I have the lists identifying how long material should be kept when in paper form. My company is pushing its way to an all electronic environment and the CEO wants to take the next step and scan signed contracts and then shred the originals. Does anyone know if this would ever pose a problem, and do the retention guidelines stay the same as if it were a hard copy?
We do a daily backup of our systems, so we are not worried about losing data.
Sara
If your industry is regulated, your obligations may vary as a result. Ask your legal person.
Check http://www.aiim.org/ for some research on this.
Have you asked your doc mgmt software vendor? If not, i can put you in touch with someone we know well.
Regards
Len
1
Good point, Len.
Sara, you might want to take a look at this free
"Document Retention Policy"
https://www.proformative.com/resources/document-retention-guide-forms-sample-policy
Best... Sarah
The retention guidelines should be the same as for the paper copy. The purpose of the varied document retention policies is to meet a statutory, legal or audit requirement. Although your company has daily backups, sometimes the backups may have a shorter retention policy than some of the documents you are storing.
Also, while converting paper documents to electronic format, make sure that there is a certification stating that the source of the electronic document was made from an original document.
