A successful risk management strategy requires a strong internal control environment. The risk control matrix (RCM) format emphasizes that strong and risk-oriented internal control environments are often optimized with automated/manual controls, depending on the situation.

An RCM provides an overview of different control objectives that organizations should take into consideration and the corresponding controls to safeguard the company against risks, which may arise if not checked timely. Once customized to an organization, this document can help the user in assessing each control. The control assessment can then also be summarized to develop an action plan.

This document outlines risks and controls common to record management during the 4.2 Document Record and Content Management process in a risk control matrix (RCM) format.

Sample risks include:

• Documents are not managed in a consistent manner, resulting in inefficient use of organizational documents and records.
• Documents are not properly stored and maintained, resulting in noncompliance with regulations, data loss or unauthorized access.
• Documents and records are not properly backed up, resulting in data loss that adversely affects business practices. 
• Documents are not retained as required by organizational policy or regulations.

This document can be used as a sample RCM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list of risks and controls. The KnowledgeLeader team will periodically update this RCM with new content. Organizations should select, update and modify the risks and controls included in this document to ensure that it reflects business operations.