Functional schedules are defined a number of ways, and the term is used
for a variety of variations on retention schedule organization.
According to the new ARMA Glossary there are two definitions that fit
the term "functional records schedule or functional retention schedule."

"functional records schedule
Schedules that categorize records series by the business
function to which they pertain rather than by the program
units where they are maintained.

general records schedule
A records schedule governing specified series of records
common to several or all agencies or administrative units of
a corporate body, which are sometimes characterized as
functional retention schedules."

I have seen "functional" records schedules that consist of little more
than a list of business functions - operations, production,
manufacturing, marketing, employee records, financial, tax records
(aren't these financial?), payroll (aren't these also financial?), and
so on.  As I demonstrated, these generic, undescribed records series
cause a great deal of confusion for the user.  More importantly, they do
not reflect the true value of records that are found in each "series."
There is no such thing as a 10 item retention schedule.  To lump all the
records into this type of schedule leaves an organization open to
regulatory sanctions, lost law suits, exorbitant discovery expenses, and
general customer/stockholder uprisings.

To be truly valuable, a records retention schedule (of any type) should
have a description for each records series that would allow the user to
more accurately categorize the records they are attempting to identify.
Globbing everything together under vague functional headings makes
descriptive narrative either extremely long and complex or non-existent.
Far easier to list all the "functional" records by familiar generic
names and grouped (by description) in retention value.  For example, a
true functional record series would group all records functioning as or
called <something> vouchers under a generic term "vouchers."  The
description would be "documents the expenditure of funds by <the
organization> and is the authorizing document upon which checks are
issued."  The description could further include examples, if necessary,
such as travel voucher, expense account voucher, request for
reimbursement of expense, etc.

As Elizabeth demonstrated, function can differ from office to office
within the same organization.  Ignoring all the possible existences of a
record series (both official and unofficial) within an organization can
cause serious problems.  When this happens, it is feasible to list the
various "options" under the item. Using the voucher example above, you
may have a retention item that looks like:

	Vouchers
	document the expenditure of funds by <the organization> and is
the 	authorizing document upon which checks are issued.  Includes,
but is 	not limited to travel voucher, expense account voucher, request
for 	reimbursement of expense, etc.

	Copy of Record (Office of Comptroller) - 5 years after payment.

	Audit copy (Accounting office) - 2 years after completion of
audit for 	year in which paid.

	All other copies - destroy at end of fiscal year in which paid.

The "Copy of Record" is generally held the longest retention and is
assigned to the office where that retention is necessary.  This term is
defined in the ARMA Glossary as " record copy - The original or official
copy of a record that is retained for legal, operational, or historical
purposes."

An audit copy could be a copy of the voucher available for the auditors
to use.  All other copies exist everywhere.  It is human nature (and
generally good sense) to keep a copy of something submitted for payment.
It is also human nature (and not always good sense) to keep a copy of
something one has "sent on" in the workflow just to CYA.  I had a boss
years ago that claimed the worst thing ever to happen to good records
management was the invention of the Xerox machine.

Ginny Jones
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM, FAI)
Records Manager
Information Technology Division
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities
Newport News, VA
[log in to unmask]

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance