Business Risk Management and Corporate Governance through Integrated Document Management Solutions

What is Governance?

Governance and compliance through electronic document management is not only good risk management policy, but now a crucial plank in protecting your company, its assets and the directors from litigation.  " I didn't know we had to keep those emails, documents or records... " is not an acceptable excuse. In the eyes of the law, ignorance is no defense.

Australian businesses have been warned to take a close look at their document management practices in the face of new legislation that contains many pitfalls including possible fines and jail time for business owners. Businesses have been advised to formalise their document management policies, keep these practices current, constantly review these practices, and ensure staff are trained.

The responsibility of directors extends to the actions of the staff in their business. This means that if directors do not or fail to control the actions of their staff, they leave themselves personally exposed. Simply put, businesses need to be vigilant about document retention and careful about document destruction.

Is Your Business at Risk?

Your business is at risk if you answer YES to any of these questions:

1. Do you need to store or destroy paper documents to create room for more recent documents?
2. Do you lose your business's important documents in staff in-trays and miscellaneous piles of paper?
3. Are you struggling to keep all your client-specific documents (including electronic and paper documents) together and having trouble finding critical client information quickly and when you need it?
4. Are your business policies and procedures just for show and really collecting “electronic dust” in your computer's virtual filing cabinets?
5. Would you have trouble proving that only the current version of your critical business documents are being used and implemented by your staff?
6. Would you have trouble proving that your business policies and procedures had been adhered to by your staff in an Australian court of law?

Read this article to see how the laws in Australia are becoming more restrictive.

What BBO Can Do For Your Business

BBO are experts and advisers in:

• reducing exposure to all types of business risk
• showing you how to decrease regulatory compliance expenses
• improving your business change velocity
• improving business processes and workflow
• reducing document management overhead
• documenting and preserving the knowledge of your process experts
• analysing and restructuring key processes and workflows
• promoting interdepartmental coordination.