I can hear some of you saying: Did you really have to go there? I cannot stand audits. They are time consuming, expensive and the business just won't tolerate the intrusion for Information Governance (IG) and Records and Information Management (RIM) . Sorry, the answer is yes. Without auditing, you are not able to assure that the workforce is actually doing what they are required to do.
I digress but back in my youth there was a popular cartoon character named Mr. Magoo (you can still watch him on You Tube) with very bad eyesight (although he thought it was perfect) and was therefore always mistaking his surrounding into his own alternate reality. He happened to have a bald head and one day he walks into a barber shop and requests a haircut. When he takes his hat off, the barber finds a single hair standing up in the middle of his bald head. The barber dutifully clacks the scissors over his head forward, backward, left, right, and finally after some period of time actually cuts the single hair on his head. He then pronounces the haircut complete. Mr. Magoo pays him and walks out, believing that he has had a full haircut.
For IG/RIM we cannot live in our own little world, our own reality, thinking that the workforce has performed activities to become and maintain compliance when it is possible (perhaps even likely) that they are not compliant. Audits help to assure we are all in the same reality, actually accomplishing and performing as required.
The good news is that the audit for IM/RIM does not have to follow the traditional path of financial audits. If fact, if you do, you may once again find yourself in your own reality like Mr. Magoo, because you are getting a representative view - not a comprehensive view. You are not just looking for evidence of processes and the performance of those processes, you are looking for evidence that each individual from the executive suite to individual contributor (employees and contractors) across the company, are actually doing what your policy and procedures say they are to do. This is good news because you do not need to engage in time consuming discussions to establish a view of workforce compliance. What is needed is to develop a list of the IG/RIM requirements of each individual to each individual, turn them into questions, and have them respond - Yes, No, or In Process. This list of questions will need to be tailored based on area of responsibility and level of responsibility, and there needs to be departmental questionnaires as well. This does require some good work upfront to identify the requirements and turn them into questions, but to the workforce, the questionnaire they are required to answer is minimally intrusive - resulting in minimal pushback. This is simple, straightforward, and very powerful. (For more information on this technique see Who Needs Auditing to Do an Audit? and IG Solutions - Comprehensive Information Governance Auditing Made Easy .
Regardless of the technique you choose for performing an audit, performing an audit will energize compliance. People respond to actions more than words, and holding individuals accountable by checking their IG/RIM performance with an audit will not only energize compliance it will provide valuable feedback for improvements and modifications to your program.
The audit is such a strong energizer for compliance that actually even the notice of a coming audit will energize compliance. Give the workforce advance notice of the audit, even to the point of sharing the audit questions in advance, and your audit results will be better for it. After all, your objective is compliance, not to identify those who may otherwise have overstated their performance.
Yes, you really want and need to do this.
Follow Craig on Twitter @CGrimestad
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
I can hear some of you saying: Did you really have to go there? I cannot stand audits. They are time consuming, expensive and the business just won't tolerate the intrusion for Information Governance (IG) and Records and Information Management (RIM) . Sorry, the answer is yes. Without auditing, you are not able to assure that the workforce is actually doing what they are required to do.
