If you are scanning your records and managing them electronically you have probably already seen a lot of benefits for your organization.  You are saving storage space, staff time, and last but not least, money for your organization.  But are you auditing your records?  Auditing, what does this mean? 

Most Document and Records Management systems have some sort of auditing capability.  It can help you figure out (in the event of an accidental deletion), who might have deleted these documents, but also can help monitor productivity in the system.  Any steps taken in the system can be monitored; who is scanning, what they scanned, what they deleted, what they changed, what they viewed, etc.  You can then take your data and produce reports to show how productive your users are, monitor the users of your system, and make changes as necessary to the security of your records.  Auditing ability also helps meet compliance with laws such as HIPPA, DoD certification (Records Management), Sarbanes-Oxley, USA Patriot Act, and more. 

While all these points of auditing are great proactive measures, auditing capabilities are also very important in the event that you get audited.  It seems like every day in the media we are hearing about how some famous person had records stolen documenting a legal issue, medical issue, etc.  Anytime something like this happens, the organization that is getting accused of compromising their records will be audited.  So it is important not only to audit your records regularly, but also be prepared for an unexpected audit of your organization. 

 So now I ask you again, are you auditing your records?  If your answer is no, get auditing!

 Check out this article that helps your prepare for an audit.   

http://content.arma.org/IMM/JulyAug2009/surviving_a_records_audit.aspx

-  Alexis Blue – MCCi Senior Account Manager