GD Accounting Glossary
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Audit Trail

The chronological record showing who did what and when in the books — every entry traceable to its source.

An audit trail is the chain of evidence behind every number: the invoice behind the revenue, the receipt behind the expense, the user and timestamp behind each change.

Good systems never truly delete — they reverse or annotate — so the trail stays intact. Auditors, tax reviews, and disputes are all resolved by walking the trail.

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