INTRODUTION

According to the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), of all the businesses damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (a category 4 storm), 80% of those lacking some form of business continuity plan failed within two years of the storm. Yet, even with all the warnings and advice to have in place a strategy for protecting information assets, many businesses and organizations, both large and small, fail to take effective measures to manage and protect their documents and records to mitigate the risks of hurricanes, terrorism attacks, extended power outages and other business interruption.

Organizations whether business establishments or libraries generate and use records and information in their everyday functions. The type of records and information generated and utilized often relate to what the organization does. For instance, business organizations like banks, manufacturing firms usually have information about their customers, suppliers and even employees. In the same vein, libraries whether academic ,special, national, school, public or even private often gather information dealing with their users profiles, resources and information needs. Libraries are interested in a users profile, research interest, need satisfaction, queries and services. Libraries and organizations also conduct board meetings and other statutory responsibilities during which they generate records. The records could be minutes of meetings, conference proceedings, interview reports, and so on. These records are gathered and preserved either as hard copy or as a microform.

Not having a records management program in place can have even greater negative consequences for small and medium-sized businesses – they just don’t always make the headlines.

RECORDS

A record is a piece of information created by or received by an organization or business establishment that gives evidence of a business decision or transaction and should be preserved. More specifically, records are recorded information, regardless of physical or digital form, that are: generated or received and used while conducting business, and preserved because of their informational value or as evidence of your organizational structure, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, mission, programs, projects, and acts.

TYPES OF RECORDS

There are many types of records, but I will discuss a few. The records I will cover here include archives, educational records, government records and financial records.

Archives

Archives are those groups of records, usually valuable and historical, that in most cases are not consulted or referred to in the day-to-day operations of an organization. The person that maintains an archive is called an archivist. Archives as records are rarely consulted. Most often archives are the last resort for information in any organization. Archives maybe kept to meet legal requirements or to maintain important historical facts about organization.

Some of the archival records in an organization may include contracts, memorandum of understanding, agreements, board meetings, laws and regulations etc.

Educational Records

Educational records are records dealing with and\or about an institution. Educational records will also include library records. It will include information about number of students, their registration number or matriculation number, credentials like school certificates, birth certificates, place of birth, gender and age, courses offered etc. other educational records maybe the history of the

institution, its principal officers (past and present),department and faculties, staff records, visitation panels like National University Commission (NUC)

Students records especially in tertiary institutions are carefully maintained until student graduates even many years after graduation, student’s records are properly stored and preserved. Educational records are very important for the survival and sustenance of an institution.

Governments Records

This records deal with government transactions and businesses. The records can emanate from federal, state and local government. In Nigeria, government’s records will include proceedings from executive council meetings at the federal, state and local government’s levels, laws edits, parliamentary acts and proclamations, etc.

The management of government records is a specialization that includes federal, state, local records. The government’s records manager should be especially aware of safe guarding citizen’s rights. In addition to documents pertaining to business and individuals, the government records professional is responsible for selecting and retaining historical records.

Financial Records

Financial records are those records dealing with organizations financial transactions. Such records will include sale and purchase of stocks and bonds, shares, circulation of money in the economy, fraud, taxes and levies, etc.

The person responsible for maintaining financial records should be knowledgeable in information systems, accounting or finance. The financial records and information manager is more involved with the daily transactions of the business than the archivist. The financial records manager performs the duties of designing record system, updating records ,maintaining controls and monitoring transactions so that the integrity of all financial records are maintained.

WHAT IS RECORD AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Before we can talk about why it’s important to have a records management program we need to provide an understanding of what Records and Information Management is. Some people have the mistaken impression that records management is about hoarding everything that comes across one’s desk in the course of doing business. In some highly regulated industries it may seem like that is the case. But in most cases it’s not only making sure that what needs to be kept as a record is retained but it’s also about prescribing how long it should be kept, where it should be stored, who has access to it and when it should be destroyed (if ever).

For example, every business should be keeping a prescribed set of records in order to meet IRS auditing standards. This means that your general ledgers, receipts for expenses, and many other financial documents need to be retained for anywhere from 7 to 10 years. Many small businesses incorrectly believe that the IRS is more likely to audit large corporations than smaller enterprises. On the contrary - according to the Transactional Records Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University, audit rates for the largest corporations with assets of $250 million or more have decreased from 64% in 1988 to 27% in 2008. In turn, companies with $10 million to $50 million in assets were 29% more likely to be investigated.

Not having an up-to-date records retention program can mean lots of time and money expended to find the required records. Some small companies can spend thousands of dollars and significant time to respond and close out an IRS audit because they haven’t prepared for this eventuality. But, having a fully functional records management program isn’t just about keeping records for a prescribed period of time – it’s about following the lifecycle of a record, from its creation to active use, maintenance, inactive use and disposition; whether that disposition is for long term storage or destruction.

HOW TO FILE RECORDS IN AN ORGANIZATION

Every Organization chooses the pattern of filling its records. This is because different organizations generate and use different types of records for which its filling style may certainly be specific and unique.

However, in most organizations records are filled in five major ways namely:

Alphabetical order Subject order Geographical arrangement Chronological filing order Numeric filing pattern

WHY RECORDS MANAGEMENT IS AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION OF YOUR BUSINESS

In order to prevent having to deal with the consequences of records problems, a solid records management plan needs to be in place in all organizations – both big and small.

Respond To Audits and Discovery Requests in an Organized and Compliant Fashion

Having a well-managed records management program in place makes responding to stressful events such as IRS audits less costly and time consuming. How much more does it cost you when you show up with a box of receipts at a tax preparer’s office versus having an itemized list of receipts, receipts organized by account and everything in order? The cost difference can be significant. Now magnify that by all the different records and accounts you have to support your business. Just the perception of disorganization will give an auditor pause and make the process take longer.

Save Money With Respect To Finding and Storing Records and Information

Records management practices help you to identify what information is important to keep, how long to keep it and when to securely destroy it. Holding on to everything takes up valuable real estate and office space. Holding on to everything may also subject the company to unnecessary litigation when documents are retained beyond their required life. Are you running out of space in your office? Are your employees constantly looking for information that they can’t find – both on their desks and on their computers? How much money is that costing the company?

Summary

A records and information management program is a requirement for all businesses. Without one in place a company is in danger of running afoul of the law and could be at risk of going out of business if a catastrophe strikes. Good records and information management also hinges on sound legal understanding and viable ethical values. This will help to regulate and monitor records acquisition, storage, retention, use and destruction. It is important to state here that viable records and information management must ensure that records and information get to the right users at the right time and in the format that the appreciate.

REFERENCES

Emery, P. –“Recall Corporation White Paper” pp. 3 – 6.

Uhegbu,A.N. (2007) –“The information user: Issues and Themes.” (2nd Ed.)Owerri: Whytem Prints.Pp.78-98