With reports of bird flu now confirmed in Spain, the questions about how companies are preparing for a possible pandemic are getting louder.

And a new study has raised serious questions about business is ready if the unthinkable happens.

On the plus side, nearly 75 per cent of global corporations either have plans or are developing them, according to a new report from the Conference Board.

But the report points to some worrying gaps.

For a start, most of the companies without plans are the smaller businesses. Also, the study shows there might be a lack of coordination with government agencies. Furthermore, only 12 per cent of companies have a plan that's ready. And almost one in three of those surveyed said they did not know whether their company's board of directors has had any discussion about their plans and only one in 10 said that their board had formal policies for pandemic planning. According to the report, some 13 per cent are just starting to prepare with most companies falling somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.