Many Aussie execs still sitting ducks for prosecution
Many Aussie execs still sitting ducks for prosecution
Tough new international reporting standards, and broader definitions of evidence and records to include electronic documents and emails, are still catching Australian organisations off guard.
Speaking at a panel discussion in Sydney, Benjamin Woolley, VP sales & marketing of email management vendor Redmap warned that few organisations have the processes in place to ensure important documents are not deleted or lost.
“This will leave organisations, directors and executives vulnerable when it comes time to meet reporting legislation. The worldwide trend is for governments to demand better corporate compliance, governance and risk management. It has spurred the introduction of reporting standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley, IFRS and CLERP 9 that are driving a new generation of electronic archiving, document management and e-audit,” said Woolley.
Nick Abrahams, Partner at Deacons law firm, also spoke during the session and outlined electronic record retention and email compliance obligations under Australian law.
“There are obligations to retain emails for corporate audit and compliance requirements. Under the Electronic Transactions Act, anything you can do in the offline world, you can do online. All emails are potential legal obligations or liabilities and can be used as evidence or as part of a legal discovery process.
“Depending on their content, emails can be regarded as part of an organisation’s official records. Certain records must be kept for at least five years if they relate to taxes, six years if they relate to industrial relations, and seven years if they relate to areas such as workers compensation or various sections of the Australian Corporations Act,” added Abrahams.
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