Records and Information Governance for Executives Training Course

Programme Summary

Records and information governance for executives is a five-day training course for directors and senior officials working at strategic level, culminating in a records governance roadmap for their organisation. Many organisations hold information they cannot find, cannot prove is authentic or destroy without authority, leaving them exposed in disputes and audits. The approach treats records as evidence of business activity and governs them from creation to disposition and preservation. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in records and information governance.

The Business Case

Every decision, contract and approval leaves a record, and the organisation is judged on whether it can produce that record when asked. Weak recordkeeping slows responses to auditors and courts and inflates storage costs. Leaders who set accountability, retention rules and system controls turn scattered files into dependable evidence.

• Evidential Readiness: Improves when authentic records can be retrieved quickly for audits and disputes.
• Storage and Discovery Cost: Falls as expired records are disposed of under documented authority.
• Compliance Findings: Reduce when retention and disposition decisions follow an approved schedule.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 15489-1:2016 Records Management Concepts and Principles: Defines authoritative records and the records controls applied in Sessions 1 to 3.
• Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles: Provide the eight principles used for the maturity diagnosis in Session 2.
• ISO 14721:2025 Open Archival Information System (OAIS): Supplies the reference model for long-term digital preservation in Session 4.

Intended Participants

• Executives accountable for how an organisation creates, keeps and disposes of its records.
• Leaders who answer to auditors and courts for the evidence the organisation holds.
• Senior officials responsible for public archives and the transfer of records of lasting value.
• Legal and compliance leaders who issue legal holds and approve disposition.

The programme serves government entities, banking and insurance, energy and utilities, and healthcare organisations.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate whether records meet the tests of authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose the maturity of a records programme against recognised recordkeeping principles.
3. Participants will be able to construct a business classification scheme and a retention schedule linked to legal and business needs.
4. Participants will be able to justify legal hold and defensible disposition procedures to legal and audit stakeholders.
5. Participants will be able to specify governance controls for electronic records, email and long-term digital preservation.
6. Participants will be able to prioritise improvements in a records governance roadmap with owners and measures.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Records and Information Governance Foundations

Why do records matter, and who owns decisions about them?

• Records as Evidence of Business Activity
• Authenticity, Reliability, Integrity and Usability Tests
• Information Governance Decision Rights and Roles
• Records Policy and Executive Accountability
• Information Asset Ownership Mapping

Day 2: Diagnosing the Records Programme

How sound is the way the organisation keeps its records today?

• Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles Maturity Assessment
• Records Survey and Information Asset Inventory
• Shared Drive, Email and Paper Holdings Review
• Records Risk Register and Exposure Ranking
• Records Audit Trail and Compliance Testing

Day 3: Classification, Retention and Disposition

How long is each class of record kept, and how is it disposed of?

• Function-Based Business Classification Scheme
• Retention Schedule Design and Legal Requirement Mapping
• Legal Hold Triggers, Notices and Release
• Defensible Disposition and Destruction Evidence
• Metadata and Access Permission Rules

Day 4: Electronic Records and Digital Preservation

How are digital records kept trustworthy across systems and over decades?

• Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) Governance
• Records Capture in Collaboration and Cloud Platforms
• Email Management and Messaging Records
• OAIS Reference Model for Long-Term Preservation
• Format Migration and File Integrity Checks

Day 5: Applying Records and Information Governance

How are the controls combined into a plan the executive team can approve?

• Applying the Maturity Results to a Participant Organisation
• Testing the Retention Schedule Against a Litigation Scenario
• Setting Records Performance Indicators and Reporting Lines
• Peer Review of the Legal Hold and Disposition Procedure
• Records Governance Roadmap Presentation

Methodology

The programme relies on structured exercises built on participants' own records environments, with cases from public bodies, banks and energy companies. Participants assess maturity, draft retention rules, respond to a simulated litigation request and defend their roadmap before peers.

• Suggested activity: Classifying a sample of mixed files from a ministry department into a function-based scheme.
• Suggested activity: Responding to a simulated dispute that requires a legal hold across email and shared drives.
• Suggested activity: Deciding which records of an infrastructure project should be preserved permanently.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a records governance roadmap for their organisation. It contains a maturity baseline, a classification scheme and retention schedule for one function, a legal hold and disposition procedure, preservation priorities and indicators with named owners, ready to table at an executive or audit committee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the records and information governance programme suitable for executives without a records background?

Yes. It is designed for directors and senior officials accountable for records rather than daily filing. It assumes management experience but no specialist archives training.

Which standards does the records and information governance programme rest on?

It rests on ISO 15489-1:2016 for records controls, the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles for maturity assessment and the OAIS reference model in ISO 14721:2025 for digital preservation.

How is the records and information governance roadmap used at work?

You leave with a records governance roadmap covering maturity, retention, legal hold and preservation. It can go to your executive or audit committee as the basis for funding records improvements.

How does records and information governance differ from a data protection programme?

Records and information governance keeps reliable evidence of business activity for the right period. Data protection concerns the lawful handling of personal data. The two overlap on retention and access.