Pandemic (COVID-19) effect on financial statements: The role of government and organizations for future prevention

COVID-19 pandemic period impedes business operations and world economic growth. This type of pandemic may happen again in the future. Hence, the objectives of the study are to fi nd out the pandemic eff ect on items in fi nancial statements; to predict the future eff ect on items in the fi nancial statements, and to fi nd out the role of government and organizations for future prevention of the adverse eff ects on fi nancial statements due to the pandemic. The analysis is based on a large number of publicly available sources, including research papers, governmental documents, and reports. The study has taken 8 ratios compared with 80 listed companies around the globe. During the pandemic period the magnitude of adverse eff ect on business operations depends upon the decision and actions of external bodies (WHO, governments) and internal ones (organizations) parties. The fi ndings revealed that the role of government and organizations for future prevention of ‘Pandemic Eff ect on Financial Statements’ is vital to defend against future pandemic situations. This study has added a new discussion to the body of knowledge, i.e. examining pandemic (COVID-19) eff ect on business operational activities and its fi nancial statements; hence, an approach that is not widely discussed in the previous studies.


Introduction
Financial statements include income statements, statements of fi nancial position, cash fl ow statements, and statements of equity shareholders. If there are no accurate, timely and regular fi nancial statements, even if one who believes that the business is doing well, the business could not able to achieve their aim [Adrian, 2019; Mathuva et al., 2019]. Cash and profi t are considered the lifeblood of any business [Mazzarol, Reboud, 2020]. Fair fi nancial statements are helpful for stakeholders including managers, shareholders, investors, banks, government, tax inspectors, and so on to make the right decision [Davern et al., Стратегические решения и риск-менеджмент / Strategic Decisions and Risk Management, 2021, 12 (2):  Оnline-версия журнала www.jsdrm.ru 2019; Weetman, 2019]. The preparation of fi nancial statements is compulsory as a legal requirement [Gahlot et al., 2019;Pelekh et al., 2020]. Unqualifi ed audited fi nancial statements ensure the presence of applicable accounting standards (International Accounting Standards -IAS) [Adrian, 2019; Jatmiko et al., 2019] and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs) [Routh et al., 2019]. These statements are used by diff erent stakeholders for diff erent decision-making [Weetman, 2019;Birt et al., 2020]. Concepts and a clear understanding of accounting, fi nancial statements, and budgeting [Reichard, Küchler-Stahn, 2019] helped take the right decision at the proper time in order to direct the business towards its fi nancial success [Birt et al., 2020].
Governments, income tax departments, security exchanges compel companies to prepare their fi nancial statements on a quarterly basis [Mao, Wu, 2019] that might use company management to guide and control future fi nancial requirements [Kajüter et al., 2019]. The COVID-19 pandemic impeded business operations [Koonin, 2020] and economic growth [Barro et al., 2020] around the world and it continues as a universal phenomenon [Crank et al., 2019]. Since the universe has faced many diseases in pandemic scales, it badly aff ects major business operational activities [Koonin, 2020]. It is obvious that the pandemic, say, novel coronavirus has been controlled by many countries [Wu, McGoogan, 2020], a lot of measures have been taken by both government (external) and business organizations (internal) . The measures taken by both external and internal bodies of such countries as Italy, the United States, Spain, Germany, France, and Iran have not limited the spread of COVID-19 among citizens [Zhou et al., 2020]. Pandemic leads to lockdowns in many countries that impede business operations [Kruger et al., 2020]. Still pandemic has less aff ected some businesses like food and pharma industries. This set of nosy challenges calls researchers to study the role of governments and organizations regarding fi nancial statements according to the industry. Hence the objectives of the study are to fi nd out the role of governments and organizations for future prevention, 'pandemic eff ect on fi nancial statements, based on comparing current quarterly/yearly fi nancial statements with previous ones in industries/organizations; and to predict the future eff ect on such organizational fi nancial statements. Later, fi nancial statements were compared to the pandemic eff ect on the economy that highlights the role of governments and organizations for future prevention.
The study has proposed an innovative framework in which it defi ned four major independent variable measures taken by external bodies (governments, WHO), internal institutions (organizations), scientifi c and controlled measures, unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures that aff ect dependent variables (business operational activities and fi nancial statements). The current study chose these four essential independent elements (factors) to represent the characteristics for certain reasons. These are all the important factors infl uencing business operations as well as fi nancial statements in general. Hence the following theoretical framework has been developed. The relationship measures taken by external bodies (governments), internal institutions (organizations), scientifi c and controlled measures, unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures with business operational activities and Financial Statements are shown in fi g. 1.

Literature review
Comparative or common-size income statement and statement of fi nancial position help to understand the causes of differences in operational fi nancial performance between two periods [Dinçer et al.,  . Eff ective analysis of fi nancial statements helps to assess the quality of the fi rm's fi nancial statements [Cantele, Zardini, 2018;Muda et al., 2018;Robinson, 2020]. Financial statement analysis helps to understand the operational performance of any company [Marjanović et al., 2018]. Identifying industry and economic characteristics is possible using the analysis of fi nancial statements [Müller et al., 2018]. The interim fi nancial report predicts future eff ect on organizational fi nancial statements [Nainggolan, 2018].
In normal economic conditions, most successful organizations continue to operate their business the same or better way. It has been found that organizational operational activities are adversely aff ected during the outbreak of any pandemic, which is now a normal phenomenon in every decade [Bhardwaj, 2020]. Pandemic will negatively aff ect organizations' operational, fi nancial, and revenue aspects [Williams, Kayaoglu, 2020]. The task of organizations is to take all the necessary measures to prevent pandemic situations, and it depends on the governments and tax authorities' situational decisions/actions through implementing emergency rules/decrees/orders [Di Saverio et al., 2020;Saleh et al., 2020]. The governments with reserve banks may implement supportive fi nancial measures to overcome adverse economic consequences especially during a pandemic such as a Coronavirus disease 2019 [Adams, Walls, 2020]. Since pandemic is a social and communal infl uential factor, the organization and its employees

Business operational activities and financial statements
Business operational activities are the core daily routine that an organization needs to pay attention to in order to get revenues. Manufacturing or production, selling, administration, marketing [Thottoli, Thomas, 2021], customer services are some of the operational activities of any organization. Well-planned operational activities help organizations to achieve better cash fl ows and to maintain and/or increase the net income of the business. Financial statements help make smart business move and keep value and reputation [O'Brien, 2019]. Financial statements are the basis to get a loan or attract investors. Thus, it is important for any business to keep an eye on its operational activities much better than before. Operational activities are the principal revenue-producing activities [Hasanaj, Kuqi, 2019;Yosvid, 2020].

Scientific and controlled measures taken by external (governments and WHO)
Social awareness is considered to be the fi rst step that government has to take as an initiative. Basic facilities such as food, masks, soap, sanitation materials and so on should be provided at the grass root level by the government especially to the underprivileged and downtrodden living in slum areas. Healthcare and adequate testing facilities in every ward in the country need to be provided by the local government or authorities. Governments should take an initiative to identify and isolate violators whenever required using strict policy. After all strict follow-up action against the lockdown, violators are to be followed up. Stay-at-home orders, business closures, and travel restrictions are brought in by heads of health emergencies to counteract the spread of COVID-19. WHO is currently taking precautionary measures/advice to protect people from the spread of COVID-19. Interventions, such as intensive contact tracing followed by quarantine and isolation, can eff ectively reduce the spread of COVID-19. Under the most restrictive measures, the outbreak is expected to peak within two weeks (since January 23, 2020) with a signifi cantly low peak value. With travel restrictions (no transportation of exposed individuals to Beijing), the number of infected individuals in seven days will decrease by 91.14% in Beijing, compared to the scenario of no travel restriction. Collaborative eff orts are required to combat the novel coronavirus, focusing on both persistent strict domestic interventions and vigilance against exogenous imported cases. Community-wide containment is an intervention applied to an entire community, city, or region, aimed at reducing personal interactions, except for minimal interaction to ensure vital supplies. From a policy perspective, understanding whether and how communities respond to government actions is crucial. Socialization of coronavirus in the USA reveals that fear about the pandemic disease has taken initiatives from the governmental side to the society and general people, placing pressure among prospective customers and heading to regulatory reaction and a substantial societal backlash [Andriani, 2020; Brammer et al., 2020]. These measures help return to the normal situation which will, in turn, help increase the turnover of the business. These scientifi c and controlled measures taken by the governments and WHO can lead to the economic growth in short term. Hence, it is hypothesized that: H1: During pandemic period scientifi c and controlled measures taken by external bodies (governments and WHO), adversely aff ect business operational activities and fi nancial statements.

Unscientific and uncontrolled measures taken by external (governments & WHO)
Research on China and South Korea shows, that early governmental action and cooperation with the population can slow down the uncontrolled spread of the pandemic. A weak approach of government to control the pandemic may lead to communal spreading. Improper measures at the initial stage by the government may lead to the spreading of the virus in the society. Poorly tested facilities are another inability of the country to control the spreading of the virus. A situational communication/instruction of good health and safety measures during the pandemic period is important to avoid the spread of such viruses. The measures should be taken by local/state/health organizations as soon as possible before spread of the disease in the community. This can be evident that in countries like the UK and the the US, the governments were swift to institute scientifi c controlled measures to alleviate corporate debt [Amankwah-Amoah et al., 2021]. Hence, it is hypothesized that: H2: During the pandemic period unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures taken by external bodies (governments and WHO) adversely aff ect business operational activities and fi nancial statements.

Scientific and controlled measures taken by internal institutions (organizations)
To sustain and thrive in uncertain times brought forward by COVID-19, organizations must explore new ways of cooperation. This has placed a spotlight on the need for corporate resilience and the ability to embrace virtual collaboration tools and practices. The researcher has observed that most of the companies have to require digital technologies to reduce offi ce hours. It is not necessary for organizations to operate with a 100 percent presence of employees. They have implemented social distancing and quarantine measures. The staff is working from diff erent locations, either in the offi ce or at home. Staff members who have returned from abroad or who have even mild cold symptoms are working from home for a minimum of 14 days. All business trips are suspended. Digital tools for internal and external meetings are used, and reception of visitors is stopped. Public events and seminars are not organized. This makes the companies remain operational and continue making disbursements to its customers. It is necessary to follow recommendations published by WHO. Ban on lunch breaks to avoid crowds has been introduced. Masks and hand sanitizers should be given to all employees. Close and constant monitoring of international developments, including instructions issued by relevant local and national authorities should be observed. Internal task forces in the areas of operations, business, and general crisis management were formed. This continues to operate Оnline-версия журнала www.jsdrm.ru a business without much disturbance [Untaru, Han, 2021]. It was found out that the scientifi c and controlled measures taken by organizations against the COVID-19 virus positively aff ected both customer safety and business operations. Hence, it is considered that: H3: During pandemic period scientifi c and controlled measures taken by internal (organization), adversely aff ect business operational activities and fi nancial statements.

Unscientific and uncontrolled measures taken by internal institutions (organizations)
An eff ective Business Continuity Management (BCM) program is a critical component of successful business management. Experience shows that typically over 50 percent of businesses without an eff ective business continuity plan will ultimately fail following a major disruption. Thermal screening is mandatory for all the staff . If there are no strategies using a cost-eff ective approach, and without taking into consideration key resources or critical activities, people, Information Communication Technology (ICT), supplies, and facilities may adversely aff ect business operations. Product packing and production information should be looked into if it is necessary. Unreasonable dismissal of an employee who has care-giving obligations related to COVID-19 may spoil business. Not providing employees with adequate resources to work from home is another key area. Many organizations are now requiring their staff to work from home, which can further increase the risk as enterprise network security safeguards are not always available to home-users, and some users may be forced to use their systems at home that may not have the same level of protection. Despite the working conditions, employees must be especially vigilant right now for malicious attacks that attempt to exploit the pandemic and people's fears. This is important for both working in the offi ce and at home. This concept has been supported by [Hu et al., 2021]. The researchers expressed the idea that failure to obey COVID-19 organizational protection measures may jeopardize the health and protection of employees, business operations, and the public. Hence, it is hypothesized that: H4: During pandemic period unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures taken by internal institutions (organizations), adversely aff ect business operational activities and fi nancial statements.

Methods
The analysis is based on a large number of publicly available sources, including research papers, government documents, and reports. The paper aims to triangulate the validity of the data with multiple sources. The study has taken 8 ratios compared with 80 listed companies around the globe. Further, as a part of the methodology, the current study has used secondary data after considering organizations' current quarterly fi nancial statements with previous ones to reach the predicted fi nancial results. This result has later been cross-compared with pandemic (COVID-19) affected (according to the data of COVID-19 statistics provided by World Health Organization -WHO) economies. Organizations were grouped geographically as well as industry types. During the pandemic period, the magnitude of adverse eff ect on business operations depends upon the decision and actions of external bodies (WHO, governments) and internal institutions (organizations).
In this study, industries were grouped under essential (Group A) and non-essential (Group B) during the pandemic. Food and Pharma (Industry I) industries are grouped as essential industries whereas Automobile and Textile (Industry II) industries are grouped as non-essential industries during the pandemic period. For industry sample selection, the regions were segregated ac-

Variables of the research and its measurements
This study has used various measurements (accounting ratios) as variables for assessing the fi nancial performance of any organization (fi g. 2 and table 1, list of accounting ratios used for the analysis [Olson, Zoubi, 2008]): The paper also takes impairment of assets of various selected companies for comparative analysis.

Results and discussion
As per the WHO COVID-19 dashboard, there are 6,515,796 confi rmed cases reported around the world at the time of this study (2020.06.05). Among them, 3,084,517 confi rmed cases (which is around 47%) are widespread in Americas and 2,211,148 confi rmed cases (which are 34%) exist in Europe. Hence, 81% of confi rmed cases are in Group A Region. Whereas remaining 19% confi rmed cases are from Group B Region (table 2,

Group A & Group B, Industry I
Group A region (Americas and Europe) and Group B (Southeast Asia, Western Pacifi c, and Africa) region, considering 20 selected companies from each Group under Industry type I (essential products such as food and pharma), showed a comparative result as discussed below: Table 3, Gross profi t Ratio (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) does not show many variations in Industry I in both regional groups.
The result shows that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have not faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their financial statements. Therefore, the company was keeping stable gross profi t in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 3, Operating profi t margin (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) does not show many variations in Industry I in both regions A and B.
The result prooves that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have not faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the company was keeping a stable operating margin in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2021. Table 3, Net profi t margin (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) shows slight variations in Industry I in both regions A and B.
The result shows that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the company could not be able to keep a stable net profi t margin in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 3, Return on assets (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) shows a decreasing trend in Industry I in region B in comparison to region A.
The result shows that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have faced negative eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the company could not be able to keep a stable return on assets in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 3, Return on capital employed (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) shows a decreasing trend in Industry I in region B in comparison to region A.
The result shows that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the company could not be able to keep a stable return on capital employed in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 4, Current ratio (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) shows no much variations in Industry I in both regions A and B.
The result shows that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the company could not be able to keep stable current assets in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019.  Table 4 Group A & Group B, Industry I Таблица 4 Группы А и В, отрасль I Table 4, Acid test (Quick) ratio (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) shows a decreasing trend in Industry I in region B in comparison to region A.
The result shows that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the company could not be able to keep stable quick assets in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 4, Working capital ratio (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) does not show many variations in Industry I in both regions A and B.
The result proves that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the company could not be able to keep stable working capital in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 5, Impairment of assets (Group A, Industry I and Group B, Industry I) shows an increasing trend in Industry I in region B compared to region A.
The result shows that the industries producing essential products such as food and pharmaceuticals have faced adverse effects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements. Therefore, the companies are having impairment of assets at a higher rate compared to Q 2020 and Q 2019.

Results of the tested hypothesis
Scientifi c and controlled measures taken by external bodies (governments and WHO), adversely aff ected business operational activities and fi nancial statements. Scientifi c and controlled measures taken by internal institutions (organizations), negatively aff ected business operational activities and fi nancial statements. Therefore, H1 and H3 are supported.

Group A and Group B, Industry II
Group A region (Americas and Europe) and Group B (Southeast Asia, Western Pacifi c, and Africa) region, results of 20 selected companies from each Group A and B in Industry type II (non-essential products such as automobiles and textile products), showed a comparative result as discussed below: Table 6, Gross profi t ratio (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is a slight adverse variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential items such as automobiles and textile products have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements in region A (badly aff ected by virus, . Therefore, the company could not keep a stable gross profi t in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 6, Net profi t margin (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is highly adverse variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential products such as automobiles and textile have faced negative effects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements in region A. Therefore, the company could not keep a stable net profi t margin in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 6, Net profi t ratio (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is highly adverse variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential products such as automobiles and textile have faced adverse effects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements in region A. Therefore, the company could not keep a stable net profi t in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 6, Return on assets (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is highly adverse variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential items such as automobiles and textile goods have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements in region A. Therefore, the company could not get a stable return on assets in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 5 Group A & Group B, Industry I Таблица 5 Группы А и В, отрасль I Table 6 Group A & Group B, Industry II Таблица 6 Группы А и В, отрасль II Table 6, Return on capital employed (Group A, Industry II, and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is highly adverse variation among Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential items such as automobiles and textile goods have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their financial statements in region A.
Therefore, the company could not get a stable return on capital in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 7, Current ratio (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is highly adverse variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential items such as automobiles and textile goods have faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their financial statements in region A. Therefore, the company could not be able to maintain adequate current assets in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 7, Acid-test (Quick) ratio (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is highly adverse variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential items such as automobiles and textile goods faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements in region A. Therefore, the company could not be able to maintain adequate quick assets in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 7, Working capital ratio (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is slight adverse variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the industries producing non-essential items such as automobile and textile goods face adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements in region A. Therefore, the company could not be able to maintain adequate working capital in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019. Table 8, Impairment of assets (Group A, Industry II and Group B, Industry II) shows that there is a high increase in variation in Industry II in region A compared to region B.
The result shows that the majority of the industries producing non-essential items such as automobile and textile goods faced adverse eff ects on their business operational activities as well as their fi nancial statements in region A. Therefore, the companies are facing impairment of assets at a higher rate in comparison to Q 2020 and Q 2019.
Unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures taken by external bodies (governments & WHO), adversely aff ect business operational activities and fi nancial statements. Unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures taken by internal institutions (organizations), negatively aff ect business operational activities and fi nancial statements. Therefore, H2 and H4 are supported. Thus, the fi ndings revealed that during the pandemic as a phenomenon, the measures taken by external bodies (governments, World Health Organization (WHO)) and internal institutions (organizations) play a vital role in the degree of repercussion eff ect in economic and business operations and they will, in turn, aff ect organizational fi nancial statements.

Conclusion
Based on the results of the research and discussion, it can be concluded that the measures taken by external bodies (governments, World Health Organization (WHO)) and internal institutions (organizations) play a vital role in the degree of repercussion  Оnline-версия журнала www.jsdrm.ru eff ect in economic and business operations and they will, in turn, aff ect organizational fi nancial statements during the pandemic period.
Thus, this study has obtained unique fi ndings as compared to previous studies. Furthermore, such a research in the fi eld of pandemic eff ects on fi nancial statements provides novelty in the world literature. This is thanks to the knowledge of the researchers; there was no empirical study that combined these variables and evaluated their empirical signifi cance. The fi ndings confi rmed that there is a positive relationship between four hypothesis. Scientifi c and controlled measures taken by external bodies (governments and WHO), low adversely aff ected business operational activities (revenues, manufacturing/production, inventory, expenses) and fi nancial statements (profi tability, liquidity, impairment of assets, wealth and dissolution). Scientifi c and controlled measures taken by internal institutions (organizations) adversely aff ected business operational activities (revenues, manufacturing/production, inventory, expenses) and fi nancial statements. Unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures taken by external bodies (governments and WHO) adversely aff ected business operational activities and fi nancial statements (profi tability, liquidity, impairment of assets, wealth and dissolution). Unscientifi c and uncontrolled measures taken by internal institutions (organizations) adversely aff ected business operational activities and fi nancial statements towards business operational activities (revenues, manufacturing/production, inventory, expenses) and their fi nancial statements (profi tability, liquidity, impairment of assets, wealth and dissolution). The fi ndings also suggest the role of governments and organizations for future prevention of 'Pandemic Eff ect on Financial Statements' that can be relied upon to fi ght with future pandemic situations.
In the future, even small and medium enterprises can also incorporate automated accounting software [Muneerali, 2020;Thottoli, 2020] to set aside a provision for such future pandemic contingencies. Information communication technology (ICT) enabled auditing to help professional auditors examine those statutory provisions on pandemic in any organization [Thottoli et al., 2019a; 2019b; 2019c; Thottoli, Thomas, 2020; Thottoli, 2021c; 2021d].

Significance of the study
This study is the fi rst to suggest strengthening economic stability for a country during a pandemic era. Since pandemic is a universal disease which has already happened many timessmallpox, tuberculosis, plague, infl uenza pandemic, fl u pandemic (H1N1), HIV/AIDS and current coronavirus pandemic. This pandemic impedes business operations and economic growth around the world as a universal phenomenon; governments and WHO are required to take well-organized scientifi c/controlled measures. This may help the government to keep statutory money reserve for coping with pandemic situations in the future. For example, the government keeps a certain budgeted amount for defense. Further, we can think of the various organizations to keep an adequate statutory reserve for facing such pandemic situation in the future, as well as this current study may assist the policymakers in various world organizations, ministry of health and governments, in particular, to implement wise and deliberate policies that can cope with a future pandemic situation.

Limitations and future research
The key goals established for this research were the identifi cation of the factors that aff ect business operational activities during the pandemic period. However, this research has not touched upon the cultural aspects of each country that might be a barrier to implement strict governmental rules and policies. This study has considered four types of industries, moreover it can be applied for other types of industries too. Further research is necessary to extend and replicate this study to cultural and other spheres -geographical and economic environments to provide this wider support.