How 2 Firms Responded to COVID-19

YHB CPAs & Consultants

Several locations in Virginia and Maryland

What was your company’s response to COVID-19?

As with most organizations, we took things one step at a time. First was educating our staff on what the symptoms were and the importance of not coming into the office or going to the client if you or someone you were with were experiencing them. As the cases began to rise, we started encouraging staff to work remotely but still allowed client travel and staff to come into the office. Finally, along with many organizations, we closed our office to the public March 19, stopped client travel and required all non-essential team members to work remotely.

YHB was extremely fortunate to have put in place technology that allowed our staff to work remotely prior to COVID-19. All of our phones, files, etc., can be accessed by our team from almost anywhere. We are proud to say we continued serving clients through PPP, changing tax deadlines and a constant onslaught of legislative changes with relatively little disruption when switching to remote work. Doing this so smoothly allowed us to retain all of our staff and continue to hire great people throughout this pandemic. 

At the time, how long did you envision this temporary/partial closure would be?

We were hoping things would be back to normal by summer. However, we put together an initial plan that didn’t have offices returning to normal until early 2021. While we were hoping for the best we were planning for the worst. 

What are your reopening plans?

We created a phased approach to opening offices and allowing client travel. Right now we are in our third phase, meaning: Offices are open to clients by appointment; we allow up to 50 percent capacity of staff in the office; and client travel with limited in-person engagement teams. Internally, we are requiring staff to wear masks in public spaces and have eliminated shared offices. Most staff are still working remotely, however.

Will employees be traveling to client sites?

We are allowing staff to travel to clients but have established some best practices. Those include: requesting a large enough space for appropriate social distancing, limiting how many staff can be on site and trying to limit the amount of field time required.

How did you develop this plan?

As soon as COVID-19 began to move across the country and its health impacts became clear, YHB assembled our Emergency Task Force (ERT). The team is represented by our core business leaders: technology, human resources, marketing and operations. In addition, our managing partner and two out of three board members were also on the task force. In the beginning the ERT met only twice a week to assess the situation and talk through what we hoped were hypothetical scenarios. It became increasingly clear these scenarios were no longer hypothetical and COVID-19 was here. During the height of the outbreak we were meeting daily but have since moved to weekly meetings. We, of course, have relied on guidance from the Virginia Health Department and the CDC immensely. 

Any plans in case there would be a second wave or resurgence of the virus?

We remain cautious and don’t see a need to rush back into getting everyone in the office. From a risk standpoint it just makes sense to have our team members work from home. We have invested in additional equipment to help keep them productive and it is working. Our number one priority is the safety of our team members and clients. We would rather adapt to the situation as it exists today then pretend it’s just going to disappear all of a sudden. We can still serve our clients, foster our unique culture and grow the firm by adapting with smart long-term changes. 

Do you have any unique challenges with multiple offices?

The ERT laid out a plan that specifically stated each office would move independently of one another. Meaning, Fredericksburg and Winchester might go to Phase 3 before Falls Church and Richmond. For the most part that is what we have done. We have also been clear with staff that we might have to go back a phase if the virus surges again. In any event, it’s been important for us to communicate openly and often to staff, so everyone is in the loop. To help accomplish this we host firm-wide webinars every other week. They usually only last around 15 minutes but they have been highly effective at keeping us connected. Of course, we also try to have fun in them and make the best of the situation.

Keiter

Richmond

What was your company’s response to COVID-19?

Keiter’s approach to our COVID-19 response has been a focus on our team’s safety and security, staying informed with the most up-to-date information available to us and implementing a flexible work arrangement with an emphasis on working remotely if possible. While we have taken a look at some of less critical expenses for the year and made some adjustments, we have not had to furlough, lay off or cut salaries at this point. 

At the time, how long did you envision this temporary/partial closure would be?

Our leadership team considered the unknown of this entire situation and while I think we knew that it was going to be long term, I believe that we initially thought that summer would bring back more normalcy. Obviously, we’ve had to reassess and adjust as needed. 

What are your reopening plans?

In compliance with Virginia standards, we are encouraging safe office practices for those who do prefer to work in the office, but still very much encouraging those who wish to work from home to do so. Many of our team members have opted to work from home, even our partners. With the upcoming school year being virtual for many of our working parents, we are also promoting open conversations on what flexibility and alternate schedules may look like for the foreseeable future. 

Will employees be traveling to client sites?

At this point our plan is to slowly introduce safe client interactions only when necessary. We understand that not all clients may want us onsite or have the infrastructure ready to accept outside guests. We’ve developed a detailed checklist that our partners will review with clients prior to site visits to gain more information on the feasibility of a visit. 

How did you develop this plan?

We integrated our understanding of governmental guidance and our own internal safety protocols with some client visit checklists that we’d seen other firms implement.

Any plans in case there would be a second wave or resurgence of the virus?

We don’t have explicit plans, but we are fully prepared to enforce restrictions on our in-office workforce in the event that we feel it becomes an unsafe 
environment.

Special thanks to Zach Shoaf, CPA, for conducting these interviews. Zach is a senior associate in DHG's Tysons office and a member of the Disclosures Editorial Task Force.