Document control is a multifaceted endeavor covering all stages of the document lifecycle, from creation, review and approval to submission, modifications and archiving. At the same time, each of these stages needs a holistic internal control system to provide a structure to the process and ensure compliance.
Implementing an effective document control framework requires providing for the key components and implementing proven practices to ensure efficiency. Keep reading to find out more about what document control system needs to address and how to implement effective internal controls within compliance management.
Key Components of Document Control
An effective document control system addressing the security and management of files through their lifecycle includes the following key elements:
- Access controls to determine who can view, modify or share each document.
- Version controls to keep track of all versions of the same document to provide for backup and keep a log of changes.
- Approval and submission framework setting the procedures to have each document properly approved before filing or release.
- Storage, record retention and archiving processes that allow to retain documents for a certain time to fulfill regulatory requirements and keep archives for internal audits.
These elements are implemented through processes that should enable the document control system to be highly effective and functional and serve the general purpose of ensuring compliance.
Tips for Maintaining Document Control
Document control best practices serve as a benchmark that could be used to evaluate existing processes within an organization and align them for better efficiency. While regulated or non-regulated businesses, SMEs and large organizations working across several jurisdictions may have their own unique needs and specific requirements, the below list is generally applicable to companies of all sizes and verticals, helping to streamline their document control and regulatory compliance.
Establishing clarity in procedures
Any document control system is based on a set of policies encompassing all stages of the document lifecycle. No matter the size of the operation, every organization needs a clear set of rules to ensure consistency of approaches for document management and control across the board, which should be communicated on all levels.
One of the ways to standardize document management and control procedures is to use automatic workflows and auto-populated customizable templates, available with document control software like Athennian. In addition, automated software can help establish governance for document control without reliance on employees' adherence to policies or manual processes.
Implementing effective version control
Document version control allows to maintain multiple versions of the same document and provides for an audit trail with a historical record of changes. In the context of compliance, organizations may need version control or an audit trail of changes in multiple scenarios, for example, when reporting data to a previous period and in other similar cases.
While keeping a change log in spreadsheets or via other manual processes can be complicated and may lead to inconsistencies and duplicative records, version control can be made easy with document control software, providing rich functionality to manage version history.
Securing access through role
An ability to control access to corporate documentation is essential to ensure compliance, keep information confidential, exclude unauthorized use and provide limited authorizations to third-party teams and auditors. By securing access through a role, a document control system allows assigning access permission based on user responsibilities, providing for a high level of flexibility and information safety.
When teams work with software for document control like Athennian, they can leverage various user roles such as administrator, user, read-only or summary-only roles with various types of access to corporate record databases. The automated software allows to invite users to access documents in various roles, keep track of users with varying levels of access, and restrict or block users instantly to exclude unauthorized manipulation with data.
Keeping documents relevant
Maintaining corporate information regularly updated is essential for ensuring compliance,having all legal entities well-maintained and providing for the organization's deal readiness. Therefore, the teams need to keep all corporate data relevant at all times, which can be ensured through regular updates and reviews. At the same time, with the new regulatory landscape constantly evolving, companies need additional capabilities to keep track of and update all their data points across all their entities, which can be achieved through automation.
Ensuring compliance through audits
In the constantly changing regulatory environment, organizations need to align their document control systems with existing and new requirements and conduct quality checks for sustained compliance. Such audits and quality checks need to cover all data management and control practices within an organization, data governance rules and internal standards and evaluate them for compliance. When done regularly, such checks can ensure that an organization follows the best data control practices and provide for data security and effective management of documentation throughout its lifecycle.
Optimizing Efficiency with Software
As the elements and processes required to address document flow within an organization are repetitive and are often based on the same datasets, document controls can be effectively streamlined through automation. By implementing document control software, organizations can automate document workflows, provide for secure access and enable audit trails.
Working in Athennian, the compliance teams can keep all corporate records in check by enabling access rights, providing for version control, automating approvals and submission and enabling document storage on a secure cloud. For more information about how to ensure document control within your organization, you can additionally check out the Athennian's Corporate Compliance Checklist, learn more from the Corporate Compliance Companion guide and are welcome to reach out to our team for a free consultation and demo.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
