A sub-par federal audit is never the desired outcome for any organization. Yet for many institutions, audits are the moment when long-standing gaps in records and information management (RIM) finally come into full view. This session presents a real-world participatory action research case where a federal audit uncovered systemic weaknesses in records practices—and how those findings became the catalyst for building a comprehensive, defensible, and sustainable RIM framework that has been pressure tested on two subsequent federal audits.

The session begins with the audit context: an organization operating under the assumption that its practices were “good enough.” While basic policies existed and staff were making good-faith efforts, the audit revealed inconsistent retention practices, unclear ownership of records, limited documentation standards, and a lack of enterprise-wide governance. Rather than responding with short-term corrective actions designed only to close audit findings, leadership chose to “fail forward,” shifting from reactive compliance to proactive information governance.

To strengthen enforcement and implementation of evolving Department of Defense regulations, the organization established an Accountability Officer role (the first of its kind in a Federally Funded Research & Development Center to single-handedly manage classified collections). Audit findings were treated not as isolated issues to fix, but as indicators of deeper structural problems requiring a coordinated, strategic response.

Participants will be guided through the turning point where leadership commitment and organizational buy-in transformed the audit response from a checklist exercise into a foundational initiative. The session explores root causes such as unclear accountability, limited staff training, siloed systems, and the misconception that RIM was not a foundational component of compliance readiness.

The core of the session covers the step-by-step development of a strong RIM framework. Attendees will learn how governance structures were established to define ownership, roles, and responsibilities across departments (in adherence to regulations), and how policies and standards were created and aligned (including record schema, retention schedules, and audit-ready documentation practices). Emphasis is placed on making policies practical and integrated into daily workflows (not just written guidance).

Equally important is training and culture change: moving beyond one-time sessions to ongoing education, reinforcement, and shared responsibility. This session also introduces attendees to a DoD special collection environment and the unique challenges faced when RIM compliance is under-credited, showing why resilience and adaptability matter in building an audit-ready program.