Table of Content

Audit Trail

An audit trail is the history of actions behind a record, showing what changed, who changed it, and when.

In accounting software, an audit trail helps you follow the story behind invoices, bills, journals, payments, payroll, and settings. It can show when a transaction was created, edited, approved, reversed, deleted, or locked.

That history matters because accounting records are not just numbers. They are evidence for decisions, reports, tax work, accountant reviews, and sometimes formal audits.

Where Audit Trail Appears

You will usually see an audit trail in:

  • transaction histories
  • invoice and bill activity logs
  • journal entry review
  • user access and approval settings
  • lock dates and period-end review
  • accountant or auditor requests

The ATO’s record-keeping rules say business records need to explain transactions and be stored in a way that protects them from being changed or damaged.

How Audit Trail Works In Practice

An audit trail usually records a timestamp, the user, the action, and the affected record. Some systems also record the before-and-after values, notes, approval status, or linked documents.

For example, if a paid invoice is changed from $1,100 to $990, the audit trail should help explain who made the change, when it happened, and whether a credit note or other adjustment supports it.

Simple Example

A bookkeeper notices a supplier bill was edited after the BAS was prepared. The audit trail shows the change happened on 12 July, the account was changed from Repairs to Equipment, and a note says the accountant reclassified it as a capital purchase.

That record makes the change easier to understand and review later.

Why Audit Trail Matters

Audit trails discourage hidden changes and make honest mistakes easier to fix. They help with trust: owners can see what happened, accountants can review adjustments, and auditors can test whether records are reliable.

For companies, ASIC’s company record keeping guidance says financial records should correctly track and explain transactions, financial position, and performance, and that companies must keep financial records for at least 7 years.

Easy Way To Remember It

The audit trail is the “who did what” history behind the books.

How Gimbla Can Help

Gimbla keeps accounting activity connected across invoices, bills, bank transactions, journals, payroll, GST, reports, and lock-date workflows. That gives owners and advisers a clearer path back from a report number to the records behind it.

Helpful Gimbla Guides

In Short

An audit trail shows the history behind accounting records. It helps business owners, bookkeepers, accountants, and auditors trust how transactions were created and changed.