Preparing for BREXIT Companies should be acting now to ready themselves for March 2019 says Andrew Gray, Head of Brexit, PwC UK
W
ith under five months to go until the UK leaves the
‘A transfer of trade may require lengthy preparation, such as
EU there is increasing discussion about how ‘ready’
delineating the covered assets, carving them out from the rest
organisation are for new trading and border arrangements.
of the business if necessary, before effectively transferring them
And this is particularly true for businesses based in the UK with
to a pre-existing structure.’
continental ownership or subsidiaries where certain factors will have a bigger impact than on wholly UK owned organisations.
Contingency plans
The biggest risks flow from a ‘no deal’ outcome – and, whilst
So, with this in mind what can businesses do now to be ready,
we are increasingly close to a deal being agreed, until one is fully
no matter where the negotiations take us? Here are eight ‘no
ratified, all businesses should prepare. The greatest urgency
regret’ decisions all businesses should take now to lay the
whether there is a deal or not, is for those with regulatory and
groundwork for future trading beyond Brexit:
operational complexity.
• Support your people
Inevitably those in the ‘red zone’ include the highly regulated
• Know your supply chain
sectors. But, outside of heavily regulated sectors such as
• Clean up your current data
Financial Services, there is a recurring theme - that the nature
• Think about new data requirements
of our future relationship with the EU feels too uncertain for
• Take advantage of existing government schemes
many businesses to make change now.
• Check out your contracts • Engage with key 3rd parties
Preparing for day one
• Plan to be agile
The UK will leave the EU in March 2019, with either a deal and
‘Financial services have been ahead of the curve in preparing
transition period, or no deal, but either way the details of our
for Brexit. Now other sectors are seen taking action, such as
future relationship with the EU may not be known for years.
automotive, aerospace and pharma. Sometimes, companies
However, the potential scenarios for that relationship, and the
are asked to prepare contingency plans by their large clients as
‘red lines’ both the UK and EU have insisted on, mean there are
we have seen in the automotive industry,’ says Picq.
fewer variables now than there may seem.
Perhaps the most important no regret decision is ‘plan to be
Moreover, there are some changes that are now more likely
agile’ - whilst there is uncertainty in the political environment,
than not whatever happens next. Time is short, and businesses
businesses can now prepare to respond to new developments.
need to move from reviewing and planning to activate these plans now, to make sure they are ready on day one.
Appointing a ‘Head of Brexit’ and forming a dedicated body accountable for understanding what future events mean for
‘One example is where your business would need to set up a
your organisation, and identify the ‘triggers’ for action, will help
presence on the continent or even transfer a trade from the UK
you remain agile and quickly mitigate risks as they occur, as well
to the continent. The new set-up may require not only planning
as taking advantage from opportunities that arise.
but also finding the right location, recruiting the right people
The clear message is that now is the time to act for all
and in some sectors, obtaining the necessary authorisations,’
businesses; whether the actions you need to take are large or
says Emmanuel Picq, Partner at PwC Société d’Avocats and
small, the 29 March is now not far away. I
Operational complexity
Brexit coordinator for PwC France.
Manufacturing Retail
Chemicals
Energy and utilities
Hospitality Public sector
Small and micro
Financial services
Pharma
Transport
Professional services
Regulatory complexity info
- november / december 2018 - 13