audit trail

noun

1. Accounting. the process or an instance of cross-referring each bookkeeping entry to its source in order to facilitate checking its accuracy.
2. Computers. a track of a particular item of output data back through the processing steps that produced it to the corresponding input data.

audit trail

noun

1. a record of all the transactions or data entries that a person or firm has carried out over a specific period

Word History and Origins

Origin of audit trail¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Pun Group’s senior auditor told the county during the meeting July 23 that VAS “lacked internal controls, did not follow federal uniform guidelines,” and it did not have the necessary records to assemble an audit trail.

From Los Angeles Times

An electronic voting machine has a ballot unit, a control unit for an official to ensure a voter can vote only once, and a voter verifiable paper audit trail unit, known as VVPAT, which produces a paper slip to verify the vote if challenged.

From Seattle Times

In addition, the inspector general report outlined a slew of insufficiencies in the IRS security, stating that it “has repeatedly reported that a key deficiency in the IRS’s detection and deterrence processes is not ensuring that all sensitive systems are providing complete, accurate, and usable audit trail logs for monitoring and identifying unauthorized access and for other investigative purposes.”

From Seattle Times

Werfel said that since the agency has received funding through Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, it has been able to markedly improve the security of sensitive information, including audit trail deficiencies.

From Seattle Times

On the back wall behind the laptops is a large screen, showing an audit trail of the changes each party makes to the contract.

From BBC