Covid-19 The Wider Picture shows winners and losers
Before reading: wash your hands. Seriously. On this morning’s BBC Breakfast TV presenter Dan Walker claimed the average computer keyboard harbours 14 times more germs than an average toilet seat! That’s your computer keyboard, let alone your mobile phone….
Covid -19 was not on anyone’s business plans for 2020 but it is shaping most business plans in some way or other from now. I am not ignoring the human effect of this virus, and my sympathies go to all those who have been affected right across the world. No one asked for this, and for some it will be a terrible experience, whether just self-isolating and suffering alone, or fighting the virus and its effects in hospital.
Already a view of winners and losers is emerging:
| “Winners” | “Losers” |
| · Travel Insurance sales up 280%
· Hand gel sales – can’t find good figures, but can you find hand gel? · Dettol & Lysol Disinfectant sales – “surging” according to manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser |
· Airlines – now cancelling routes
· Car sales – down over 80% in China. · Conference organisers: today the London Book Fair is cancelled |
In the UK it has been suggested that 20% of the working population may have to be off work, with many organisations looking at remote and home working options. This has led to the almost inevitable questions about the long terms effects not just of Covid-19, but of our response to it. Will this be the catalyst for a change to working habits? Not so fast…
The prospect of working from home is appealing to many and totally impractical for some. While greater use can be made of technologies which are now commonplace, but which were unheard of just a few years ago, some new work patterns may be tried out.
But have you seen how people look when completing their periods of self isolation? They are glad to be out and free to move around. Not all of them will relish a long commute on public transport straight away, but one effect of large numbers in isolation – IF that happens – could be a greater appreciation of the role of work and the workplace in our lives. Have you noticed that despite all this technology, we love to go out and meet each other – whether at work, the mall, the street, school, university, theatre, and every street corner has a coffee shop – doesn’t it?
Right now, it’s too early to say what the effect of all this will be next week, let alone next year. What we do know: there will be winners and losers, some small changes and maybe some significant changes, and much of that is determined not by what happens, but by what we decide to do about it.
Now wash your hands. With soap and hot water. For 20 seconds.
*BTW – yes, I know the pictured hand gel is completely ineffective against Covid 19. But what about the placebo effect – on me?
Buzzwords of the Week –Creditors: Amounts due within one year (Current Liabilities/Short Term Liabilities)
Definition – liabilities that the company expects to pay within a year, for example utility bills or money owed to suppliers. Also called current or short-term liabilities.
Alternate View – the amount of these is less relevant than the amount in relation to current assets, generally known as the Current or Working Capital Ratio. Many businesses look to manage working capital so assets can match – or be seen to be able to pay – creditors. That gives a Working Capital ratio of 1:1. The other element to keep an eye on is their make up. This is often a heading which includes liabilities – bills which must be paid within 12 months – from different sources, which may include suppliers, bank finance, taxes and social security payments, and sometimes loans to other parts of a business. Some analysis of their make-up may provoke some deeper questions – especially if the company concerned is late paying your invoice….