audit trails
Documented action history
An audit trail is a chronological record documenting the sequence of activities affecting a transaction, file, or process.
In accounting, audit trails let examiners trace figures back to source documents.
In computing, they log who accessed what data and when: The audit trail showed the file was modified at 3 a.m.
Organizations maintain audit trails for security, compliance, and accountability—reconstructing what happened if something goes wrong.
- internal controlsOrganizational oversight procedures
- recordsStored data or albums
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- smoking gunIrrefutable proof of wrongdoing
- forensic accountingExamining records for fraud
follow the money · logs · compliance · verification · accountability · who did what · tracking · digital footprint · traceability · immutable · tamper-proof · fraud detection · red flags · transactions · chain of custody · documentation · transparency · data integrity
- financebank, CFO, banks, controller, finance
- securitysecurity guard, security cameras, alarm system, security system, lock
- office recordsmemos, reports, invoices, receipts, timesheets
- recordsbirth records, world record, record, Guinness, documents
- accountingbookkeeping, ledger, balance sheet, general ledger, accounts payable
- Accounting Softwareaccounting software, QuickBooks, general ledger, payroll software, Sage
audit trailsanonymity
Unknown identity state
cover-up · data destruction · plausible deniability · opacity · unaccountability
audit trailsplausible deniability
Arranged protection from accountability
trail, audit, audio, auditorium, inaudible, auditor, auditory, audits, auditors