High-level blueprint for private sector information governance programs.

• Author: Nemchek, Lee
• Position: Managing Records in Global Financial Markets: Ensuring Compliance and Mitigating Risk - Book review

Managing Records in Global Financial Markets: Ensuring Compliance and Mitigating Risk

Editors: Lynn Coleman, Victoria L. Lemleux, Ph.D., Rod Stone, and Geoffrey Yeo

Publisher:. Facet Publishing: (U.S. distribution by Neal-Schuman Publishers)

Publication Date: 2011

Length: 256 pages

Price: 59.95 [pounds sterling] ($96.04 U.S.)

ISBN-13:978-1-85064-663-3

Source: www.facetpublishing.co.uk; www.neal-schuman.com (in US.)

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As stated in the introduction to Managing Records in Global Financial Markets, "[t]here are few books that address the management of records in the business world and fewer still that discuss records management in the context of global financial markets."

For private sector records and information management (RIM) professionals, the latest volume in the "Principles and Practice in Records Management and Archives" series is a valuable addition to the literature because, contrary to what is implied by its title, much of the content is applicable to a broader spectrum of business than finance.

The first six chapters are specific to global finance, and this is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

On the positive side, the majority of the book focuses on topics of interest to all records managers, including records risk assessment and mitigation programs; RIM ramifications of corporate reorganizations and strategic outsourcing initiatives; legal discovery issues; corporate archives; and developing a framework for a comprehensive global RIM program.

Unfortunately, readers are thrown into the dense, legal-heavy Part I chapters first, and these may be difficult for the uninitiated to get through.

Not for Beginners

In general, this book is not recommended for beginning records managers. Part I, which discusses compliance with the myriad cross-jurisdictional laws and regulations governing global finance, requires experienced practitioner-level familiarity not only with records management, but also with law and finance.

The book is not a "how-to" manual of practice, procedure, and implementation. Instead, it is a high-level blueprint for information governance programs in multinational commercial organizations, covering policy development; legal and regulatory compliance; risk assessment; privacy and information security; electronic discovery; and internal audit and compliance testing.

One advantage of presenting this type of material to inexperienced records managers is that they are introduced at the outset to the...