business record

{{Short description|Document that records business activities}}

{{wiktionary|business record}}

A business record is a document (hard copy or digital) that records an "act, condition, or event"{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YSMqlgYd814C&q=%22Business+record%22+examples&pg=PA36|title=California. Court of Appeal (1st Appellate District). Records and Briefs: 5CIV5934, Appellant's Opening|pages=36|language=en|last1 = (State)|first1 = California}} related to business. Business records include meeting minutes, memoranda, employment contracts, and accounting source documents.

It must be retrievable at a later date so that the business dealings can be accurately reviewed as required. Since business is dependent upon confidence and trust, not only must the record be accurate and easily retrieved, but the processes surrounding its creation and retrieval must be perceived by customers and the business community to consistently deliver a full and accurate record with no gaps or additions.{{Cite book|last=Packard|first=Silas Sadler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7dLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Business+record%22&pg=PA38|title=A Complete Course of Business Training ... Adapted to Use in Business Colleges|date=1872|publisher=The Author|pages=38|language=en}}

Most business records have specified retention periods based on legal requirements and/or internal company policies. This is important because in many countries (including the United States), many documents may be required by law to be disclosed to government regulatory agencies or to the general public. Likewise, they may be discoverable if the business is sued. Under the business records exception in the Federal Rules of Evidence, certain types of business records, particularly those made and kept with regularity, may be considered admissible in court despite containing hearsay.{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FI-tAPIufZoC&q=%22Business+record%22&pg=PA5|title=Foreign Evidence Rules Amendment: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 5406 ... April 25, 1984|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1986|pages=5|language=en}}