A systematic approach to managing records so your organisation can find what it needs, prove what it did, and comply with what regulators require.
ISO 15489 is the international standard for records management. It provides principles and guidance for creating, managing, and disposing of records — ensuring that evidence of decisions, transactions, and activities is captured, maintained, and accessible when needed.
Book a Gap AssessmentThe scope of ISO 15489:2016
- Records policy and authoritiesEstablish the policies, roles, and responsibilities that govern records management — including who owns records and who can authorise disposal.
- Records creation and captureDefine what records your organisation must create, how they should be captured, and the metadata that makes them retrievable and authentic.
- Records systems and toolsAssess and implement the records management systems — physical and electronic — that your organisation needs to manage records effectively.
- Retention, disposition, and destructionBuild the retention schedules and disposal authorities that determine how long records are kept, when they can be destroyed, and what must be preserved permanently.
The business case
Regulators in finance, healthcare, government, and other sectors impose records retention requirements with serious penalties for non-compliance.
When disputes or audits arise, organisations with systematic records management can produce the evidence they need. Those without it cannot.
Poor records management creates significant operational friction — time spent searching for documents, duplicate information, and decisions made without the right evidence.
Effective records management is a prerequisite for successful digital transformation — you cannot effectively migrate or manage information without knowing what you have.
The certification journey
Most firms hand you a document pack and leave. We stay with you from gap assessment through certification — and beyond.
We audit your current operations against the standard's requirements and show you exactly where you stand.
We build your management system — policies, procedures, process maps — tailored to how your business actually works.
We work alongside your team on the ground to embed the system into daily operations and train your people to own it.
We run a full internal audit cycle, close any gaps, and make sure you're ready before the certification body arrives.
We support you through the certification audit — and stay available for surveillance prep and continuous improvement after.
Ready to get certified?
Book a gap assessment and we'll show you exactly what it takes.
Book a Gap Assessment