BDO has been monitoring the developments with the COVID-19 coronavirus closely, and would like to inform you of the measures we have put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus.
At BDO, the wellbeing of our employees, clients and other stakeholders is important to us. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are following advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa.
1.OUR PEOPLE
*BDO has implemented the following measures to reduce the risks associated with the virus:
*All international and local business travel has been suspended and we are encouraging our people to use virtual conferencing solutions to meet with each other.
* Employees returning after travel to affected high-risk countries have been requested to self-quarantine for 14 days from the date of arrival back in the country.
* Symptomatic employees have been asked to self-isolate and to consult a healthcare practitioner and obtain approval from the healthcare practitioner before to returning to work.
* We are following guidance from the World Health Organization and the Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services to protect the health and safety of our people.
* Visitors to our offices will need to complete travel declarations for us to identify whether they have been to a high-risk region in the last 14 days.
* All our offices are equipped with sufficient soap and hand sanitizer and all surfaces are regularly cleaned with appropriate disinfectant.
2.OUR CLIENTS
*BDO enables employees to work remotely and we are confident that our people are prepared should the need arise for staff to self-isolate or to suspend operations at our premises.
* All of our client-facing people are fully equipped to ensure they can continue to work effectively from home, at other offices or any other location.
* We regularly use teleconferencing and video conferencing technology to work effectively together across multiple locations.
* We have policies in place which cover the appropriate way to work securely when out of the office to ensure confidentiality and the protection of data.
* All internet connections on BDO laptops and phones are protected using secure VPN technology.
* Please engage with your BDO representative should you wish to negotiate alternate meeting arrangements and ways of working or discuss any concerns.
* We have developed a declaration (Download Below) that we require you to fill in and email back to your BDO relationship partner, so that we can properly identify whether our staff should be in your offices or rather working remotely.
*For those clients who have sent us their own documentation or requested alternative working arrangements with BDO please ignore the above.
3.OUR SUPPLY CHAIN
* We’re in touch with our suppliers and service partners who have contractual obligations to have appropriate plans and arrangements in place to ensure the continuity of the supply of goods and services to BDO.
* We have the appropriate technology in place to ensure essential business processes continue.
4.BDO EVENTS
*All BDO events have been cancelled or postponed. If these affect you directly, you will be notified in a separate email.
We are committed to playing our part in slowing the spread of infections, and will adapt our operations as needed to support the Ministry of Health and Social Services in its endeavours to achieve their goals.
Kind Regards
Charl Celliers
Managing Partner