Guide Offers Tips on How Businesses Can Safely Reopen

 

“Reopening our businesses in this environment goes way beyond unlocking the door and turning on the lights. It’s a complex process that involves considerations in a number of areas, including health care, human resources, business strategy, and risk management,” said MACPA President and CEO Tom Hood, CPA. “A number of agencies have released terrific guidance on how to protect our teams and organizations as we return to work. This document is an authoritative collection of what we believe is the best advice available.”

 

Much of that advice stems from work done by the state of Maryland. In particular, Gov. Larry Hogan’s “Roadmap to Recovery” is a set of recommendations based on guidance from the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Governors Association, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the American Enterprise Institute.

 

The MACPA document also emphasizes the work done by the Professional and Financial Services Recovery Advisory Group, a state-appointed group that has released extensive guidance for businesses in the professional and financial services industry as they begin the arduous task of reopening workplaces amid the worst pandemic in more than a century.

 

That group, whose membership included Hood and fellow Maryland CPA Ed Brake, based its work on a belief that the goals of every business should be to:

 

●    protect the health and well-being of employees,

●     maintain business resilience, and

●     support broader public health and community objectives.

 

The advisory group agreed with seven critical recommendations that all businesses should follow as they reopen their workplaces for businesses. Much of the guidance in the MACPA document includes variations of these recommendations.

 

1. Maintain physical distancing within the workplace by implementing business practices, managing foot traffic within workplaces, and reconfiguring office interiors. Wherever possible, employees should work or access the business from home to minimize the numbers of workers that need to be physically present.
2. Require face coverings in public spaces of multi-tenant buildings, which would include the main lobby and hallways, elevators and elevator lobbies, and restrooms accessible to all tenants and any meeting space available to multiple tenants. Businesses may choose, as their discretion, to extend such requirements to common spaces accessed by multiple employees, but not by the public in general, such as meeting rooms, hallways and kitchens.|
3. Minimize the need to touch things as much as possible. When unable to provide touchless functionality, maintain operational procedures for frequent cleaning.
4. Require 14-day self-quarantine for any employees with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test, or anyone who has had prolonged recent exposure to someone with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test.
5. Provide appropriate signage or other communication methods to inform all persons using the facility regarding Nos. 1-4 above.
6. Provide sufficient cleaning supplies and handwashing facilities.
7. Regarding work travel: Employers and employees should check the “Traveler’s Health Notices” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the latest guidance and recommendations for each country that they may be visiting.

 

“Reopening the Profession: An Accounting and Finance Professional’s Guide to Safe Work in a COVID-19 World” is available for free at bit.ly/CPABacktoWork.

 

About the Maryland Association of CPAs

The Maryland Association of CPAs helps CPAs connect with each other in strategic ways, to protect our members’ interests, and to help them achieve greater success. We provide the resources and services that CPAs need to excel in their profession. Since 1901, the MACPA has been a national leader in the CPA profession. We are honored that the Baltimore Business Journal and Washington Business Journal have named the MACPA among the largest networking organizations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., for each of the past five years. For details, visit MACPA.org.

 

About the Business Learning Institute

The Business Learning Institute is the leading talent-development organization for CPAs,

finance, and accounting professionals in the United States. It provides customized,

competency-based curriculums and a portfolio of “success skills” and technical programs

designed for the finance and accounting profession. Founded in 1999 by the Maryland

Association of CPAs, the BLI is an innovation and learning center that facilitates the

development and sharing of competencies and strategic knowledge required for

leadership in today’s rapidly changing business environment. For more information, visit

BLIonline.org.