Business records management process

By : Md Pazmi Bin Paijan

Abstract
Business records management process consist of important way in processing the records from
the beginning until the end which is transferring to archival or dispose and destroy. There is also
a step of managing the business process of records management.
Keywords: Business records management, Records management process, records accession,

Introduction
Records management is the system used to control an organization's records from the creation of
the record until the record is archived or destroyed. A records management process is comprised
of identifying records, classifying records, and storing records, as well as coordinating internal
and external access.
Characteristics of a record are authenticity, reliability; integrity and usability are the
characteristics of a record. The purpose of any records management policy, practices, guidelines
and procedures is to ensure that records should have these characteristics, as follows;
Authenticity- an authentic record is one that can be proven
Reliability, a reliable record is one whose contents can be trusted as a full and accurate
representation of the transactions, activities or facts to which they attest and can be depended
upon in the course of subsequent transactions or activities;
Integrity the integrity of a record refers to its being complete and unaltered; and
Usability, a usable record is one that can be located, retrieved, presented and interpreted. It
should be capable of subsequent presentation as directly connected to the business activity or
transaction that produced it.

Records management process
The purpose of a recordkeeping system is to manage records throughout their life cycle, i.e. from
the creation or receipt of a record, through its useful life to its final disposal. The figure below
illustrates the life cycle of records. The records management processes in different stages of
records life cycle include records capture, access, registration, tracking, records classification;
records disposal and records storage. Although the processes described above are presented as if
in a sequence, it should be noted that in some recordkeeping systems, particularly electronic
recordkeeping systems, some of them may take place simultaneously (e.g. records capture,
registration and classification are often carried out as an integrated series of actions) or in a
different order (e.g. access control and tracking should be implemented for records during their
whole life) from that described (National Archive of Australia, n.d.).

An organization should determine which documents created or received during business
processes should be captured as records into a recordkeeping system, and how long they should
be maintained within the system, based on an analysis of the legal and regulatory environment,
business and accountability requirements and the risk of not capturing or retaining the records.
This will ensure adequate and necessary records are captured to meet business needs. This
process is also important since proper disposal of records facilitates easy retrieval of records in
active use and minimizes costs for maintaining and storing records (National Archive of
Australia, n.d.).
An organization should establish records retention and disposal schedules for its records to
ensure systematic planning and orderly implementation of records disposal after records have
been kept the right length of time. An organization should also review approved records
retention and disposal schedules regularly, say at least once every five years, to see whether
amendments are required in light of changing circumstances. Records retention and disposal
schedules are established and reviewed having regard to the values of the records (National
Archive of Australia, n.d.).
Establishment of records retention and disposal schedules can also facilitate identification of
records with archival value. If any records having potential archival value are identified, an
organization may contact PRO of GRS for assistance. The functions of PRO and the
arrangements for accepting archival records in the form of private donations from governmentowned
or funded statutory bodies. Records appraised as having archival value should be
permanently preserved in a secure and controlled environment (National Archive of Australia,
n.d.).

Capturing records
All records, regardless of format and technological environment in which they are collected,
created or generated, should be captured into and maintained in an identifiable and proper
recordkeeping system. The purpose of capturing a record into a recordkeeping system is to
establish a relationship between the record, the creator and the business context that originated it,
and to link it to other records. The captured records should be complete, and contain the content,
structure and contextual information which are necessary to document an official activity or
transaction as evidence of business. It should be possible to understand a record in the context of
the organizational process that produced it and of other linked records (National Archive of
Australia, n.d.).

Registering records
A record is registered when it is captured into the recordkeeping system, providing evidence that
it has been created or captured. In a paper-based system, a record captured into a file is registered
through entering such contextual information as the type of record (e.g. memo), date of record,
and name of originator/addressee(s) of the record on the file (National Archive of Australia,
n.d.).

Classifying records
To facilitate a wide range of records management activities, including identification, capturing
and retrieval of records, security and access control as well as disposal, records should be
systematically organized according to records classification schemes, which are plans for logical
arrangement of records according to one or more of the following: business functions, activities
and contents of the records. In general, a records classification scheme includes a coding system
expressed in symbols (e.g. alphabetical, numerical or alpha-numerical) to show the logical
relationship amongst the records. A records classification scheme should allow modifications
such as addition of new records series/groups to cater for changing circumstances (National
Archive of Australia, n.d.).

Storing records
Records should be stored in such a manner so as to facilitate user access and ensure that they are
protected from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, removal, deterioration, loss or destruction.
An organization should lay down guidelines on the storage of records including sensitive or
classified records. For records in paper form, organizations should note that paper deteriorates
rapidly in an environment of high temperature and humidity. Furthermore, mould growth on
paper can be a health hazard to staff (National Archive of Australia, n.d.).

Records accessing
An organization should ensure that timely access to records is provided to authorize users for
conducting business. On the other hand, to provide sensitive information with adequate
protection, records should be classified according to their level of sensitivity at a particular time.
An organization should also lay down guidelines on the protection, processing and transmission
of classified records. Public access to archival records transferred to GRS is managed through
the Public Records (Access) Rules 1996. Apart from government archival records, GRS
welcomes donations from non-government sources. Details of the arrangements for accepting
donations from government-owned or funded statutory bodies are set out (National Archive of
Australia, n.d.).

Appraisal
The word “appraisal” does not appear anywhere in the Standard or the Technical Report. This is
because we could not agree what it is or who can do it – a good example of differing national
traditions. One strongly held view was that appraisal is the assessment of the value of records (or
functions) for historical research with a view to determining which should be preserved
permanently. Another equally strongly held view was that it is an assessment of the value of
records (or functions) for operational and archival purposes with a view to determining which
records should be created and, once created, for how long they should be retained (which might
be one or many years or even permanently as archives). The solution: describe the concept and
omit the word. So, clause 9.1 (Determining documents to be captured into a records system) and
clause 9.2 (Determining how long to retain records) together contain useful and acceptable text
without mentioning the term. It was only some months after the text of the Standard had been
agreed that we realized some of us meant different things by the word “retention”
Having achieved consensus on the Standard at our meeting in Berlin in May 2000 we were able
to submit it to formal voting by NMBs as a DIS. To our relief it achieved a 100 per cent “yes”
vote, albeit with comments seeking some changes. ISO rules allow a chair to omit circulation of
a revised Standard as a FDIS and to proceed directly to publication if a DIS has received a 100
per cent “yes” vote. The chair of TC 46/SC 11 decided to follow this route and at the time of
writing (in August 2001) the Standard is being prepared for publication. A formal launch
ceremony will take place at the ARMA conference in Montreal on 3 October 2001. (Editor’s
note – The launch did take place with a live link to the UK PRO conference at Stratford upon
Avon.) The TR achieved consensus at the Stockholm meeting in November 2000 and, with some
agreed revisions, was issued for voting by NMBs in 2001. This was successful and, all going
well, the TR will be published towards the end of 2001. BSI will publish the UK edition as BSI
ISO 15489 later this year. The TR will be published also, and UK purchasers will have the
benefit of some useful appendices – model policy statements – omitted from the ISO edition.
(Editor’s note: the Standard and TR have now been published). BSI will be publishing also some
guides in its DISC series. Three are in hand already, dealing with business benefits of records
management (written by David Best), performance measurement (written by Sandra Parker), and
a guide to implementation (written by Julie McLeod). Others may follow, for example a
workbook has been suggested (Healy, 2010).


References
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