Finance Monthly - October 2021

or slow down until the pandemic restrictions eased. This enabled the Kreshmore team to enact the key initiatives we had outlined across a wide base of clients (both ongoing restructures and pre-emptive restructure planning). This further allowed us to dedicate analyst resources towards reading the dense local and federal aid legislation inorder to be at the forefront of economic aid programs. We prioritised our focus on debtor and creditor relationships as we had to build trust with the creditors and garner their buy-in to our process and ultimate plan to survive the pandemic. We additionally focused on forging relationships with the SBA and related parties to better understand the various grant and relief programs. These programs would ultimately serve as a crutch for our entire client base who would go on to qualify to varying degrees. The 2020 pandemic has been a roller coaster for our company and our clients both professionally and personally. There were many 14-hour days in early March 2020 when clients were reeling and there was little help in sight with regard to government intervention. Overall, Kreshmore’s restructure business became very busy in the early innings of the pandemic and continued to stay busy throughout the pandemic. Our goal at the outset of the pandemic was to rapidly institute cash preservation plans and to proactively open discussions with our clients’ various stakeholders. This entailed significant planning and execution of loan and lease deferrals, landlord deferrals and abatement, furloughs and staffing restructures. The COVID crisis was a predicament of catastrophic consequence and we knew that in order for our clients to have a fighting chance we needed to be realistic with the help we would require from our creditors. We also had to base our requests on actual facts supported by meaningful analysis. This analysis would prove to be some of the most challenging work we have undergone in that it was nearly impossible (and in some ways still is) to see what the world would look like in 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, etc. Today we see many companies who have had their balance sheets shored up with government aid. The clients who were able to negotiate with key stakeholders have further strengthened cash reserves. We are seeing a much more sober management approach than perhaps 24 months ago, with many companies still waiting for a clearer line of sight on the mid-to-long term impacts of the economic recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. What are the main lessons the pandemic has taught you? In many ways, the same tools, strategies, and best practices deployed pre-pandemic are just Bank i ng & F i nanc i a l Se r v i ce s 36 Finance Monthly.