Business Continuity Plan – Why Necessary for DMOs? There is often a clear misconception in many countries that as long as the IT Department makes a backup of the debt database on a regular basis (i.e. daily or weekly),stores the data offsite in a secure location, and has an alternate data site with backup servers, the debt management office (DMO) can be seen to have an effective business continuity and disaster recovery plan (BCP/DRP). An IT BCP/DRP omits many elements for effective business continuity, which needs to focus on critical processes, systems, and people in the DMO. And often DMO management deny or ignore that there are critical risks to their business operations. Costs can be high, reputation is at risk, but government’s finances are critical, particularly in the case of a major incident such as a regional or national disaster.