Para 3.22.74 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
3.22.74 The objective of the audit trail is to obtain sufficient evidence in regard to the reliability and integrity of the application system. To achieve this, the audit trail should contain enough information to allow the management, the auditor and the user to
(i) recreate processing action;
(ii) verify summary totals; and
(iii) trace the sources of intentional and unintentional errors.
What This Means
The audit trail's purpose is to provide sufficient evidence about the reliability and integrity of an application system. It should contain enough information for management, auditors, and users to recreate processing actions, verify summary totals by breaking them down into their components, and trace the sources of both intentional and unintentional errors in the system.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1The audit trail provides evidence of application system reliability and integrity
- 2It must allow management, auditors, and users to recreate processing actions
- 3Summary totals must be verifiable by tracing them to their component transactions
- 4Sources of both intentional and unintentional errors must be traceable
- 5The audit trail serves three user groups: management, auditors, and end users
Practical Example
A government department's monthly accounts show total expenditure of Rs. 5 crore under a particular budget head. Using the audit trail, the auditor can: recreate how this total was derived by following the processing steps from individual vouchers through daily summaries to monthly totals; verify the Rs. 5 crore by adding up all the component transactions; and when they find a Rs. 2 lakh discrepancy, trace it back to a specific voucher where a data entry clerk accidentally entered Rs. 3,50,000 instead of Rs. 1,50,000 (unintentional error). The audit trail shows exactly who entered the incorrect amount, when, and from which terminal.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between tracing intentional and unintentional errors?▼
Who uses the audit trail besides auditors?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.