record keeping – Terrace Consulting

The business impact of the recent earthquake and aftershocks

November 28, 2016November 28, 2016 by Judy

Some interesting snippets coming out of the aftermath of the recent earthquake and aftershocks.

Forsyth Barr were caught out in Christchurch in 2011 when they couldn’t get back into their building to access paper documents that were not in electronic form. As a Forsyth Barr director said” you have to assume you will never get back in.” Forsyth Barr arranged for computers and a place for their staff to work but couldn’t replace the original documents stuck in their condemned building in Christchurch. They did however put a plan in place that worked for them this time when their Lower Hutt office was closed after the 14 November earthquake.

Some legal firms in Christchurch only had paper copies of wills and lost them in 2011. How embarrassing!

New Information and Records Standard for New Zealand

September 12, 2016November 28, 2016 by Judy

The new Information and Records Standard from Archives New Zealand sets the scene for lifting records and filing out of the pre-digital age of paper files and filing clerks and into 21^st century thinking about what constitutes information and how we think about it.

It gives us the opportunity to consider how the information held in records and archives fits with the other information held or used by your organisation.

Why?

The new standard includes ‘information’ in its title.

Your business and the ‘Cloud’

July 23, 2015October 28, 2015 by Judy

You’ve heard of the ‘Cloud’ and probably wonder what it’s all about. Although at a basic level it’s really only another term for ‘Internet,’ the ‘Cloud’ is a way of storing information resources so that they can be easily accessed and shared when you’re away from the office. Another major benefit is

The value of document management systems

June 17, 2015September 7, 2016 by Judy

I’ve never been a great fan of electronic document management systems. I can see how they can be useful but I’ve seen a lot that, in spite of hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to install them, are not used effectively because the people who are expected to use them find them too hard.

Now there are many reasons for this and it’s not always the fault of the system itself.

End-of-year tax advice

March 14, 2015October 28, 2015 by Judy

I’ve researched tax information in various countries to offer you the following links to help you to prepare your records so your accountant can prepare your annual accounts in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

Small business challenges in Ireland and New Zealand

October 10, 2014February 13, 2016 by Judy

I’ve been in Dublin recently with my daughter and her family. It was a busy time with her young children and chef/restauranteur husband but lots of fun and very different from life at home in New Zealand where I live with my husband and a cat!

What I found interesting was the similarities between Ireland and New Zealand. I’ve always been aware of the similar

Genealogists to the rescue after school arson

August 28, 2014February 13, 2016 by Judy

Two weeks ago an arson attack on a local school destroyed several classrooms and the library. The school principal mourned the loss of the contents of the library including all the school’s archives. This was particularly poignant with events being planned to celebrate the school’s 125th anniversary later in the year.

How to keep track of your documents

August 11, 2014February 13, 2016 by Judy

If you’ve been following my blog you will know that I am keen to help businesses and government organizations to manage their business documents so they can find the one document they need when they need it. Now! Not half an hour after a crucial business meeting starts, or

Digital exhaust, digital footprint

August 1, 2014February 13, 2016 by Judy

Do you realise that everywhere you go you leave your digital footprint, i.e. the trail you leave about your activities on the Internet?

Some is content you actively produce—like your Facebook profile.

However you may not be aware of the cookies a site stores in your browser

Electronic filing is crucially about “levels of access”

July 22, 2014February 13, 2016 by Judy

Sarah recently gave some advice to a couple of clients and asked me for my thoughts. She suggested that electronic filing is CRUCIALLY about “levels of access” – designing your folder structure around “security clearance levels” works best. So you start by working out what is “confidential inner-management ONLY” (e.g. Strategy & Planning), what is