Payment firms often publish retention matrices that look complete in a policy PDF and incomplete in the ticket queue. The gap is ownership: who triggers deletion, who checks the log, and who keeps the certificate.
When we audit schedules, we ask for the named owner beside each data class. If the cell is blank, the period is aspirational. Examiners notice the same blank cells.
Assign owners before you rewrite periods. A shorter schedule with a working purge beats a perfect matrix nobody runs.
Keep the matrix where platform and compliance both edit it. A slide deck freezes the day after the all-hands.