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July 2002
6.9 Required items
Where the official receiver becomes aware that computerised accounting records have been kept he should obtain:-
the storage media on which the records are held, e.g. floppy disks, CDs, tapes etc (see paragraphs 66.11 to 66.14),
a detailed record of the system and its operators including system user names and passwords (see paragraphs 66.15 to 66.16) and,
where practical, a printout (see paragraph 66.17).
66.10 Records maintained by a computer bureau
A business which has computerised accounting records will not necessarily have any computing capacity of its own. All or part of its records may be maintained by a computer services bureau located elsewhere. The official receiver will have to obtain details of the contract between the insolvent and the computer bureau and may have to consider employing the bureau to obtain the data stored by them (reference in such circumstances should be made to chapter 32.3, Part 4).
66.11 Storage media handed over by director/bankrupt
When a director or bankrupt hands over any disks containing accounting records the examiner should establish:-
that as far as the director is aware that the media is undamaged.
It is important that the examiner does not access the media to confirm any of the information.
The disks should be placed in approved evidential bags, which will include a list of the contents and be signed and sealed in front of the director/bankrupt. Forms DR F1 - Source Detail Form and DR F2 - Property Inventory Form should be completed before the bags are sealed. Forms DR F3 and DR F4 (activity logs) will also be created at this time although not necessarily before the bags are sealed (for details of these forms see Appendix 1). These forms are completed in addition to the Schedule of Records handed over and any receipt issued for the accounting records (see Chapter 10 - Part 2). Forms DR F2 and DR F4 are specific to the individual bags and should be kept with them.
Notes: [BPRCT] [SRHO]
The DR F forms are available on the Intranet and should be printed out for manual completion. Local variations on these forms must not be used.
66.12 Obtaining copies of the media
Where the official receiver needs copies of the media, for accessing the data or obtaining printouts, the examiner should inform his Local Network Officer (LNO) that computer media has been delivered. The LNO will then telephone CUST to inform them that the office will be sending computerised records for imaging. The LNO should provide CUST with the name of the case, the court number, the name of the examiner dealing with it, the operating system used, the type of application software used and the recorded delivery number. CUST will maintain a log of the case and issue an identification number. The LNO should then send the media, sealed inside an envelope with all the above details written on it, to CUST, by recorded delivery post on the same day that the call was made. Media received in the office on Friday should not be mailed until Monday, as post is more likely to go missing over the weekend.
CUST will call the LNO to confirm when the media is received. If the LNO has not received a call within one day of dispatch the LNO should call CUST to chase up.
On arrival of the disk CUST will access the media and make at least two images. The original media is then put in a sealed container and the seal is endorsed and dated by the CUST officer. One image will be the working copy of the media for accessing by the official receiver, another image will be retained by CUST. The CUST officer completes a declaration to say that true images of the media have been made, and that the original media was then sealed and endorsed as such. CUST aims to turnaround work involving SAGE packages within a week. CUST will then inform the LNO when they are ready to dispatch both the original media and, separately, an image of the media back to the office. Both packages are sent by recorded delivery post. The LNO should call CUST within one day to confirm that the media sets have been received. CUST will then record the case as completed on their log..
66.13 Records held on computer system - no media available
Where the records are held on a computer system and the director/bankrupt is unable or unwilling to provide a copy on appropriate media, or the volume of data is too great to be printed, a site visit (inspection) will be needed.
The official receiver should immediately ascertain details of:-
who the computer belongs to,
whether it is a stand alone or network system,
what operating system is used,
any usernames and passwords,
what package the records are held on,
what version of the package is being used,
what period the data relates to, and
that as far as the director/bankrupt is aware the system is undamaged and operational.
Under no circumstances should the official receiver’s staff turn the machine ‘off’ or ‘on’ or attempt to access the system or data. In such circumstances the examiner should immediately contact CUST to discuss what should be done. If the system cannot be removed, either for technical reasons or because it is owned by a third party or shared, it is to be secured as well as possible and CUST should be requested, using form DR F5, to arrange for an officer to go to the trading address as a matter of urgency to extract the data. If CUST advises that the system can be removed it should be bagged and sealed and taken back to the official receiver’s office.
Where the computer is removed to the official receiver’s office the LNO should telephone CUST to arrange a date for a CUST officer to visit the office to take an image or remove appropriate hardware / media. The LNO should provide CUST with the name of the case, court number, the name of the examiner dealing with it and the type of system and software. CUST will then log the case detail and issue an identification number. CUST will then advise the LNO of when a CUST officer can attend.
66.14 Obtaining copies of the data
On attending either the site or official receiver’s office the CUST officer will assess the situation and take at least two images of the data. Where the images cannot be taken on site the CUST officer will remove the equipment to deal with it at HQ Birmingham where a greater array of tools will be available. One image will be placed in a sealed container for evidential purposes and the seal will be endorsed and dated by the CUST officer. The CUST officer will also complete a declaration that states that he has extracted a true image of the data from the system and that it has immediately been sealed and endorsed by the CUST officer. One image will be retained for archiving at CUST. The CUST officer will then copy the accounting record information onto a working copy disk to be used in the administration of the case.
The CUST officer will, where possible, leave one image and the working copy disk of the data with the examiner and CUST will retain an image for their log. Where CUST have to remove equipment to bring back to site for analysis they will inform the LNO when they will be sending the image and working copy to the office. The image and working copy are sent separately by recorded delivery post. The LNO must call CUST within one day to confirm that both packages have been received and CUST will then record the case as completed on their log.
[Back to Part 1 - Introduction and definitions] [Part 3 - Making a record of the computer system and its contents]