The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has issued a new Statement of Guidance for Nature, Accessibility and Retention of Records (SOG). The SOG applies to all persons and entities regulated or registered with CIMA, including mutual funds and private funds registered under the Mutual Funds Act and Private Funds Act, respectively.

The SOG sets minimum expectations for a regulated entity’s record-keeping arrangements. While specific arrangements may vary according to the size, complexity, structure, nature of business, and risk profile of an entity’s operations, the records and systems must be adequate to satisfy CIMA’s requirements and relevant regulations and statutory provisions.

From a classification perspective, the term “records” includes any documents which originate electronically or which are electronic copies of paper-based records.

• Review record-keeping arrangements, policies, and procedures - Ensure that records management policies and systems are up-to-date and adequate to meet the SOG’s requirements. Record-keeping arrangements must be sufficient to enable CIMA to monitor compliance with regulatory and anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing obligations, for example, as part of any inspection process.
• Ensure that records are legible and easily accessible.
• Put in place measures to allow document retention for a minimum of five years and dispose of them when necessary.
• Ensure good quality digital record-keeping procedures - scanning paper-based records and the creation, retention, storage, and disposal of records using emerging technologies such as cloud-based services should adhere to the same record-keeping standards as paper-based records storage.
• Review processes relating to storing records outside of the Cayman Islands - Regulated entities that maintain their accounting and other records in a location outside of the Cayman Islands should ensure that the data is kept secure, they mitigate against operational risk, and they comply with the Confidential Information Disclosure Act.

The SOG does not codify or amend any existing statutory or regulatory provision, and where the guidance is incompatible with an existing act, the act takes precedence and prevails.

At Harneys, we are committed to helping our clients navigate the regulatory landscape. If you have any questions or need help complying with the SOG, please do not hesitate to contact us.