Save It, Shred It, Delete It? Developing Best Practices for Record Retention and Destruction

Federal and state laws and other regulations require organizations to keep certain paper documents and electronically stored information for set periods, but those laws overlap and conflict. As records management rules and risks grow, following best practices matters more.

This 90-minute record retention and destruction webinar covers what to store, where, for how long and what software you need to access it. You'll learn how to judge a record's importance and sensitivity, map its lifecycle, and see why keeping too much can be as harmful as keeping too little.

The session also explains how procedures differ for paper and electronic files, best practices for imaging paper records, the DIN 32757-1 security levels for destruction, the do's and don'ts of safely destroying old records, and how to make your retention schedule defensible.

• Explain what the law requires for record retention
• Apply best practices for record retention and destruction
• Identify old records and destroy them safely
• Image paper records using best practices
• Organize electronic and paper records for quicker access
• Build a defensible records retention schedule

• What the law requires for record retention
• Determining record importance and sensitivity
• When keeping too much is as harmful as keeping too little
• Determining the lifecycle of records
• How procedures differ for paper files and e-files
• Best practices for imaging paper records
• Organizing electronic and paper records for faster access
• Identifying and safely destroying old records: do's and don'ts
• DIN security levels and the DIN 32757-1 standard
• Record schedule defensibility and steps to improve it

Consistent records management reduces litigation exposure and regulatory criticism, and anyone who has faced a wage and hour audit, unemployment claim, workers' compensation hearing or lawsuit knows the value of good records. Better storage also means faster retrieval and better productivity.

This session suits department managers, accounting, HR and benefits staff, business owners and anyone responsible for a records retention, access and destruction program.

• Department Managers
• Accounting staff
• HR staff
• Employee benefits professionals
• Business owners
• Anyone who wishes to increase or refresh their knowledge of Record Retention and Destruction
• Any employee responsible for developing and/or maintaining an effective records retention, access and destruction program

Candace Curry Leuck is owner of Athena Finance Group, Inc. specializing in strategic planning, distressed entity recovery, valuations, and educational programs. Athena's mission is to pursue and communicate the information clients need. This is accomplished through a cooperative working relationship. Based on solid strategy, the outcome is an expansion of the opportunities of those served. Candace was associated with Ernst & Young in the tax and then auditing area, serving small, midsized and SEC clients during her tenure. She gained significant experience with various industries including manufacturers, automobile dealerships and securities brokers. Upon leaving Ernst & Young, Candace pursued and obtained her Masters of Professional Accountancy from Clemson University and proceeded to her career in the educational arena, teaching at Clemson University, Furman University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She returned to Clemson in the Fall of 2006 and remained through Spring of 2012. In addition to undergraduate and graduate education, Candace has developed and taught various continuing education courses in both live format and through webcast technology.