Frank J. Albi gave a  presentation on the subject of “Creative Ways of Handling Business Information” at Rotary Club of Mason-Deerfield.

 A PDF version of the presentation lecture outline is available here.

WHAT are “Records”?

   Information captured for use:

• At a later time, or
• In a different place

WHY keep records?

• The purpose of recordkeeping is to defend:
  1. Audits
  2. Lawsuits
• To help run a better business
• The problem is “People are Packrats”

HOW should records be controlled?

1. Achieve Compliance

• When it comes to compliance, businesses have no choice
• They MUST follow the rules and regulations
• But remember, you should:
  1. Keep regulated records only as long as required.
  2. Dispose of all expired records promptly.
• To achieve compliance:
  1. Understand what rules apply to your records.
  2. Adopt best practices to adhere to those rules.

 2. Save Time

• Time is a business’s most important asset.
• Time is money, but unlike money, once time is spent it can never be re-placed.
• You cannot avoid keeping business records.
• You CAN avoid wasting time.
• To save time, adopt best practices to:
  1. Label inactive records for quick and easy retrieval, and
  2. Apply accurate disposal schedules to painlessly purge expired records.

 3. Control Cost

• Every business wants to reduce administrative overhead and increase profit.
• Effective managers know employees should be paid to add value rather than add to overhead.
• To control cost, outsource non-core activities (like records storage), to outside organizations that possess core competencies your own business does not have.

 4. Reduce Risk and Liability

• Your stored records can do more harm than good.
• When you are audited:
  1. You must have the required records; but
  2. Anything more than that invites fishing expeditions.
• When you get sued:
  1.   Plaintiffs’ attorneys get discovery of your records.
  2.   Then they look for documents to use against you.
• Why assume unnecessary risk and liability?
• Promptly dispose of expired and unnecessary records.

WHEN Should Records Be Destroyed?

The disposal schedules for records vary considerably among busi-nesses and industries. For that reason it is vital that you get  input from your  own  attorneys and accounts. However, in general, disposal sched-ules for specific records are based on their classification:

	Regulated	Unregulated
Business or Professional	• Customer List with PCI(1) • Sourcing Invoices • Applications with PHI(2)	• Customer List No PCI • Supplier Lists • Coverage Proposals
Administrative	• HR Files • Purchasing Invoices • Environmental (EPA)	• Job Descriptions • Vendor Lists • Insurance Policies

(1) Personal Credit Information
(2) Protected Health Information