Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Template

Use this template to develop a business continuity plan for your firm. This tool provides small introducing firms with an alternative means of meeting their obligations under FINRA Rule 4370.

Few organizational initiatives thrive without management’s sustained support and endorsement; that is especially true of BCM initiatives, where leadership must dedicate sufficient resources towards creating and executing a business continuity plan.

1. Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
The Business Impact Analysis (BIA) process assesses the possible ramifications of an interruption to business processes. It involves reviewing information systems supporting these processes as well as their importance within an organization, along with an assessment of acceptable downtime levels.

To conduct an effective BIA, the project team should include representatives from various departments within your company that understand their respective processes (e.g. manufacturing, sales and marketing). They can offer insights into how an interruption might disrupt those processes as well as any recovery timeframe that might be required for full recovery.

BIAs can be performed either independently of or concurrent with risk assessments; however, conducting one first can help streamline and narrow down its focus by pinpointing worst-case scenarios, and gathering vital information needed for creating recovery objectives, plans, solutions, and strategies.

2. Risk Assessment
Risk evaluation is the process of identifying potential threats that could jeopardize business operations, such as natural disasters, power outages and cyber attacks. Assessors then attempt to determine who these hazards could harm and their risk profile as well as likelihood. Eventually this information is used in developing a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).

A comprehensive BCP should include plans to mitigate and respond to crises, with backup sites and strategies for employees during any disruptions. Documented plans with employee training ensure everyone remains on the same page, especially during times of extreme distress or disaster.

Testing your plans is of utmost importance; this includes conducting realistic simulations of potential crises and testing your team’s response. These simulations and exercises can take various forms from simple tabletop exercises to multi-team drills in multiple locations across dispersed locations; you may even consider using tools such as SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) for conducting and delivering BCP training more easily.

3. Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan
Disaster recovery plans (DR) are essential elements of business continuity plans. A disaster recovery plan (DRP) covers all the procedures and technologies that need to be put in place in case of data loss or hardware failure, such as backup systems and recovery facilities.

An effective disaster recovery (DR) plan often stems from an impact analysis and risk evaluation, utilizing results to set RTO and RPO timelines. A DR plan may also include lists, inventories, schedules, documents or locations of essential data that support its creation and implementation.

Like a BCP, disaster recovery (DR) plans must be regularly tested. Testing can range from simple walkthrough tests to more extensive simulations that should take place outside normal business hours to avoid disruption to work. Furthermore, updating should occur regularly to make sure everything functions optimally – this includes reviewing recovery site performance as well as file retrieval capabilities from primary sites as well as team responsibilities and capabilities of DR members.

4. Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Ultimately, a BCP is a set of clear instructions for your company in case of disaster, from handling data breaches to what steps should be taken if your building becomes inhabitable.

An impact analysis must identify any risks to business operations and then devise safeguards and procedures to mitigate those risks, followed by an extensive review process to make sure these measures are functioning as planned.

Final steps include developing recovery strategies based on the results of your BIA and impact analysis, such as redirecting phone calls or emails to different servers or postponing less critical activities until systems can be restored. Once this plan has been created, tested, monitored, implemented, and updated as necessary, then final steps include implementation and updating as necessary.