Document and records management specialist Metrofile and Deloitte & Touche have combined forces to level the corporate record management playing field by producing an elementary booklet, Retention of Documents, highlighting the pertinent facts and legalities surrounding document retention in SA.
By law and for customer service purposes, every South African company must retain all pertinent documents - accounting records, papers, vouchers, invoices and all other company records - for a certain period of time.
Unfortunately, in most organisations the volume of documentation is growing at an exponential rate and it is becoming more difficult to manage. Add to this the new legislation governing the retention of electronic documents, such as e-mail and perhaps even instant messaging conversations, and the task of managing records quickly becomes an overwhelming and expensive burden.
"We often find executives are confused by the complexity of managing their records effectively," says Paul Mullon, sales and marketing director of Metrofile. "Issues such as how long records should be kept, where they should be kept and what formats are legally binding keep cropping up."
The booklet details the policies and procedures organisations should implement to simplify their record management problems while staying within the law, highlighting the relevant aspects of on- and off-site storage and management. Provisions regarding the security of various documents are also included, as well as the commercial requirements and various statutes which specify minimum retention periods for particular records.
"The crux of the matter is an audit trail," says Phillip Austin, partner, accounting and auditing at Deloitte & Touche. "Whether documents are copied to microfilm or as an electronic image customer service representatives can call up as and when required, the ability strictly to control the copying process and ensure no changes are made to the original documents is critical to any potential legal queries later. Naturally, providing for the secure storage of the originals is also key."
The booklet also covers the destruction of documents. Generally, Mullon recommends that the minimum number of documents be retained and those not subject to regulatory retention requirements be destroyed in accordance with a formal record destruction policy. Information on the most appropriate destruction mechanisms is also covered to ensure that sensitive information can be controlled, even after it has been destroyed.
"If records are kept beyond the point at which they are no longer useful, they can cause an unnecessary financial burden on a company," Mullon explains. "Unnecessary paper documentation takes up space by filling filing cabinets and making demands on staff tasked with keeping record indexes up to date; while electronic records consume storage space which may restrict and compromise the efficiency of the overall system."
The booklet also contains tables of retention, explaining which records should be kept for what length of time. Not forgetting the ECT ACT, the text covers data messages and the reliable storage and retrieval thereof for use in court.
* Retention of Documents is freely available to all interested parties from Metrofile and Deloitte and Touche. Refer to www.metrofile.com.
Share