If more than ten percent of the agency's records are designated as vital, the evaluation process should be examined. The success of the program depends on the combined judgment and foresight of top management, program managers and records management. The resulting master list of vital records should be reviewed by the agency's legal counsel and auditors. After identifying your vital records, the risks and hazards to those records must next be evaluated. A vital records program is a form of insurance.
Risk management is a way to control and minimize risks.
You can't eliminate all risks and hazards to your records but you can make better decisions before a disaster than during the chaos and pressure of an emergency. Protection for your vital records will cost something. Costs of implementing and maintaining the program must be compared with costs of recovery from a disaster. These costs will vary greatly, of course, depending on such variables as the agency mission, location, and type of records. For the program to be cost effective the consequences of losing certain records must outweigh the costs of protecting and preserving them.