In the short term, it provides those responsible for management with the means to monitor transactions and resolve problems. In the long term, it enables the university to comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations, the Internal Revenue Service regulations and other federal, state and local regulations governing auditability. This policy applies to all original documentation supporting the accuracy, applicability and method of calculation for all financial entries. This policy applies to all units at Carnegie Mellon University. It is the responsibility of departments to designate a person to be responsible for records retention.
Many departments designate the business manager.
The designated person should have appropriate knowledge of and access to departmental financial data. The required retention period for various documents associated with an activity is dependent upon the source of funds used to support that activity. For the required retention periods of various documents, refer to Appendix A at the end of this document. When requirements for long-term retention of records overlap, the responsible office should retain records for the maximum period needed to meet both legal and audit requirements. In these cases, records need to be retained until seven years after all litigation, claims or audit findings are resolved.