New Brexit checklist for business launched
Marking a year before the UK’s formal exit from the EU, East Midlands Chamber has launched a ‘Brexit checklist’ setting out the main issues firms need to be considering now to best position themselves to succeed in a post-Brexit environment.
The document has been produced by the Chamber’s newly established Brexit Advisory Group, which aims to help East Midlands businesses navigate their way through the many questions and changes that Brexit will create.
“Despite there being only a year to go, considerable doubt remains over what the future holds for business, with things to consider ranging from customs arrangements through employing EU nationals to contracts and Intellectual Property rights.” said Scott Knowles, Chief Executive at the Chamber.
“In business terms, a year is a very short time in which to go through all the documents, processes and programmes currently in use and revise all those that need it so that trading can continue post-Brexit,”
He added: “The uncertainty is the hardest thing to deal with because you don’t know what outcome you’re aiming for, so you have to plan for the worst case scenario while hoping for the best.
“What we have done with our briefing paper is set out what we see, and what our members tell us, are some of the more critical elements of the Brexit process that companies need to be looking at today to ensure they can continue to trade globally tomorrow.”
The Brexit Advisory Group has been set up in collaboration with Chamber Strategic Partner RSM, one of the UK’s leading providers of audit, tax and consulting services.
It is chaired by Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Chief Executive at Loughborough-based Morningside Pharmaceuticals, which has supplied quality pharmaceuticals and medical device products to global markets for over 25 years.
The group will shape and help deliver the Chamber’s wider Brexit influence and support programme, including its ongoing lobbying activities based on business intelligence and needs.
It will lead MPs briefings regionally and at Westminster, help to shape the Chamber’s 2018 Manifesto on Brexit and provide up-to-date information to businesses through seminars, workshops and the media about potential outcomes of the UK leaving the EU.
Scott said: “Whether you voted for it or against it, Brexit is happening. What we need to do today is make sure we can, as far as possible, future-proof against any potentially negative impact of the divorce.
“The aim of the Brexit Advisory Group is to provide a conduit between business and Westminster so that the creators of jobs and wealth can influence the direction of Government and, at the same time, be accurately informed about at the earliest opportunity about the decisions and agreements being made that will affect them.”
Kevin Harris, Office Managing Partner at RSM, a global company with local offices at Leicester and Nottingham, said: “We are pleased to be working with the Chamber to provide businesses with a voice in Westminster and the facts they need to make informed choices for a successful withdrawal from the EU and post-Brexit success.
“We’ll get only one shot at a successful Brexit so it’s important that we get right first time.”
Scott added: “The briefing paper is not a definitive list but it is a guide to what businesses need to be considering today. There will be updates as we get closer and closer to Brexit day, a year from today, but the message we need to get out there is that businesses can’t sit back and wait to see what happens, they have to seize the initiative and plan for all eventualities if they are to succeed post-Brexit.
