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PAGE 12, WIIITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST ,1990 *'CO1I ]IESS~ $ Records mnagement In today's information-based world, a company's records and information are one of its most valuable assets. Many businesses, both large and small, take this valuable For Quick, Reliable Service Cali..,, 683-0887 1 T 1 TL 11ý *TOP SOIL *Sand *Curbs * ,Rockery Stone * Gravel *FIREWOOD *Limestone *Pine Mulch *Patio Slabs *Treated Timbers r NOTICE TO THE RATEPAYERS 0F, THE J> CORPORATION 0F THE REGIONAL ouéHAMMUNICIPALITY 0F DURHAM The Audited Financial Statements of the Corporation of The Regional Municipality of Duîham forthe ýyear-ended, Deoember -31, 199 are available from the Reginal Finance Department..Anyone mnterested in obtaining-acopy of these statements shouidwrite to the Finance Department of the: Regional Muniipality of Durham, 60 Bond Street West, P.O. Box 618, Oshawa, Ontario, LUI, 8B6. The followin*g financial higblights refleet 'the operations, assets and liabiities of the Regional Municipality of Durham icluding the waterworks, sanitary sewage and waste disposai systems and the Board of Commissioners of the Durham Regional Police. COMPARISON 0F CONSOLIDATED REVENUES AND EXPENDITURtES (AI] ampunt in thounand-a of dollars) WHERE THE MONEY (,'AMEIRQM- Requisition on Area Municipalities Ontario Grants User Charges Other Revenue WHAT TH1E MONEY WAS SMENT FOR: General Government Protection to Persons & Property Transportation Services Waterworks Operation Sanitary Sewage Systeni* Waste Disposa Health Services Social Services Senior Citizen Services Day Nurseries Faily & Children Services Planning,&, Development 19M 1988 YEAR END POSITION 0F ASSETS AND LIABILITIS (AI] ampunts in thousandig of dllars) 192 1999- Cash and Short $ 67,677 $ 55,730 Terni Investments 76,499 69,682 Aceounts Receivable 65,678 55,343 Other Current Assets .q7-132.68 .27,346 Restricted Assets a2ILfl2212D8QBM Capital Outlay Financed by Long Terni Liabiities and to be Recovered in Future Years $ 6,735 $ 6,493 Accounts Payable and 37,712 33,057 Aoerued Iàabilities 22,161 29,981 32,722 16,719 6,211 23,140 29,572 29,053 11,119 5,334 Current Portion of Ontario Housing Action Program Imans Other Current Liabilities and Defeired Revenue Net long Terni Liabilities 33,582 27,414 Reserves and Reserve >Funds 28,032 24,210 ftnd Balances 5,665 4,644 Unexpended Capital PFinancing 2,062 1,725 1224M2 TrustFunds - Administered by Region $30,078 $ 18,109 36,615 29,834 3,608 3,660 56,572 41,793 -2212 37-.25 ILMMa2 $35,292 $ 23,889 5,488 5,043 3,128 3,728 27,212 37,325. 66,135 5,746 47,584 7.324 -tl1aM t--66 J asset for geanted. It often takes a crisis such as the loss of an important document required for a courtl, case, destruction of valuable records by flood or fire or computer failure, or a brýish with' Revenue Canada, ta uinderline the need ta institute good records and information management practices. "Many small companies," says Gordon Joyce, president of Command Records Services Limited, "mare so busy running their operations, they forget about day-to-day concernsalike safeguarding their information. Thon one day a disgruntled employee wipes out a bard disk, or a contract goS mis*sing, and the smail company may have a real struggle ta survive." To, prevent tis from occurring, you need ta establish basic procedures. It is a wise idea tW regularly send back-up materials, both paper and data files, ta an offsite records centre or alternate location. Good records centres can 'have you information back ta you within an hour. It's also a good ides ta stare inactive records, iLe., records you may be keeping for legal or administrative reasons but no longer refer ta, in an offsite location. Though you will pay storage costs, these will be much less than the cost of storage i.a file cabinet ii igh-priced officeý space. Unraveling the realms of legislation that detail how long you are required to keep records can be a nightmare i itself... "While legisiation eists for standard records like'.general ledgers and . personnel." files, " warns Joyce, legislation relating. ta records spciicta a àparticular'. industry ecorisharder ta track. down." Companies should talk ta Il ('J i COlaU es i their in dstry, or call ~n a consultiniý firm for assistace. ARMA (Association of Records Managers and AdminiOtrators) is another good source Of information. Members tire usuafly up-to-date with current legislation and can pdint you ta publications containing guidelines that mnay apply ta, your industry. Advances in technology have given businesses a wide variety of formats for keeping their information. However, 90 per cent of ail information is stiil in paper format about 5 per cent is stored on computers, and about 5 per cent has been captured on microfilmn. Image processing is one new technolog that is s lowly becomingaffordable for small and mid-sized companies. This technology, now available in PC-based systems, ailows a company ta, fully automate its paper fiow. According the Joyce,. whose company is piloting a service bureau system, "documents are scanned ita the system and inhdexed right fromi the mail room, and can be routed, 'processed, and printed." Document. images are store on optical disks: which oen iseveral sizes. A'5.25 inch 'disk can store about 30,000 pages of information. That!s quite a few file, folders, ail retrievable from a standard PC within seonds. Once a document is written on an optical disk, » it cannot be alterod or erased. "fMost coenpanies, says Joyce, "hivest i .-the.technology, not ta save space, thoiigh- that is a benefit, but ta, 'ipoecustomerl service and enrlyspeed up operations. r i I thlnk 1 should tell you, 1 jusi had a sneezing attack and hit the wrong button on my computer and wiped out the company's records - Sorryl" Real estate seminar forS, firslt time hom..e buyers W. Frank ]Real Estate will hold a seminar for first-time home buyers tonight ( Wednesday), 7:0 .m, ttthe realty office at 115Smo St. S., Oshawa. A lawyer, banker and real estate representative will answer questions- about mortgages, offers and downpayments. Cal436-7770,'for more inýfor- mton. ARNTS TOPSO!1 Unilock Inte rlocking Paving Stones Delivered or Customer Pick Up 13 CONC Dlease D cie 8 Thus New paef dois, es oi vio e ed