Everything we do in the world today is somehow affected by technology. Technology has made our lives easier and the business we conduct faster. There is no dispute this change in how we are able to perform transactions has made business better. However, there is also no dispute that it poses threats to security. Challenges created by identity thieves and how you are forced to continue protecting the safety of your data is constant. The following are some mistakes made by businesses and how you can prevent them from happening at your company.
The oil and gas industry is expansive and involved in a wide range of regulatory regimes. As such, record and information retention for any oil or gas company is staggering. Many oil and gas businesses are also facing escalating costs right now, including costs associated with discovery. Developing a records inventory and identifying obsolete records are two of the key steps for reducing document storage costs and discovery expenses.
Many modern companies find themselves buried in mounds of records. Even a small start-up organization with a dozen employees can quickly become overwhelmed with piles of paperwork. It is easy to let this problem build until it reaches a critical state and then make a hasty decision about the records. Poor decision-making can threaten compliance with both legal and business requirements. As such, it’s best practice to create and implement a document retention plan.
A recent Gallup poll found that consumers’ biggest worry is identity theft. Nearly 70 percent of the survey respondents cited identity theft as a primary concern. As identity theft is one of the most quickly growing crimes in the United States, it’s not hard to understand why people are afraid. A single case of identity theft can result in thousands of dollars of loss for a household or company. As such, you must take the necessary precautions to keep your business safe.
Banks have a wealth of information about their customers, including contact, identification, and tax information. It is important for institutions and customers alike to know how long banks must retain specific documents.
In an age where more and more companies are creating and storing their documents electronically, document retention has become more important than ever. More than 99 percent of all company documents are created and stored electronically. Each day there are 60 billion emails alone that are created and sent. It’s much easier to store electronic data than physical data, but that doesn’t mean that you should hold on to it forever.
Medical offices have hundreds and hundreds of patient records. Even in a digital age where more records are stored online each year, the storage needs can get out of hand very quickly. What do you do with all of this paperwork? How do you know when it’s okay to get rid of old documents? Medical practices are careful to keep detailed patient records and don’t want to get in trouble by getting rid of them sooner than they should.
Each year a legal firm builds up hundreds upon hundreds of files pertaining to their clients. You want to do right by your clients and keep appropriate documentation on hand. However, you also don’t want to get buried under mounds of old paperwork. The following guidelines will help you determine what to keep, how long to keep it, and how to dispose of it properly.
As a CPA, you acquire a wealth of client records. From basic contact information to complex tax returns, it is easy to get buried under paperwork. You want to make sure that you comply with the law, but you also want to keep your business files organized. The following guidelines will help you implement and maintain a company-wide document retention and destruction schedule.
