Audit Trail Definition

Audit trail — a recorded history of practically each activity or process related to work with a time and date stamp associated to every entry, also known as audit log. Some trails only record minute tasks like checks for virus while others can carry data for a complex process. To put this into perspective, large corporations could have enormous audit trails in comparison to smaller businesses which can have significantly less.

A common example providing to illustrate audit trails is transaction with receipt. A customer purchases something from the store and is subsequently given receipt that recorded the transaction now exists as audit trail. These help with keeping track of processes and highlight any irregularities to be examined.