RIM and the Ides of April

As you probably know by now, April is Records and Information Management (RIM) month. And while RIM month was first observed in 1995 by the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) to bring attention to the U.S. Paperwork Reduction Act, April is also a symbolic month to highlight records management because virtually every American goes through the tedious and time consuming process of going through their own personal records because of that deadline looms on April 15th.

Approximately 251 million taxpayers are required to file their returns before the 15th of this month. And how many citizens even among those who will receive a refund enjoy the process of filing their taxes? I would argue that the number is infinitesimally low. Why? Because filing taxes means that you have to go through all of last year's records to substantiate your claims.

This challenge was daunting enough in the good old days' of paper records alone, but we now live in the hybrid model of physical and electronic records. For example, I currently have an email in my Inbox from my mortgage lender that says, Remember, your 2012 mortgage tax documents are available online. While that sounds like a friendly reminder, it's a bigger reminder that I need to go online to get a substantial portion of my other tax documentation; everything from my electronic toll fees, to the excise tax paid on my car. For businesses, this challenge is even greater including everything from emails, IMs and twitter posts to files found in SharePoint.

That's why it's so important to develop a professional and comprehensive records management program. An effective records management program means that not only will you be able to find the records you need when you need them but you'll have a defensible program that like your successful tax filing substantiates your claim. In both cases it's about maximizing the financial outcome of each process; getting the largest return on your taxes, or lowering the total cost of your RIM program.

I think you'll agree that both of these April tasks are opportunities you truly want to capitalize on.

For more on RIM month, keep visiting our blog and check us out on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for more tips and advice on keeping your RIM resolutions!

LINK:	http://blog.ironmountain.com/2013/records-management-and-storage/rim-a...
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