audit trail

American  

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.

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audit trail British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of audit trail

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

"This would remove the need for paper letters or referrals to be sent, speed up the process, and provide an audit trail of receipt and action on the system."

From BBC • Jul. 26, 2023

Neither here nor elsewhere is anyone discussing the extensive audit trail compiled by local auditors, Wyman said.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2021

The paper ballot, in theory, provides an audit trail that can be used to verify digital tallies.

From New York Times • Sep. 26, 2018

Machines that do not produce a voter-verified paper audit trail are currently in use—though not exclusively—in another nine states: Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Pennsylvania.

From Slate • Apr. 12, 2018

These provide instantaneous transfer of funds and no audit trail.

From Crime and Corruption by Vaknin, Samuel