Firms should establish clear document management
policies in light of the US Supreme Court overturning the
conviction of accounting firm Arthur Andersen for the destruction
of Enron-related documents, said analyst Gartner.
On 31 May the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Arthur
Andersen for destroying documents prior to energy company Enron
collapsing in 2001.
At issue was Andersen's practice of destroying unneeded
documentation. The unanimous court ruling faulted "flawed" jury
instructions that instructed jurors to convict Andersen if the
firm's document destruction policy had an "improper purpose," such
as impeding an official proceeding.
Andersen argued that its employees were following company
document retention policies in shredding tons of unwanted
documents, and that there was no intent to thwart a US Securities
and Exchange Commission probe into Andersen client Enron.
Gartner said the principles of good records management haven't
changed in years, although that technology has transformed the
media in which records are kept.
Gartner said IT departments should be asked to install a records
management application, back it up, keep it running and delete
documents according to the required business schedule.
The analyst said the court's ruling re-enforces four critical
tasks that every business should undertake when it comes to
document management:
- Companies should establish a document retention schedule that
includes document life cycle management and legal destruction
- Train employees and key third parties (such as business
partners, vendors or contractors) on the policy
- Follow the policy and implement any technology necessary to
make it as easy as possible for employees to comply with the
policy
- Implement compliance review and audit policies to ensure
compliance