1. Record Management

2. Background U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002)
Created due to corporate scandals involving Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom
Added many additional corporate responsibilities, also harsh punishments for breaking the law
Corporate responsibility: senior executives take individual responsibility for accuracy and completeness of records

3. Scandals Enron Morgan Stanley Organized, systematic accounting fraud
Led to the fall of the Arthur Anderson firm
Morgan Stanley
Improper record keeping led to hundreds of millions of dollars in fines

4. Definition
According to , record management is defined as the “systematic administration of records and documented information for its entire life cycle, from creation, classification, use, filing, retention, storage, to final disposition.”

5. Practicing record management
Setting policies, standards
Assigning authorities
Essentially, standardizing the way records are kept, and ensuring thorough and complete record keeping, especially at the corporate level
Managing digital records is equally as important as managing physical records

6. Physical Records
Identifying records- documents must be authenticated for legal purposes
Storing records- must be accessible, and protected from any potential damages from the environment
Circulating records- essentially tracking records while they are away from their normal storage spot
Disposal of records- once disposal is authorized, records must be disposed with care in order to avoid leaking any information (ex: paper shredders)

7. Digital Records
Difficult to ensure safety and security of records when they don’t physically exist
Technological advances jeopardize the ability to read electronic records over time, because the software can get outdated

8. What should companies today do to ensure they stay within the record keeping rules?
Be thorough: any piece of information may be needed at some point, better to be safe than sorry
Set clear lines of authority: to avoid any confusion, set rules as to who is responsible for what information
Develop both storage and retention plans: both the storage process and the disposal process are crucial in the record management process, so having specific plans in place will help

9. Works Cited
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