Moving Forward in the Time of COVID-19

Undoubtedly, 2020 has been a challenging year. We've all faced a number of concerns that go well above and beyond what anyone would consider as 'normal;' yet here we are, moving forward.

Here at EisnerAmper, like everyone else, we've spent some effort adapting to today's environment. Here's a quick recap of some of the steps we've taken this year.

• While the scope was unprecedented, we've been prepared to work from home for quite a while. We often have staff out at clients or working on the road, so our VPN was sound. We've been building, testing, and improving our remote work environment for years, going through 9/11, a day that will be remembered in infamy, and natural disasters. Our colleagues' combined experience and our continuous investment in technology have carried us through, making us a resilient and agile firm.
• We have leveraged video-conferencing platforms to effectively communicate with our clients and colleagues when in-person meetings have not been an option. Our Client Portal, which we built to safeguard client data, has been instrumental in maintaining the flow of data and deliverables between the firm and its clients. With these platforms and some investment in hardware, we mobilized our workforce to a remote environment. For the most part, it was a seamless transition since we have been using these platforms for years.
• We had staff members quickly become experts in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act"), enacted on March 27, 2020. We have successfully assisted borrowers and lenders in navigating the Paycheck Protection Program's nuances under the CARES Act. One example of these successes is the EA Cares Compliance Lender Portal, which helps lenders evaluate borrowers' documentation to verify the borrower data as part of the review of the PPP loan forgiveness applications before being submitted to the SBA. Another is our Workplace Distancing Solution, aimed at helping organizations safely and responsibly space employees in an office or work environment.
• Knowing that we have to pivot back to in-person work at least partially, we have also invested in technology that has allowed us to start re-opening our offices, making our colleagues' safety a priority. As always thinking of our clients, we made our internally developed return-to-office platform available to them.

As a firm, we have harnessed our experience and technology and will continue to adapt to the ever-changing business landscape to meet our clients' needs.