Dealing with disciplinary records
The auditing process is a thorough examination of all of the records an organisation holds. It’s a crucial component of maintaining operational compliance: you need to audit records to ensure that your business meets all statutory document storage and destruction requirements.
You can choose how many of your organisation’s documents you want to audit at any given time, but a full audit is generally considered the best approach.
Some businesses choose to conduct their audits internally, but not everyone has the expertise to audit records efficiently. What’s more, the process needs to consider both digital and hardcopy records. If you are in any doubt, then it pays to outsource the job to a records management specialist.
Why audit records?
Audits are conducted for a variety of reasons, but the overarching goal is compliance. It involves reviewing your current records management policies and retention procedures, according to the regulatory requirements of your industry.
In addition to helping your business maintain compliance, an audit also improves organisational efficiency. It forces you to go through all your boxes, cabinets and hard drives of documents that are taking up space. This way, your business will get a sense of the volume of records it has. An audit will then involve prioritising the care of essential files and identifying the documents that can be placed in archive storage in line with statutory retention periods – or can be securely shredded.
How an audit works
The auditor assigned to the job will request a list of your business’ records to review. This inventory will include all records, both digital and physical. Armed with this, the auditor will produce an audit report, which will determine the relative importance of the documents; which ones need to be retained, for how long, and in what way – and which ones need to be destroyed.
An important aspect of the auditing process is assessing how your records age. Statutory retention periods require that certain documents are held for a specific time period. With this in mind, the auditor will make recommendations for safe and secure storage solutions such as archive storage, digital storage and on-site or off-site storage.
If it’s time to destroy certain records, the auditor will review the procedures for destruction and ensure the security of your records during the destruction process.
Benefits of an outsourced audit
To audit records with 100% compliance requires knowledge and expertise. There is no need to burden your existing staff with extra administration and work that possibly falls outside of their core responsibilities. A records management specialist has the focus and experience to assist your business – without disrupting your normal operations.
With an external team onboard, the audit is less likely to include mistakes. The team can focus on the job at hand and get it done quickly and efficiently. What’s more, they can offer crucial advice with regards to improving your records management procedures. If your business is about to audit records, we highly recommend you consider working with a records management company that can provide both auditing services and safe storage facilities.
To work with an expert team on your records audit and ongoing storage needs, contact Access Records Management today.
Related Posts
