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Re: From "This Just In..."



On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 14:53:29 -0600, Dean DeBolt <ddebolt@MAIL.UWF.EDU>
wrote:

>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.

However an archivist might wish to take a sample of the above items to
document the functions that they represent. Some cancelled checks do have a
historical/archival importance to some organizations as they represent the
purchase of or payment for significant items in an organizations history.

>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.

Annual reports are usually the result of a financial audit conducted by an
outside auditor. most if not all records managers schedule annual reports as
a permanent record for the reasons cited above. the last sentence is the
hardest thing to get across to upper management.

>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.


This assumes that an archivist is on board. If an archives does exist for
the organization then the RM would be remiss in not working with the
archivist when developing the retention schedule. It is very difficult for
a RM to retain materials that are of historical importance if an archival
component does not exist within the organization. I know I've been there.
RMs don't necessarily wish to destroy everything but the situation is sort
of like King Chanute trying to stop the incoming tide.

Peter Kurilecz CRM, CA
pakurilecz@aol.com

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