Coronavirus: What We’re Telling Our Clients

As a CPA who has had the pleasure to work with hundreds of entrepreneurs, founders and small business owners I am often the first phone call when folks are faced with either financial adversity or uncertainty. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic is something that undoubtedly will impact the hardworking men and women responsible for leading their companies through the uncertainty we face but the biggest measure of that impact will be determined by how we respond to the adversity. With that in mind, I’m synthesizing the advice that I’ve already shared with a number of clients to hopefully provide some perspective from someone who is both a small business owner and a trusted adviser to other entrepreneurs.

Don’t Panic

One of my favorite pictures floating around the internet that I think ties in nicely with leadership is this one. As a business leader, your response to stressful situations permeates through to your employees whether you realize it or not. The ability to navigate uncertainty in a calm and collected manner will go a long way towards creating or reinforcing a culture in which your employees adopt and embrace the same behaviors. Now is not the time to make rash decisions or create pointless chaos. That being said, you should be paddling like hell below the surface to make sure you have a plan that you can put into action if needed.

Have a Plan

Though no one can predict exactly what the impact of this pandemic will be, that doesn’t mean you can’t take meaningful action to preemptively plan your response to a number of potential outcomes. Having a strong grasp on your numbers is always critical to success for any entrepreneur, but it applies now more than ever. If you don’t have a process for financial modeling, budgeting, reviewing budget variances and forecasting future performance, then it will be difficult to plan ahead without reliable visibility into your past, current and future numbers. How can you identify discretionary costs to cut in the event of a cash flow squeeze if you don’t have a strong understanding of where your money is going?

Identify Opportunities

This is by no means meant to be insensitive to the reality faced by those impacted directly by the virus but the current landscape could present some opportunities for your business. Do you have a key differentiator that makes your business more desirable to consumers right now? For example, as a virtual firm, we don’t need our clients to visit our office in order to do their accounting or tax work like some other traditional brick and mortar firms. If you have a similar advantage, you should bring that to the forefront of your marketing messaging as soon as you can. I do not, however, advocate taking advantage of the current situation to exploit consumers with higher pricing (even if the market conditions demand it). In the long run, that won’t sit well with your consumers.

Eliminate Your Blind Spots

Adversity can be a catalyst that causes you to improve the long-term outlook of your business. While you’re developing your action plan from #2 above, take some time to identify the blind spots within your business and where you need to improve. It can be a great way to reassess your business strategy and goals, especially as they relate to your ability to overcome various obstacles. Is your business well positioned for success for the indefinite future? If not, why not? Work to ensure your business has a healthy long term horizon that can withstand temporary hardships.

Need help? We’re here for you.

Post by Curt Mastio
Mar 14, 2020 1:05:49 PM

Curt Mastio started Founder’s CPA in 2017 and currently serves as the Managing Partner of the firm. After obtaining both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign Curt started his career in Big Four public accounting. Shortly thereafter Curt served as the Chief Financial Officer of Storage Squad began his stint as an Adjunct Instructor at Northwestern University’s Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and has been teaching Accounting & Finance to undergraduate students for 6+ years. In his current role Curt oversees strategy, operations, and business development at Founder’s CPA. Further, Curt has experience working directly with 200+ startups and small businesses providing accounting, tax, and outsourced CFO services. His industry expertise lies in the SaaS, Blockchain, Marketplace, and Fintech industries. He has served as a key advisor working directly with startups that range from pre-revenue to companies generating over $30 million dollars a year in revenue. Lastly, he serves a key role working directly with the firm’s clients that have collectively raised over $200 million in venture capital funding to date. Curt is also an active advisor, mentor, and investor in the startup ecosystem. He has facilitated numerous workshops, webinars, and presentations to incubators and other startup-centric organizations. He is also an active mentor for Techstars in both Chicago and Iowa. Outside of his daily professional duties Curt is actively involved with Beat the Streets Chicago and was a founding member of its Young Professionals Board. His efforts in both leadership and community involvement were recognized when he was awarded the Illinois CPA Society’s Outstanding Young Professional Leadership Award in 2020. He was also a panelist at their annual conference in 2022 where he spoke about his experiences starting and operating a public accounting firm. He maintains an active Certified Public Accountant designation that he obtained in 2014. Outside of work, Curt can be found spending time with his friends & family including his dog Rufus. His hobbies include golf, boating, cooking, reading, and attending sporting events & concerts.

Coronavirus: What We’re Telling Our Clients

Don’t Panic

Have a Plan

Identify Opportunities

Eliminate Your Blind Spots

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