Accounting firms keep more paper than almost any other office. Tax returns and working papers, financial statements, payroll records, audit documentation and client billing files all have to be kept for a period, kept confidential and then destroyed properly. This guide covers accounting firm records storage Michigan practices can rely on, along with the scanning, shredding and data protection that complete the picture.
Corrigan Record Storage is a Michigan-based family company that has handled records since 1987. It is a NAID AAA certified member, and its facility undergoes several unscheduled inspections each year.
What an Accounting Firm Has to Keep, and Why It Matters
Corrigan’s accounting page points out that proper handling and secure destruction of client records is not just a best practice but a regulatory requirement. It names the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, FACTA and IRS privacy regulations among the rules that apply, along with state-level privacy statutes.
In practice, every file has two phases. While a record must be kept, it needs to be stored securely and found quickly when a client or regulator asks. Once its retention period ends, it needs to be destroyed in a way the firm can document.
Off-Site Accounting Firm Records Storage Michigan Practices Can Reach Anytime
Prior-year returns and working papers take up valuable office space, and a back room full of client boxes is hard to secure. Corrigan’s off-site document storage [https://corriganrecords.com/records-management/document-storage/] moves those files to facilities that are gated and alarmed, with video surveillance and climate control. The accounting page adds that its facilities have 24/7 monitoring and strict access controls.
Corrigan has more than 200,000 square feet of storage with room for over one million cartons, and a generator backs up its facilities during power outages. Specially designed racks hold the boxes, so files stay organized from the day they arrive.
Getting a Client File Back Fast
Stored files are only useful if you can get them back. Corrigan offers two-hour rush delivery and 24/7 access, and its web-based software lets your team manage and schedule pickups and deliveries. If you need to look through a box in person, you can book time in a secure viewing room and staff will have your files waiting.
From Storage to Shred
When stored files reach the end of their retention period, they don’t have to come back to the office first. Corrigan lists storage-to-shred as a service option, so records can go straight from storage to destruction.
Scanning Client Files With Redaction
Many firms want the files they use most in digital form. Corrigan’s document scanning services turn paper into digital files that are stored in the cloud, where your team logs in with a username and password and can reach them 24/7. After scanning, you choose whether Corrigan stores the originals securely or returns them to you.
Client files often contain details that not every viewer should see. Redaction scanning [https://corriganrecords.com/records-management/document-scanning/redaction-scanning/] removes sensitive information from documents before they’re stored, and Corrigan’s team works with you to decide which information needs to be redacted. Redacted files can then be kept in secure storage and opened through Corrigan’s cloud-based records software.
Scan-on-Demand for Occasional Requests
Not every box needs to be scanned up front. Scan-on-demand lets you view records without physically removing them from Corrigan’s secure storage facilities, which is useful when all you need is a single page from an older client file.
Shredding Working Papers and Retired Devices
Drafts, duplicate copies and outdated working papers pile up quickly in a busy firm. With scheduled shredding [https://corriganrecords.com/secure-shredding/scheduled-shredding/], Corrigan places 65- and 95-gallon locking shred bins or locking consoles in your office, and flexible bin rotations let you choose a schedule that fits your business. Trained staff empty the bins and take the documents to Corrigan’s secure shredding facility, where they’re shredded according to federal and state regulations.
For a larger cleanout, one-time purge shredding handles bulk destruction of old files, tax documents and client files. You don’t need to remove staples, paper clips or binder clips first, and all shredded material is recycled.
Hard Drives and Digital Media
Client financial data also lives on computers and portable media. Corrigan notes that deleting a file does not remove it from your hard drive. Its hard drive shredder [https://corriganrecords.com/secure-shredding/hard-drive/] is designed to permanently destroy individual hard drives or whole computer processing units. The accounting page also lists USBs, CDs and other digital media among the items it destroys, and Corrigan recycles 100% of the shredded metal.
Certificates for Your Audit File
Corrigan provides destruction certificates to every customer. Its accounting page describes the Certificate of Destruction as official audit and legal documentation, which gives the firm a record to keep alongside its retention schedule.
H2: Protecting Backups and Planning for a Breach
Backup media deserves the same care as paper. Corrigan’s vault storage [https://corriganrecords.com/records-management/vault-storage/] holds tapes, cases and boxes in a space where software keeps temperature and humidity at optimum levels, with fire protection included. You can choose a tape rotation schedule, staff are available 24/7/365, and Corrigan offers help testing a disaster plan and recovering vital information after a disaster.
If the worst does happen, Corrigan’s breach management service runs through uRISQ’s Breach Support module. It helps you work through a suspected or actual breach, from analysis and review to regulatory reporting at the government, sectoral and consumer levels.
Your clients trust your firm with their most sensitive financial information, often for years at a time. A plan that covers storage, scanning, destruction and backups keeps that information protected from the first engagement to the final purge.
To build a records plan for your firm, call 248-344-9185 or contact Corrigan Record Storage [https://corriganrecords.com/contact-us/].