Audit trails and document tracking are among the most effective methods to ensure accountability and transparency, as well as to help you comply with the regulatory requirements. The method you use to store your documents can make a significant difference in the ease of tracking document activity. Paper is unreliable, and even digital storage can be difficult to organize and locate when you need it. Choosing a document management system with powerful features such as audit trails is crucial in establishing and maintaining reliable records of the who and what, when, and where each change to your documents.
Utilizing an audit trail to track document activity can help you improve your workflows and make quicker decisions and identify the bottlenecks in your processes. Audit trails, for example can show that one of your team members takes the longest time to read or sign an item. This gives you the chance to reconsider the process and make adjustments to improve efficiency.
In a variety of industries, audit trails are a mandatory component of ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. By proving the compliance of regulations with precise and concise evidence, companies can avoid costly infringements.
A good audit trail will include timestamps and user names as well as descriptions of actions. This gives a complete report for every document status change, and the person responsible for the change, as well as who was responsible for it. This level of detail helps to promote transparency, as it allows you to determine who is responsible for any unauthorized or incorrect modifications. It also helps prevent fraud by giving investigators to trace back any suspicious activities.