Recession or Not: Strategies You Need Now

Recession-Minded Strategies to Help You Navigate Economic Uncertainty

Regardless of how recession worries materialize, we are armed with precise tools made for this moment characterized by high inflation, high interest rates, low unemployment and steady spending. Our experts can help you activate specific strategies to stand firm against shifting economic winds and emerge on the other side with innovation, growth and efficiency fueling your company’s future.

Address Supply Chain Woes

According to a February 2023 survey by Coupa Software, the majority of supply chain leaders expect continued or worsened challenges over the next six to 12 months. Despite these continued disruptions, organizational leaders face the future with agility gleaned from the past few years of geopolitical instability, a talent crunch and rapid-fire, pandemic-fueled digitalization.

According to Coupa Software, supply-chain leaders are worried about the following areas:

Consider smart supply-chain strategies:

Are you accounting for inventory to optimize cash flow? Read about LIFO.

Have you vetted your vendors to make sure they are managing risk and adapting to changing conditions? Here are questions you should ask.

Need more skilled workers to fuel manufacturing? Learn how to attract new employees.

Capitalize on Selective Tax Incentives

Timely, select tax incentives can synergize strategy and cost savings, whether you're renovating or newly constructing your office space, seeking to improve your products or processes, or simply looking for ways to recover from pandemic aftershocks. Three tax incentives are particularly well-suited to this moment: the 179D deduction, the Research & Development (R&D) credit and the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). By taking a closer look at these credits, you can better understand how they can benefit your business and help drive success, even in the face of economic uncertainty.

Maximum ERTC Available Per Employee by Qualification Period

Potential ERTC savings can be significant, and the credit can be claimed retroactively.

Dig into select tax incentives:

Want a deeper dive into qualification criteria, FAQs, and finer points of the ERTC? Download our free guide.

Need to know how research and development (R&D) amortization changes your approach to research and development credits? Learn about the change here.

How can you save by exploring clean energy? Read about Section 179D.

Fill Gaps With Interim, Outsourced and Co-Sourced Employees

According to the CFO Alliance, CFOs report that “not having the right people to execute” is their primary inhibitor to executing this year’s growth strategy. With the labor market largely unmarred by economic volatility, competing for talent while working within tighter budgets can be a delicate balancing act. However, interim, outsourced and co-sourced talent provide ways to tackle project backlogs, trial new job functions or introduce specialized skillsets when they are needed most.

CFO Top Concerns

According to a survey* of CFOs, hiring and retaining talent is the second most pressing concern this year, only usurped by inflation.

Learn how to use temporary talent:

Unsure what types of positions and projects are best suited for temporary employees? Find out when to explore a shorter-term contract.

Need a breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of interim talent? Find it here.

Fortify Against Fraud and Cyber Threats

During moments of economic slowdown, fraud tends to rise, leaving companies to defend against potentially costly threats at a time when resources are spread thin. A proactive approach to these risks can help mitigate damage, or potentially prevent it all together. From running an annual profit and loss statement, to analyzing vendor spends, to establishing whistleblower programs, there are firewalls you can place between your organization and potential fraud. When it comes to cybersecurity and data breaches, an incident response plan is key, as is establishing a “ransomware playbook” in consultation with a trusted expert.

Make your company more secure:

Need to safeguard against data breaches? Here’s how.

Tips to keep in mind given that as the economy slows down, fraud tends to go up.

Could your board be held accountable for cybersecurity failures? Find out.

Looking for something else? Try our Agility & Excellence Resource Center, where we update our insights with curated, expert-driven content meant to help you master the moment.