Document Management Systems – Legislative Compliance, Good Governance and Municipal Practice

Document management refers to a system used for creating, managing and storing documents within an organisation. Municipalities require a system of this nature to remedy adverse audit findings due to unsubstantiated financial transactions and contract awards. This paper investigates the legislative requirements for such a document management system, good governance principles related to management of documents, and current practice in municipalities. It was found that municipalities do not make adequate use of document management systems and that implementing such would assist to address the audit findings. This paper concludes that an external intervention is required to set municipalities on a path towards effective documents management and provides guidance for the implementation of document management systems, including addressing organisation needs, an implementation strategy, involving the management and employees, and ensuring a seamless user experience to maximise use of the system and achievement of the business case.