Technology Consultant Allen Falcon, Attorney Marijo McCarthy, and CPA Lawrence Nannis have authored "The Smaller Business Year 2000 Guide: A Complete Year 2000 Compliance Program For Small and Mid-Size Businesses," to help smaller companies avert Y2K-related legal, financial and technological problems. This comprehensive guide is a "must-have" for businesses that either have not started their Year 2000 preparations or are in the preliminary stages of their efforts. The Guide can also help businesses well into their Year 2000 programs ensure they have covered all of the bases. It's an easy yet thorough "do-it-yourself" alternative that, for less money than a single day of consulting, steps you through a Year 2000 compliance program easily tailored to your specific business requirements.
"The Smaller Business Year 2000 Guide" is a complete compliance program for any small or mid-size business. The book explains, in detail, each step a company must take to protect itself from Year 2000 risks and create the compliance documentation often required by lenders, customers, insurers and others. The Guide includes several appendices with over 35 forms, worksheets and sample letters. From meeting outlines and action lists, to budget worksheets and compliance validation letters, these tools help you track information and document your progress. These tools are also provided on CD-ROM, allowing easy customization of the forms, worksheets and sample letters. Another CD-ROM provides software that evaluates Year 2000 risks in desktop spreadsheets and databases.
Each author has contributed advice related to his or her background, so that all aspects of the Year 2000 problem are addressed in a plainly written, easy-to-follow style that you don't need to be a technology wizard to understand. Exercises in each phase help educate readers about often overlooked Year 2000 issues while gathering information needed to proceed with the compliance effort.
The authors have structured the Year 2000 compliance program into well-defined phases, thoroughly illustrating each step of the process. A brief overview educates the reader about the implications of the Year 2000 problem, covering all areas that will be affected-from building elevators and postage machines to telephone systems, payroll and accounting systems. Readers learn how to start their Year 2000 compliance efforts and how to maintain status documentation often requested by lenders, insurers and customers. Included activities suggest ways to build awareness of the Year 2000 problem. Exercises help readers define the scope of their effort based on business priorities, risk, cost and benefits.
The preparation process begins with an inventory of all business functions, equipment, services and software that may be vulnerable to Y2K problems. The Guide encompasses all internal and external aspects of a business, including directions for inquiring about vendors' and customers' Y2K preparation progress. Once readers walk through the awareness and inventory steps, they assess the severity of each issue and begin planning alterations, upgrades, renovations or replacements. The Guide helps readers create contingency plans in case of emergency or missed deadlines.
After Y2K correction plans have been completed, the Guide discusses how to test each component of a company's operations to be certain that everything will function successfully when the new year arrives. This testing includes techniques for validating that vendors, customers and others are meeting their commitments. After helping the reader determine that all modifications are in place, the Guide provides a final checklist to ensure that everything is covered and will operate as planned on January 1, 2000.
Do not wait to buy this book. The Year 2000 problem can affect your entire business, from the obvious computer problems to subtle changes in contracts with customers and vendors. Addressing Year 2000 issues is a challenge that is critical to protecting your business. And merely being Year 2000 compliant is not sufficient. Most businesses will need to show customers, lenders, insurers or others evidence of the steps taken to ensure compliance. "The Smaller Business Year 2000 Guide" helps you take the steps most relevant to your business while documenting your efforts.
