The Importance of Protecting Electronic Documents for Regulatory Compliance
Companies should seek to streamline their essential business processes. A significant amount of their sensitive information and proprietary information is contained in electronic documents. If these documents are not properly protected, then organizations are risking potential embarrassment and a high cost security breach as well as failing to implement worldwide Regulatory Compliance for privacy and corporate governance.
Ignoring the importance of addressing privacy leaks and the security of information contained in electronic documents will be extremely expensive and will result in the possible loss of millions of dollars, harm to brand equity and reputation, negative publicity and shareholder lawsuits. Information theft is a rapidly growing illegal industry, harsh penalties have been enacted by governments worldwide to set strict privacy legislation, any non-compliance will result in heavy fines and imprisonment.
Regulatory compliance benefits businesses by offering a great opportunity to provide services more efficiently by reducing operational costs and extending the market range, which enables a more streamlined business practice. A good example is the digital signature replacing the ink signature in legal and financial transactions. By using digital signatures, all businesses can automate an organization process, like filing regulatory paperwork online or by conducting legally enforceable transactions without the need to print and process paper documents and forms.
The current methods of protecting electronic documents are inadequate. Many security strategies are now focusing on protecting electronic documents at a storage location. This approach does not adequately protect the content of the electronic document. The protection is lost when the document reaches the end user. Plus, it can be unintentionally forwarded to and viewed by an unauthorized recipient.
To make sure that all electronic documents are managed in a way that complies with regulations, promotes operational efficiency and mitigates risk, businesses
must be able to effectively track and protect electronic documents at all times. Not just in transmission or at a secure location. Access and audit usage needs to be managed at the document level and throughout a document’s life cycle, no matter where it rests, on a mobile laptop, a corporate network or with a business partner or even a government agency.
Canadian Expansion
Canadian Expansion north to Canada we will be needing commercial space and some short term residential property for employees to stay in temporally while in Canada getting the operation running. Being the size of this task and the enormity of the challenge I am not sure where to begin. I started to research commercial properties in Canada and I came across Transglobe property management on Flickr. They show pictures of the company employees, CEO, and properties as I would have expected, however I was impressed with the additional photos showing the involvement of the company in the local community. Participation in local events and celebrations and parades. They give to women’s shelters, ride for cancer cures and walk for heart research. Not only do they come off with a professional air but are clearly good corporate citizens participating in and giving back to the communities they serve.
Transglobe property management looks like a young company with big ambitions and looks like they have the plan in place to achieve their goal. Maintaining some 5 million square feet of commercial property and some 20 thousand plus residential units. Looks like this company has the inventory and expertise to work out solutions to our problems and issues with getting operations going north of the border.
After checking the ratings with the Better Business Bureaus in Canada I feel we are on the right track and having their involvement in locating suitable properties will be key in our successful expansion into Canada. We will need to set up some meetings to communicate our needs and desires and find out what level of service they can offer us for this expansion.
Always “Know Your Customer”
The efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the past years has been on the detection, the investigation and the prosecution of cases of money laundering, bribery and fraud, be it tax evasion, or the inaccurate keeping of a company or and individuals records and accounting information. Cases of corporate corruption are still wide spread today and most of time involves the falsification of those books, with the intention of hiding a company’s true state of their financial holdings and status. The intention is to hide this information from prospective investors and potential clients
Many white collar crimes are cases of this nature and they affect the shareholders, the customers and the employees. Every daily interaction is based on false information. Stock holders and investors get manipulated, as well as employees who may not know that what they are doing at any given moment, could be breaking the law. These scams affect too, innocent citizens throughout the country, as in the corruption scams involving the losses of the life savings of many people. This has a detrimental effect on the entirety of the nation’s economy, every level of it. Not only is money lost at that moment, but future investors may decide to take their business elsewhere.
It is for these reasons that corporations must practice the “know your customer” policy. For not only do they put themselves at risk financially, they can put themselves at risk of federal investigations, based on dealings they have had with these types of clients and companies that aer committing the acts of fraud and corruption To know your customer is just knowing all that you can know about the people and the corporations with whom one is either considering doing business, or those with whom they are currently involved. This policy must be practiced regularly, being consistently thorough is the key for success in accomplishing the collection of the knowledge necessary.
ASU No Longer a Party School
Each year the Princeton Review surveys approximately 120,000 college students for their opinions on several different aspects their college experience. They then compile a list ranking each university based on its academic experience, professors, demographics, town life, politics, extracurricular activities, and social scene. For several years Arizona State University, ASU, has held one the top positions on the Princeton Review’s list of party schools; number 3 in fact. However, with the release of the 2008 results ASU has fallen all the way to number 17; much to the delight of the faculty and staff.
However one cannot help but question what might have caused this sudden rise in sobriety.
One answer might be ASU’s ever increasing desire to be a top research facility. With its great developments in space and science technology, the W.P. Carey School of Business, and wide range of graduate degrees, ASU is quickly becoming recognized more for the excellent education it provides than for great parties. This helps to draw students who are more serious about their studies than getting drunk every weekend.
Another answer might be the high number of transfer students that ASU accepts each year. Especially in the state of Arizona where there are many junior colleges as well as the Maricopa Community Colleges, it is easier for new high school graduates to attend a two-year college first before attending a university; especially since you will be paying a lot more. Not only is community college less expensive, but students can get their partying phase done before they move on to more serious studies at the university level.
On the other hand perhaps students just want to enjoy their college experience without any road blocks along the way. Excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs can lead to addiction and addiction can lead to hard life with a long road to healing; including alcohol drug intervention, addiction treatment, and drug rehab. Maybe our kids are maturing faster than we think.