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Although the information audit may be considered one of the most important tools in information management, it is important to accept that as yet there are no standardized guidelines let alone methodologies for such a procedure[1]. The parallel with standard financial auditing is therefore a loose one. Nevertheless, information auditing can make an enormous contribution not only to good management of information resources and services, but also, perhaps more importantly, to corporate awareness of the part played by such resources and services in the work of an organization, whether it be in the private, government or non-profit making sector.
In the UK, decision making at board or top management level is heavily dependent on internal financial information. Relatively less attention is given to external information either on competitor activity or on the general economic, social and political environment[2]. Internal data are frequently expressed in terms of conventions which categorize information services and resources as non-productive overheads. In these circumstances expenditure on information resources and services is often under threat when policy decisions to cut costs are taken, and such cuts can indeed produce obvious short-term gains. The situation is less acute where information services are seen as an integral part of research and development but, as is well known, even the latter has often been subject to cost-cutting pressures. Moreover, information typically should be able to support decisions on a much wider corporate or institutional basis than research only.
One recent study[3] found that two-thirds of UK companies have no formal information policy. In the area of external information, 41 per cent of respondents considered newspapers and journals as the most valued source, followed by word of mouth (21 per cent) and online services (12 per cent). With respect to internal information only four out of 515 respondents made any use of corporate libraries, and 91 per cent rated meetings and word of mouth as the most important information source.
This is not to say that expenditure on information is insignificant. It is often both substantial and disorganized, with frequent reliance on expensive external consultants when a situation arises requiring research on a particularly pressing matter. The contribution of such consultancies can of course be highly cost-effective, but if the internal capacity to identify and...