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As the impact of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to unfold around the world, those individuals responsible for preparing financial statements and approving them for issue need to be cognisant of not only what has happened and is happening at the reporting date and the time the financial statements are approved, but also what is likely to happen next.

The worldwide spread of the Covid-19 has led to an unprecedented shock in the economy and the financial markets and it could be characterised as a material adverse change in M&As. In these confrontational times, companies, investors and finance professionals have to reassess and reevaluate the concepts and inputs they take into consideration when performing equity valuations.

The outbreak of the covid-19 disease in Europe since the end of February has had an adverse impact for the real economy and for EU financial markets. According to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), since 20 February 2020, the stock markets in the EU lost 30%, while all sectors and types of issuers were affected by severe share price falls.

The most important arrangements of the 30/03/2020 Legislative Act regarding the measures against the Covid-19 pandemic and other urgent provisions:

The coronavirus pandemic, characterized by the European Central Bank (ECB) as “a collective public health emergency unprecedented in recent history”, is unarguably expected to have significant impact on economic activity across the euro area.

Recently, we have been going through an unprecedented period regarding not only our own country, but the whole planet as well; the period, characterized by the highest extent of uncertainty and volatility.

Practical steps for companies impacted by coronavirus

In the context of the crucial developments concerning COVID-19, businesses must be prepared, alert and agile to cope with the constant forthcoming changes. Rapid development of the new COVID-19 coronavirus requires awareness and the contribution of all of us, businesses and individuals, with a sense of personal and collective responsibility towards society. We urge you to keep up to date, on a daily basis, with the latest developments announced by the competent authorities.

The healthcare sector is still experimenting with using big data but, as Anne McGeorge the national managing partner of healthcare at Grant Thornton US shares, it already has plenty to teach us about the benefits and challenges of big data analytics.