Records management

Records management (RM), also known as the records and information management or RIM, is the professional practice of managing the records of an organization throughout their life cycle, from the time they are created to their eventual disposal. This includes identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, tracking and destroying or permanently preserving records.

The purpose of records management is part of an organization's broader function of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (or "GRC") and is primarily concerned with the managing the evidence of an organization's activities as well as the reduction or mitigation of risk associated with It.

An organization's records preserve its corporate memory. In determining how long to retain records, their capacity for re-use is important. Many are simply kept as evidence of a transaction. Others document what happened and why.

A record is something that represents proof of existence and that can be used to recreate or prove state of existence, regardless of medium or characteristics. A record is either created or received by an organization in pursuance of or in compliance with legal obligations, or in the transaction of business. Records can be either tangible objects, such as paper documents like birth certificates, driver's licenses, and physical medical x-rays, or digital information, such as electronic office documents, data in application databases, web site content, and electronic mail (email).

Small business

Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships. What businesses are defined as "small" in terms of government support and tax policy varies depending on the country and industry. Small businesses range from 15 employees under the Australian Fair Work Act 2009, 50 employees according to the definition used by the European Union, and fewer than 500 employees to qualify for many U.S. Small Business Administration programs. Small businesses can also be classified according to other methods such as sales, assets, or net profits.

Small businesses are common in many countries, depending on the economic system in operation. Typical examples include: convenience stores, other small shops (such as a bakery or delicatessen), hairdressers, tradesmen, lawyers, accountants, restaurants, guest houses, photographers, small-scale manufacturing, and online businesses, such as web design and programming, etc.

Characteristics

Researchers and analysts of small or owner-managed businesses generally behave as if nominal organizational forms (e.g., partnership, sole-trader or corporation) and the consequent legal and accounting boundaries of owner-managed firms are consistently meaningful. However, owner-managers often do not delineate their behaviour to accord with the implied separation between their personal and business interests. Lenders also often contract around organizational (corporate) boundaries by seeking personal guarantees or accepting privately held assets as collateral. Because of this behaviour, researchers and analysts should reject the relevance of the organizational types and implied boundaries in many contexts relating to owner-managed firms. These include analyses that use traditional accounting disclosures, and studies that view the firm as defined by some formal organizational structure.