Governance, Law & Compliance
Audit trail
A chronological record of actions and changes that allows events to be reviewed later.
Example
An audit trail lets reviewers reconstruct who approved a model and which version ran.
Why it matters
It helps reviewers investigate incidents and establish responsibility for changes.
You'll hear it
“Can we tell whether that approval happened before or after the update?”
Can you control it?
Yes
Yes. An organization can put an audit trail in place through its policies, processes, records, training, or oversight structure. Individual users may participate without controlling the entire program.
Common questions
- Does an audit trail prove a decision was correct?
- No. It can show what happened without establishing that the action was appropriate.
- Can gaps make the record misleading?
- Yes. Missing events can prevent reviewers from reconstructing the full sequence.
- Should everyone be able to see the trail?
- No. It may contain sensitive details, so access should match the person's review responsibilities.