Disaster recovery plans more important than ever

18 March 2011

New Zealand organisations appear lax in their approach to disaster recovery plans, judging by the response to a recent survey of the Not for Profit sector by chartered accountants and business advisers Grant Thornton New Zealand.

The 2011 survey of 243 organisations in the sector was conducted before the most recent Christchurch earthquake but after that of 4 September 2010.

Grant Thornton partner Brent Kennerley said that less than half those surveyed had a formal disaster recovery plan in place.

“Whether or not they had a local or a national profile, seemed to make little difference. This needs to change.

In light of everything that’s happened in Christchurch since our last survey, these plans are far more than just an academic exercise. It could end up being the difference between the on-going success or failure of such organisations.”

Kennerley said that although members of the governing bodies Grant Thornton surveyed indicated they were spending noticeably more time considering the consequences of recent disasters at their meetings, taking the next step of introducing a formal disaster and recovery plan was not top of the priorities list.

“Recovery plans are vital for any entity in the event of an emergency but even so, according to our survey respondents, 52% stated their organisation did not have a recovery plan in place. Given recent events, the need for a disaster recovery plan is brought closer to home and should now be a priority.”

Only one-third (36%) of respondents believed their organisation had a recovery plan. Their recovery plan predominantly covered key contacts (employees), backup of important documents, and procedures for restoring IT.

Those who had a recovery plan in place thought that it was usually updated annually. For a third of the respondents, it seems that the recovery plan is not circulated to Board members or employees, and a quarter believed their recovery plan was never tested for compliance.

“If this is the case, it raises the question of why have a recovery plan? Our recommendation is to distribute the recovery plan as widely as possible and to ensure that it is readily available for implementation should disaster strike,” Brent Kennerley said

Market data indicates that the 100 largest organisations of the Nor for Profit sector, 46 of which are registered charities, currently account for more than $2.5 billion of turnover each year - an average of $25million each.

ENDS

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