We are not sufficiently prepared for the arrival of COVID-19, especially in

March 2020, when it begins to hit most of the country’s commercial institutions and
economy. This unprecedented event has had devastating effects such as bankcruptcies
and lesser profit than these companies generated during the pre-pandemic period. In
this way, even the fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) was unable to avoid the
damaging impact. A multi-national chain of fast food restaurants is expected to rise
from the tide of conflict. After reading the article about Jollibee’s global business
restructuring, it helped me realize how financial statements, analysis of environmental
factors (micro and macro), and other components of business analysis, can help
financial staffs and accountable persons make reasonable and thorough financial
decisions.

Global business restructuring is defined as changes in the company’s operations,

finances, or other structures, with the goal of making it more efficient and profitable
(Palmer, 2020). After COVID-19 affected their sales, Jollibee made this decision. As
the focus of the pandemic shifted, consumer behavior changed (Ipsos, 2020).
Jollibee’s target market is mainly children and families in the Philippines, but due to
the pandemic, children in the Philippines are not allowed to go outside. We can also
consider Filipino families who have lost their jobs and/or struggle financially.
Therefore, instead of buying snacks from Jollibee, it is better to focus on your own
priorities (Ipsos, 2020). This is why it is necessary to review theconsumer behavior
model of a company and their P.E.S.T.L.E. analysis (macro environmental analysis)
from time to time. Due to the pandemic, the country’s economy has rapidly declined
and government security agreement (IATF guidelines) such as physical distancing and
lockdown measures have been implemented. These are factors that the company did
not overlooked and considered. Also, the corporation assumed that the world will not
fully recover immediately and that the company will have much lower percentage of
sales than before. Although this sounds negative, I personally think it is good because
they rely on facts. When considering the financial position of your company for the
next months or years (especially during this crisis), you do not have to show a toxic
positivity.What you need to do is to consider a plan for finding certainty from
uncertainty. Forecasting is a must. Conflicts are there and you have to think of a way
on how to combat them. As I have observed, Jollibee has set and maintained its vision
of becoming one of the top five restaurant companies in the world. In this way, when
the company has a goal, it will directly drive you.

From the lessons that we have discussed during the first quarter, I believe that
Jollibee created a plan thoroughly through the use of financial statements. I commend
how financial officers and heads work hand-in-hand here. As of 2020, Jollibee Foods
Corp. have a total of 111 institutional owners and shareholders (Fintel, 2020). I
included the shareholders or investors because having sound financial decision is
essential for them. In the previous discussions, investors were frequently mentioned
because the transparency that the financial statements provide affect their decisions
whether they will keep on investing or not. If I am one of the shareholders of this
corporation, I will feel secure and I won’t take my investments out because they have
goals, they have profound analysis and they are sure of what they are doing. Aside
from that, their planned changes were studied based on the situations they have
encountered. The company analyzed the problems and provided solutions for each.
Probably, the research and development team of Jollibee have seen studies about the
possible post-effects of this pandemic, since a study shows that companies should
adapt, consider solutions to prepare for future consumer behavior, and invest in digital
technology (Sheth, 2020) which the company will do. The following changes that the
company will do are: investing in digital commerce and technology, implementation
of safety and social distancing protocol in dining area [Sheth (2020) mentioned in his
research that businesses may expect consumers to be more policy-oriented and most
of their decisions will be governed by what the community has been implemented],
rationalization of production and distribution facilities, etc. These various changes
have profound study and research behind. They do not just solely made a decision
from their financial statements but also they consider various factors to make the
entity more profitable again. From the article, a statement from CEO Ernesto
Tanmantiong shows the public how confident he is that the multinational multibrand
company will overcome this and how it always adhere to the changes in its operations
successfully. Having confidence and trust in your company’s capability is one of the
characteristic that a business owner should embody. You are the head, so the trust and
confidence should start within you. It greatly affects the next steps of the company
and I believe that Jollibee wouldn’t get this far if they don’t believe right from the
start that they can.

Jollibee showed us that large companies like them are equally vulnerable when
faced with unexpected situations, but they also showed us how they managed to act
immediately. Sound financial decisions are created through financial statements,
forecasting, analysis, and research and development. Conflicts are inevitable, but
having specific goals and willingness to take risks can overcome them.

References:

Fintel (2020). JFC/Jollibee Foods Corp-Institutional Ownership and Shareholders.

https://fintel.io/so/ph/jfc#:~:text=Jollibee%20Foods%20Corp%20(PH%3AJFC,Securities%20Exchange
%20Commission%20(SEC).

Ipsos (2020). Life in the New Normal: 94% of Filipinos are worried about COVID-19.
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ph/life-new-normal-94-filipinos-are-worried-about-covid-19

Palmer, J. (2020, November 7). Business restructuring and Covid-19. Real Business Rescue.
https://www.realbusinessrescue.co.uk/business-restructuring

Sheth, J. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits
return or die? www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7269931