Abstract The Open Data movement has assumed that that accurate data is available to
demonstrate government expenditure and actions. However, in many countries, the records
of government policies, activities and transactions that should provide the basis for a large
proportion of government data are incomplete, inaccurate or inaccessible. This will result in
inaccurate data. This paper suggests that alongside the enthusiasm for Open Data, there
needs to be parallel attention to ensuring that government records are managed as the …