The Paperless Office:

A Growing Legal Concern

Sean Johnson, CA

Director of Professional Services at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.

The concept of a “paperless office” was first suggested with the introduction of the personal computer in 1965. At that time, the marketing message was that computers were going to change the way we did business by reducing the amount of paper consumed. As the years have progressed, it has become apparent that the marketing message was just that, a marketing message. In fact, we have all seen that the paradox of the digital age has been that as computer usage increases, paper consumption increases at record levels.

With the desire for organizations to go green, combined with the need to decrease the cost associated with the preparation and storage of hardcopy documents, companies are taking advantage of the technology available and moving towards a paperless office environment. However, consideration must be given to whether the resulting electronic documents will be considered authentic for legal or regulatory purposes.

This presentation will not focus on the hardware or software that is currently available to allow for the transition to a paperless environment. Rather it will focus on the process that must be followed to maintain the integrity of the electronic documents created. The presenter, Sean Johnson, CA, is Director of Professional Services at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.