Methods and systems are provided for retaining and managing global records of an organization. In one implementation, a method is provided for retaining global records of an organization. The method may include storing, in a memory device, at least one arrangement of data items classified according to a hierarchical classification structure providing a normalization scheme for classifying the data items, the data items comprising global data of an organization and a retention schedule corresponding to the global data. Additionally, the method may include retaining the data items according to the retention schedule, wherein the retention schedule comprises a plurality of retention rules including a global retention rule defining a first duration for retaining the data items consistent with a set of predetermined requirements, and at least one exception rule for retaining at least one data item for a second duration.