Covid-19 and business recovery:A short survey from the Association of Practicing Accountants

The Association of Practicing Accountants represents a number of leading business advisory firms who provide strategic advice and support to well over 14,000 organisations across the UK economy. In April we launched a survey looking at the immediate impact of Covid-19 on our clients. This survey generated well over 1000 responses which we used to inform the UK Government about the challenges facing the organisations we advise and support.

This survey builds on the first and is intended to help us understand the challenges associated with business recovery now that the general lockdown is being eased. We will use the findings to make informed representations to Government and policy makers on your behalf.

We would be very grateful for your feedback, which should take no more than a few minutes. All responses will be anonymised.

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* 1. How would you classify your business by sector?

Agriculture

Construction

Education

Entertainment / Leisure

Financial Services

Healthcare

Manufacturing

Media

Professional Services

Real Estate

Retail

Technology

Transportation

Wholesale

Other Services

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* 2. What size is your business?

Between 1 and 9 employees

Between 10 and 49 employees

Between 50 and 249 employees

Over 250 employees

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* 3. In which region of the UK are you headquartered?

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Wales

North West

North East

Yorkshire and the Humber

West Midlands

East Midlands

South West

South East

Greater London

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* 4. How has your turnover been affected since public health measures were introduced to help tackle the Coronavirus?

About the same or higher than before the lockdown

Less than 10% lower

Between 10% and 30% lower

Between 30% and 50% lower

Between 50% and 70% lower

Between 70% and 100% lower

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* 5. What is the biggest challenge you face now that the lockdown is being eased?

A lack of capacity needed to get back up and running

Government support being withdrawn

The need to make redundancies once the furlough scheme ends

Access to finance

Uncertain trading conditions

Other (please specify)

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* 6. What is likely to be your main priority over the next 3-6 months?

Business survival

Getting back up and running

Capitalising on the opportunities of a post-lockdown economy

Other (please specify)

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* 7. How likely is it that home working will be made a permanent option for at least some of your staff as they return to work full time?

Very likely

Quite likely

Not that likely

Not at all likely

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* 8. How likely is it that virtual meetings will replace physical meetings as the default option for your staff going forward?

Very likely

Likely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

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* 9. What one policy measure would make the most difference to your business over the next 3-6 months?

An extension of the Government furlough scheme beyond 31st October 2020

An extension of the VAT deferral scheme beyond 31 March 2021

An extension of the Self-Assessment deferral scheme beyond 31 January 2021

An extension of the business rate relief to other sectors

An extension of the business rate relief scheme beyond the 2020/21 tax year

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* 10. Taken in the round, do the measures included in the Chancellor's Summer Statement address the needs of your business over the next 3-6 months?

Yes

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* 11. How confident are you that you will be able to access the finance you need to get your business up and running over the next 3-6 months?

Very confident

Somewhat confident

Not so confident

Not at all confident

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* 12. How likely is it that you will have to make redundancies in the next 3-6 months?

Very likely

Likely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

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* 13. How many weeks 'cash in the bank' do you have?

1-4 weeks

4-6 weeks

6-8 weeks

8-12 weeks

More than three months

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* 14. Are you using the Government's Coronavirus Job Retention (furlough) Scheme?

Yes