The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is introducing Business Continuity standards in 2012, which all Super Funds and Life Insurers will need to comply with.
Come to a free information session for Business Continuity newbies. Please pass this onto anyone who looks after (APRA) compliance of Australian Super Funds and/or Life Insurance companies!
Complimentary session locations/dates/times:
Melbourne CBD - Thursday 19 Jan 2012 (4pm-6pm) Sydney CBD - Thursday 9 Feb 2012 (4pm-6pm)
Banks and General Insurers have already had to comply since 2005 with strict Business Continuity requirements set by APRA. In 2012 it’s the Life Insurers’ and Super Funds’ turn. Get your skates on and get informed now!
Are you prepared for the APRA standards? See SPS232 (Super Funds) and CPS232 (Insurers and ADIs).
A computer glitch that delayed transactions for millions of NAB customers and left them without pay over the weekend has been fixed, according to the bank, although it admits nearly 20,000 accounts are still experiencing problems.
The announcement comes after the glitch became worse over the weekend, with transactions in some accounts doubling up, leaving accounts in debit. Several customers have also been charged fees, interest and have had financial deals delayed due to the problems.
Virgin Blue passengers is trying to recover from a major computer malfunction that left about 100,000 customers stranded. Queues remained large, as Virgin tried to deal with the passengers left over from the day before and passengers scheduled to that day.
The failure of Virgin’s check-in and boarding systems on September 26 led to the cancellation of 116 flights, with reports suggesting that up to 100,000 passengers were affected. When the computer hardware failed, Virgin was forced to switch to a manual check-in process that simply could not cope with the number of passengers jetting around Australia, particularly with school holidays underway in many states.
Virgin took the unusual step of calling on passengers to cancel all non-essential travel and was forced to pay for many passengers to stay overnight in hotels.
Business As Usual is presenting an advanced 2-day Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery testing, problem-solving and compliance workshop (6 & 7 June) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
. Topics that will be discussed as part of the workshop include:
Preparing and conducting various types of BCP tests/rehearsals
Financial Industry and other BCM Compliance aspects
How to understand auditors better and how to satisfy their BCM Audit requirements
The 8-step best practice model for Business Continuity Planning including free templates
Best practice techniques to tackle common issues, including getting buy-in and support for BCM across your organisation
Dates & location:
Monday 6 & Tues 7 June 2011 (9:00am - 5:00pm) - ISTANA Hotel (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
This video in which BNET interview Rinske Geerlings of Business As Usual, may inspire you:
Further ideas for small businesses, on how to be better prepared for little or no cost:
1) For loss of building: Have good diversion procedures in place, and use a hotel room or make a reciprocal agreement with a trusted other (small) business as initial place of work where you can use phones/PC’s/desks and Internet connection.
2) For loss of key people: Good job rotation policies, delegated authority, and again sharing staff with a trusted other business.
3) For loss of IT/information: Utilise free uploading capacity offered by some Internet providers to conduct remote/online backups.
4) For a supply chain issue (clients/suppliers): Have dual suppliers for key services, and contact key suppliers/banks/regulators soon after an incident to request delayed payment/reporting terms. Ensure the revenue coming from one key customer is never able to “make or break” your business.
Here’s also an interesting word for you - “crisitunity”
See article below…
NOT A PROBLEM BUT AN OPPORTUNITY
Susan Dominus, writing in the New York Times on 8 January, talked about CRISITUNITY, a blend of “crisis” and “opportunity” (though she spells it “crisatunity”, a less common version). It’s used by political activists for a problem that provides an opportunity to communicate their views and mobilise support. It derives from an episode of The Simpsons dated 1994, in which Homer’s daughter Lisa tells him that the Chinese use the same word both for “crisis” and “opportunity”. Homer replies, “Yes! Cris-atunity!”
The Chinese word for “crisis” is made up of the signs for “danger” and “opportunity” (or “time for change”) which President John F Kennedy gave a boost when he mentioned it in a speech in 1969.
Thousands of homes and businesses in Sydney’s CBD will be without phone, internet or mobile services today - and some could be cut off for several days - after a contractor accidentally severed crucial underground cables.
While the exact extent of the outage is not yet known, the impact to businesses could be as high as millions of dollars, businesses say.
Business As Usual is conducting FREE Business Continuity workshops for Small and Medium Sized businesses (SMEs) across NSW as part of NSW Small Business Month (September 2009)
Topics that will be discussed as part of the workshop include:
How to properly assess threats (e.g. cyclones, swine flu, power outages)
Translating these into key impact scenarios such as loss of premises, IT or staff
Identifying your time-critical business activities and customers
Developing plans and implementing provisions to continue key parts of your business
Having the right diversion procedures and authorisations ready
Preparing simple documentation and checklists for when ‘it hits the fan’
As swine flu rapidly spreads across the country, NSW businesses are claiming it is responsible for atleast 40 percent of all sick leave taken in New South Wales, hindering productivity.
The NSW Health Department believes swine flu is now responsible for 50 to 60 percent of the state’s influenza cases, while the NSW Business Chamber said swine flu is expected to cost NSW businesses nearly $1 billion.
A spectacular fire has gutted Silver Top Taxis’ headquarters in Melbourne, causing $1 million damage and sending the city’s cab service into chaos. The fire is thought to have started in a downstairs office on Tuesday morning and spread quickly throughout the timber warehouse-style building in Collingwood, which includes a call centre for taxi bookings. Silver Top cabs, which make up around 40 to 50 per cent of Melbourne’s taxis, were unable to take radio bookings all day. The Victorian Taxi Association says Silver Top’s radio network could be up and running by Wednesday afternoon after a Sydney taxi depot donated its new computer hardware.
