Document retention

Internal Auditor, Dec, 1996 by Robert M. Barker, Julia N. Karcher, Nancy L. Meade

To purge magnetic media, the disk or tape should either be reformatted or exposed to a strong magnetic field. If the medium is past its useful life, it should be physically destroyed, not simply discarded. Periodically, computer hard disks should be backed-up, their surfaces reformatted, and the files that are meant to be saved restored to the media. Organizations should store only their most valuable information on optical disks, which are generally used for long-term archival purposes.

* Follow Up

In order for a document retention plan to be of any use, all facets must be strictly and consistently followed. If an organization cannot demonstrate that its established plan has been used prior to any lawsuit, a negative jury restruction may result. Organizations that create and follow a plan may be able to avoid costly litigation, or at least to minimize the possibility that litigation will be successful.

1 Various government agencies, such as the IRS, OSHA, and EEOC, have mandatory retention requirements for certain organization records, and such mandates must be considered in any retention plan.

Robert M. Barker, Ph.D, ACM, DSI, IRMA, AIS is Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Information Systems at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Julia N. Karcher, Ph.D, CMA, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Accountancy at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.

Nancy L. Meade, Ph.D, CPA, is Assistant Professor in the Accounting Department at Radford University in Virginia.