On Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 9:26 AM, Jesse Wilkins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi Judy,
>
> I agree with that point but it's not exactly the point I was making. My
> point is that in big bucket theory the organization can explicitly choose
> to
> keep records series longer than the minimum statutory requirement


and that was possible before the "big bucket theory" arrived on the scene.
Establishing a retention period for a records series/bucket follows a pretty
set pattern

1. Identify the business process (aka function) that creates, uses and
maintains records. This also involves mapping that process to find out when
and where the record is actually created.

2. conduct legal research this includes both statutes (the law) and
regulations. This is the 'fun' part. you're perfoming due diligence as the
attorneys call it in case someone questions you on how you arrived at the
retention period. anyway you're lucky if you find an explicitly defined
retention period. in many cases you may find a law or regulation that says
"x shall maintain records." and no retention period is provided (of course
you could go with the 3 year default if it is federal requirement)

3. Now lets say you find an explicitly stated retention period. You don't
stop there, you need to find out if your organization may have an
operational/administrative, financial, legal or historical need for
retaining that bucket of records beyond the regulatory required time frame.
this is also where a bit of risk analysis is done. What is the risk to the
organization if we keep the records beyond the required retention period?

4. Now lets say you have your retention schedule approved and in place. Is
it possible to keep records beyond the approved retention period? Sure as
long as you adequately document why a group of records is kept beyond the
approved time frame (and I'm not talking about holds here) BUT don't make it
a habit of extending the retention period as that shows an inconsistent
application of the retention schedule. If an area continually requests an
extension you best go back to the group and review the retention schedule
and ask them if the business needs for the company have changed. If so you
modify the schedule.


my point is that an organization can have retention periods beyond that
required by law or regulation

hope I haven't muddied the water too much

-- 
Peter Kurilecz CRM CA
[log in to unmask]
Richmond, Va

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