Question & Answer

Question: In our year 2000 work, we have not yet given much attention to PCs. Do you have any suggestions for what we should do?

Answer: Year 2000 can affect anything with a computer chip, including cars, elevators, and the bank safe to say nothing of personal computers. So they should definitely be on your project list. For help, you should check the web page for your regulatory agency. The Federal Reserve Board has a growing resource on its Year 2000 site. Just go to http://www.federalreserve.gov/y2k/ for all kinds of information. The Federal Reserve is maintaining a list of resources for Year 2000 and has put in links to other sites that may be helpful. So, get into the Fed's site and you can go lots of places. Also go to the FFIEC site at http://www.ffiec.gov/y2k/.

The Fed's site includes copies of testimony given by Governors of the FRB and the Comptroller of the Currency. Documents such as these may be useful for distributing to your board and senior management. There is also an article that briefly explains what to check and how to check with regard to personal computers.

Another source to check is the maker of your hardware. These companies are gradually providing information through hotlines and web sites. Also, contact the developers of all software you are using - particularly operating systems. Even Windows 95 may not be Year 2000 compliant! The developers should be able to tell you whether their product is compliant or what you can do (such as purchase an upgrade) to bring the software into compliance.

Copyright © 1997 Compliance Action. Originally appeared in Compliance Action, Vol. 2, No. 18, 12/97