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Re: From "This Just In..."



An audit is a reexamination of all (usually) financial materials to
insure legal compliance and accuracy.   Most of the materials that
an auditor is going to require are those kinds of materials that I
would not save as an archivist -- cancelled checks, bank state-
ments, reconcialiations, cash posting ledgers, cash register
tapes, budget transfer transmittals, and the like.   That is the
kind of thing that the vague "keep until audit completed" applies
to, I believe.

What often surprises me is that such records may also include
items such an an annual report, or annual financial statement,
perhaps a list of goals accomplished during the year, that kind
of thing.   Those, to me, are important records that an archivist
should keep since they document the history, achievements,
and policy directions of an agency.    I also believe that a cursory
reading of audit reports should be done just in case they highlight
an area where it might be necessary to preserve that "section"
of the materials.

All this is promulgated on the idea that after record management
complies with the retention schedule, that an archivist have an
opportunity for screening prior to final destruction.  And this step,
I think, is the one most overlooked when you have records manage-
ment and no archival component.

Dean


Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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