6 Document Shredding Benefits for Accountants
Business mentor and author, Jana Kingsford, said, “Balance is not something you find. It’s something you create.” Balance helps to keep you and everything you do in equilibrium. I would imagine that, as an accountant, understanding the necessity and value of balance comes easier because balance is everything in your job. The books must always balance. The right must equal the left. Revenue must always exceed expenditures.
The overall security of your clients’ information is only as safe as the attention given to records management for the full life of your documents, from creation to destruction, a.k.a. “cradle to grave.” If you haven’t managed your records responsibly throughout their lifecycle, your business is out of balance. You must protect information during its useful life, and you can’t let your guard down when its retention period is over.
Seeking the assistance of a reputable document shredding company will help you close out the lifespan of your information securely. Your services are regularly scrutinized by clients, businesses, and the IRS, which makes it vital that you expect the same high standards from a shredding company. Seek out a reputable shredding company that demonstrates a combined balance of the following benefits.
1. Trustworthiness
Trained shredding staff who have been background-checked. A good shredding company will have staff that have been prescreened before hiring, trained at the time of hiring, with ongoing training to keep their knowledge current.
2. Vigilance
Your client’s financial information might be safe in your hands, but it also needs to be protected while in the hands of a third party like a shredding company. A good shredding company will protect your documents from the time they receive them until the time they are destroyed beyond recovery.
3. Adherence to Protocol
Not all shredding companies will follow strict chain of custody procedures or provide a Certificate of Destruction upon completion, but these are vital should you face an audit. You strive for perfection in your work for your clients, and you require the same of your shredding provider.
4. Attention to Retention Dates
A great shredding company knows the state and federal laws that govern how long you should keep your documents before they are destroyed. Some financial documents have longer retention periods than others, and some documents need to be kept indefinitely.
5. The Highest Security Standards
A NAID AAA Certified shredding company adheres to the highest security standards in the industry so you can be confident that they are operating at the level you expect.
6. Compliance with Privacy Laws
A shredding company must be knowledgeable about, and adhere to, the requirements of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA), the Graham-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and Sarbanes-Oxley act (SOX).
As an accountant, you know you are responsible for your clients’ information, so you must work with a shredding provider that will handle yours and your clients’ information with utmost security.
Richards & Richards is Nashville’s oldest and most trusted shredding company. We’re NAID AAA Certified, adhering to the highest security standards in the shredding industry, and we understand your needs as an accountant. To find out how we make the security of your information our highest priority, please give us a call at 615-242-9600 or complete the form on this page. Our experts are standing by to assist you.
