All businesses need to keep certain records for legal and commercial reasons. The difficulty lies in knowing which documents should be kept and for how long. Building on the success of the first edition, this updated and enhanced Guide provides an overview of the law and best practice relating to the retention and storage of key business documentation. It outlines the main principles that should be applied when framing a retention (and disposal) policy and suggests minimum retention periods for different types of documents based on good commercial practice and, where applicable, the minimum retention periods required by law.

The Guide is divided into two parts:

Part I focuses on the principles of framing a retention policy and the procedures and issues associated with retention, review and disposal. It also looks at the practicalities of retrieval and storage systems, with particular emphasis on the range of electronic storage methods and systems now available.

Part II is divided into separate chapters for different business areas, such as share registration, accounting and tax and health and safety. Each chapter includes a commentary of the requirements for each topic area and a detailed retention schedule, which makes recommendations for the retention of specific documents.

Brought completely up to date to include coverage of:

• Companies Act 2006
• Electronic Communications Directive.
• Financial Services and money Laundering Regulations 2007
• New case law developments
• Penalties for obtaining, disclosing or selling personal data under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.

Revised throughout, there is now expanded coverage of:

• Privileged documents
• Health and safety issues in relation to specialist areas of chemicals and construction.

•  ISBN: 9781860724060 •   Published November 2008 • £47.95

Contents
Part I: Retention Principles
1: Introduction
2: Retention policies and procedures
3. Retention and disposal schedules
4. Review and disposal procedures
5. Documents as evidence
6. Risk assessment and limitation periods
7. Data protection
8. Storage of records
9. Electronic records
10. Life of a company
 
Part II: Guidance on Retention Periods
11. Companies Act records
12. Share registration and dividends
13. Meetings and minutes
14. Accounting and tax records
15. Employment and pension records
16. Health and safety records
17. Contracts, sales and insurance
18. Property records
19. Information management records
20. Financial services and money laundering
 
Appendices include:
A model retention and disposal schedule
Examples of certificates
Information survey form – records

About the author
Andrew C Hamer: Andrew C Hamer LLB ACIS, a partner of The Mentor Partnership, writes and lectures widely on company secretarial and legal issues. He is assistant editor of the ICSA information service, Company Secretarial Practice, and editor of the ICSA's Company Secretary newsletter. He is also the author of titles for ICSA Publishing including The ICSA Meetings and Minutes Handbook and The ICSA Guide to Document Retention.

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