Full coverage of the Document Management industry, in all its forms.
I FEBRUARY 2 0 0 2
ISSN 1476-3842
On the subject of Enron... This le tte r w a s w r it t e n by P e te r H e rm an n , E x e c u tiv e D irecto r/C E O o f A R M A I n t e r n a t i o n a l, w h e r e he a d d re s s e d A R M A 's g r a v e c o n c e rn s reg a rd in g th e d estru ctio n o f records by em ployees o f A rth u r Andersen, th e com pany responsible for th e a u d itin g o f Enron C o rp o ratio n . It was sent to the m ajor business press in A m erica and a num b er o f m ajor d aily new spapers located th ro u g h o u t th e n atio n on Ja n u a ry 18, 2002
Dear Sir, The recent revelations regarding the collapse of Enron and Arthur Andersen’s corresponding destruction o f records may well end up being an excellent exam ple o f the sig n ific a n t b usiness im pact in form ation m anagem ent procedures can have on an organisation. Like many larger corporations, Arthur Andersen has an established procedure for the administration of client en g ag em en t in fo rm a tio n , in clu d in g the o rg a n isa tio n , re te n tio n , and destruction of hard copy, electronic documents, files and client information. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, it appears that some employees may have violated those policies in a way that could have major legal ramifications. Time will tell whether the destruction of some Enron records was an error in ju d g em en t regarding A rth u r A n d e rsen ’s established com pany records management policy or a willful act in anticipation o f the SEC subpoena. At present, few know what records were destroyed and what bearing they might have on explaining what went wrong at Enron. But the serious, potential effect o f that act on Arthur Andersen may likely be felt for years to come. There are established best practices and records management standards that provide necessary guidance on how to organise, retain, and destroy records. ARMA International, the professional association for records and information management, has been deeply involved in the development of these practices and standards, which have stood the test of time and have well served organi sations worldwide. It is critical in today’s business environment that organi sations embrace these practices and give them the resources necessary to ensure that corporate records are maintained, protected, and disposed of in a proper and legal manner. Hopefully, other organisations will learn a valuable lesson from the Enron/Arthur Andersen debacle and recognise the importance o f establishing and enforcing sound records and information management policies and procedures. The impact of not doing so can have costly business consequences at the very least. Sincerely, Peter R. Hermann
ISSUE No. 2
Charles “Chuck” Miles C h a r le s S. M ile s , o f W e s tp o rt, husband o f Patricia A tta rd o M iles, died Friday, Jan u ary 4 in Honey Hill Health Care Center, Norwalk. He was 80 years of age. Better known as Chuck, he was born in C h icag o , Illin o is , son o f th e la te Spurgeon and Lelah Moon Miles and had resided in W estport for the past 32 years. Prior to retiring in 1997, he was the o w n e r o f Im age P u b lish in g fo r 11 years. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World W ar II. Im ag e P u b lish in g p u b lish ed The Journal of Imaging Services which will, I'm sure, be very familiar with our U.S. readers. I re m em b er m e e tin g C huck a t an exhibition in the U.K. just around the time that both he and I were starting our respective magazines. W e agreed then to have a reciprocal arrangement w h e re b y we co u ld each use in fo rm a tio n fro m th e o th e r's publication. Chuck leaves a widow, one son, three daughters and seven grandchildren and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him. He was succeeded as Editor and Publisher by his son David upon his retirement in 1997. He was a member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood and, during the 1930s was a professional assistant to Dante the Magician.