Digital Mailroom – Auditing and Compliance

How can digital mailroom improve your auditing and compliance?

Digital mailroom solutions aid regulatory compliance by the way the digital mailroom system handles data entering your business.

Here are some examples.

Traceability and archiving

Electronic mailroom systems capture information from documents as they arrive. By default, captured electronic documents are searchable and traceable. In the event of a complaint or any kind of audit, all related documents can then be retrieved rapidly. For auditing, digital archived copies can comply with BS BIP008 which gives excellent compliance compared with paper filing cabinet systems.

Legal discovery

The traceability and archiving capabilities of a digital mailroom system mean information can be searched easier. In the event of legal proceedings, this makes the process of disclosure faster and cheaper.

Ensuring documents are correctly handled

Electronic mailroom technology uses intelligent document recognition to classify incoming documents automatically. Once classified, business rules can then be applied to that document. For example, if a document is classified as a CV, it will be routed to an HR process and/or stored with restricted access. In such cases, automated workflows reduce the risks of manual error and ensure secure handling procedures are maintained regardless of staff turnover.

Document retention

Documents such as invoices, CV’s or patient records vary in the amount of time for which they should be retained. Failure to keep a document for the required amount of time, or failure to destroy a document after a certain period can both result in non-compliance with data protection, HMRC or other legislation. With a digital mailroom system, retention criteria are applied to applicable documents from the moment of arrival. Reports on retention requirements can then be generated as desired and warnings can be triggered as the time for retention-related action approaches.

Secure routing

Lost documents or security leakages expose businesses to non-compliance. With a digital mailroom system, when mail arrives it is digitally scanned/logged and routed for electronic delivery. This can avoid situations such as sensitive paper mail items sitting in people’s intrays when they are absent.

Visibility

Visibility is useful for compliance. Digital mailroom workflows enable you to monitor what is being received from different offices and other sources. In addition, the workflow software allows you to generate early management reports, for example on number of incoming complaints, or complaints still requiring resolution. A manager can also identify bottlenecks in staff workloads which may also negatively affect ability to meet regulatory compliance.