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Re: From "This Just In..."
John,
Here is what one textbook on Information and and Records Management has to
say about when you could be faced with criminal penalties/judgements in
relation to destruction of records.
You could be in trouble if you destroy records:
"Upon learning of any investigation or proceeding in which the documents
might be relevant. Upon learning of a government inquiry but before being
contacted by authorities." (Robek p. 48, Information and Records Management,
1996)
It seems to me that if you destroy records under a specific schedule within
the course of business and before any proceedings in which they might serve
as evidence you put yourself in a defensible position (speaking in a
professional ethics sense not a legal sense as I am not an attorney)
If you destroy records after learning someone might want them for an
investigation...Isn't that know as a "Fawn Hall"?
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Fowler [SMTP:johnhowardfowler@JUNO.COM]
> Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 3:08 PM
> To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject: Re: From "This Just In..."
>
> This is a hard one to judge on. The question is whether there was a
> policy that allowed or required the destruction of records. Quite often,
> retention schedules read, "Keep for 5 years or until audit." Every time I
> see that statement, I cringe, since it implies that that once an audit is
> done, records can/must be destroyed and so make checking up on the
> auditing agency's competence or honesty next to impossible. Still, it
> appears to be pretty standard practice.
>
> This is critical. The ones who should be looked at closely are not Enron,
> per se, but Arthur Anderson, the auditing firm. AA is responsible for the
> plurality if not the majority of all Fortune 500 reports that go to the
> SEC. If they cannot be audited themselves, there could be real trouble
> awaiting everyone.... Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?
>
> Yet, as archivists and records managers, we are responsible not only for
> preservation, but for the orderly and timely destruction of records, once
> their legal or organizational mandate requires it. Under these
> circumstances, is it possible to retain documentary evidence that would
> allow "second-guessing" of auditing agencies, either through the
> identification of key documents or through a sampling scheme.
>
> Any thoughts from the group?
>
> John Fowler
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>