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Our consulting services include:
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Retention program, policies, and schedule development.
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Records management and retention program reviews, audits, and compliance audit
reports.
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Business continuity plans, policies, and
procedures.
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Review, analysis, and recommendations for
software and systems to automate how paper and electronic information is managed and tracked.
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Project management and training during
implementation of new document and retention management programs.
Retention Program Policies and Schedules
A
corporate retention program
ensures information required by regulatory agencies, auditors, and to
support business decisions is retained and obsolete information is pulled
from record keeping systems and destroyed when no longer needed or required.
Retention programs reduce and minimize the cost of:
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Office filing equipment.
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Off-site storage of boxed
records.
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Additional network servers
needed to maintain electronic files.
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Document and electronic
discovery costs during
litigation.
An important part of risk management and compliance reporting programs,
our retention programs include:
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Schedules that identify all of the
types of records created and maintained (including paper, electronic
files and databases, e-mail, backup media) and the department responsible
for maintaining the official copy of business records.
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Audit trails for financial record-keeping and official reporting systems
across storage medias including paper, network databases and servers,
electronic files, CD, and microfilm.
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Legal retention requirements for each country and state where business is
done.
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Responsibilities, procedures, and policies for the retention and
destruction of paper and electronic records that meet SOX, HIPAA, and GLBA compliance requirements and protect a company from allegations of improper or selective document
destruction.
Schedules and legal requirements are
created in a Microsoft Access database that can be used to update and manage
the retention program, create a variety of reports for staff and management, or
downloaded to an existing SQL compliant database to manage and track the storage and
destruction of documents and electronic files.
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Compliance Reviews and
Audits
Many new regulations
and requirements for documentation, retention, and the management of corporate
information have emerged since 2001. Some include corporate financial
reporting, privacy, e-mail, corporate correspondence, and internet
documentation. Over time or as companies
expand nationally or into new international markets record keeping systems
and retention
programs need to be reviewed for gaps in regulatory compliance. Our
reviews include an analysis of existing information systems, policies, procedures,
implementation practices, and identify new or changed requirements for documentation and
retention of information. Findings are presented in an audit report
with a straight forward work plan that will ensure compliance with
regulatory requirements in the US or in other countries.
Business Continuity
Plans
Ensuring access to vital corporate
information requires more than a good operational backup for network
servers. Much of the information that documents a companies key responsibilities,
contractual agreements, services, or products is still maintained in
paper format. If vital corporate information is lost during a fire or natural
disaster it can mean serious delays in restarting the business or
closure. Our vital records
protection programs identify the records that would be needed to resume business and through a combination of duplication, automation, off-site
storage, and reciprocal operating agreements ensure that information is
protected. Programs include a plan of action for staff; staff
responsibilities during a recovery operation; identification of
companies that offer
recovery of water-soaked documents services;
and may include reciprocal agreements with other companies to provide network resources in order to meet payroll
or other key network functions.
Automating Information Management
Gaining control of information
through automation can:
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Improve
productivity and reduce turn-around time.
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Reduce errors.
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Provide
employees and clients with more accurate information in less time.
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Allow companies to
respond to changing business situations and climates faster.
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Ensure compliance
requirements are met.
Automation can include imaging to capture paper records and automate
workflows, or using records management or
enterprise records management software to improve control over how
information is managed and ensure compliance requirements are met. We
work with you throughout the automation process from identifying appropriate
automation tools for your information, specification development, RFP,
vendor selection, installation, conversion, taxonomy development,
implementation, and training.
Project Management and Training
Project management is provided during the
specification, RFP,
development, implementation, and rollout phases to ensure information
management and compliance requirements are met. New policies and procedures
are documented, training materials developed, and end user training provided
for new processes, procedures, and information management systems.
For information about
Information Management services
please contact Denise Simons by:
E-mail: dsimons@haystackassociates.com
Phone: (253) 631-1509
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