Ready for a Brexit? Most businesses are not, but financial services firms are ahead of the game
People up and down the country may be preparing themselves to vote at the EU referendum next month, but a study out today suggests that businesses might not be ready for the result.
The research by law firm Pinsent Masons found that just a quarter (26 per cent) of senior decision makers from businesses across Britain, France and Germany had a tangible plan for what they would do next should the UK vote to leave the EU.
More than half (53 per cent) said that the topic of what to do in the event of a Brexit was yet to come up at board level.
However, those in the financial services sector were ahead of others in their planning, with more than half (58 per cent) having held a board-level discussion and a similar proportion (51 per cent) having an action plan in place.
Read more: Employers rely on this many workers from elsewhere in the EU
"The uncertainties in a Brexit scenario are so great that there may be a temptation to do nothing until the referendum result emerges," said Guy Lougher, partner and head of the Brexit advisory team at Pinsent Masons. "However, our advice to businesses is to start taking steps now.
"While one cannot protect against all risks, it is possible to identify the risk areas and start thinking about how these could be mitigated."
In light of its findings, Pinsent Masons suggests firms take some time to assess elements of their business that could be affected by a Brexit, such as the number of staff that might be affected, what impact the vote would have on where their data is held and how they could future-proof any of their critical contacts.
However, some firms have been doing some thinking, with one in 10 at British businesses admitting that there had been discussions about moving operations outside of the UK in the event of the country leaving the EU.