In recent years the Financial Conduct Authority have taken a greater interest in the steps that a Firm has in place should the Executive Responsibilities of a Director have to transfer to another person. Firms are expected to provide details of any handover procedures already in place.
Fine if there is an opportunity for the new person to shadow the role - but what if there was a (fatal) accident ? This has happened and without an up to date handover pack can seriously impact business.
Having a Handover Pack is a smart idea - and should be in place for all key individuals within the Firm. This is particularly true for sole traders and micro enterprises - where the business is reliant on one or two key personnel. As part of a Disaster Recovery plan the Handover Pack should be regularly updated and held securely - would your partner know where to look to find a copy?
To draw up a Handover Pack start by identifiying those activities and responsibilites that are unique to the individual including Prescribed Responsibilities and briefly document "how to" for each activity - with details of the location of the relevant files / passwords etc. Whilst having passwords saved on a pc is helpful you still would need access to the laptop - having a notebook with log in details and stored securely might be a better bet.
...................and when was your Disaster Recovery Plan last reviewed / tested?
Should you need some help then please contact me at ian@compliancealliance.net