](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/resources/#help-centre)
- [Blog](https://blog.spotlightreporting.com/)
- [White paper](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/resources/#white-paper)

- Plans
- [Basic](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/pricing/)
- [Super VCFO](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/pricing/)
- [Owners & CFOs](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/business-plans/)
- [Franchise](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/business-plans/)
- [Not For Profit](https://www.spotlightreporting.com/business-plans/)

- [LinkedIn Created with Sketch. LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotlight-reporting-limited)
- [Facebook Created with Sketch. Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Spotlight-Reporting-380174365420847/?fref=ts)
- [Twitter Created with Sketch. Twitter](https://twitter.com/spotlightrep?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
- [Vimeo Created with Sketch. Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/spotlightreporting)

© Spotlight Reporting 2018