Yes, it was documented in our ISO 9000 docs. But only 'strongly recommended' to perform a regular/routine test restore. I attempted to get it converted to a mandatory step, but since I was only a temporary sysadmin and an intern, it wasn't going to happen.

I was told by my predecessor (who was a direct contractor to my employer) to perform it as routinely as I could. I would guess that he had attempted to get it put as a mandatory step, but his time was billed, mine wasn't, so shrug.

My/the replacement was an external contractor as part of a 'company Y now provides system administration services' deal, who presumably ended up eating the liability of not having working backups that they were contracted to produce.

As horrified as I was, 'it's not really my problem, I wasn't responsible' was the only attitude I could bear to take. Besides, I was busy with fortran.