For audit trail, which statement best captures its core function?

• A. It lists all employees who accessed the system.
• B. It provides a trace path for transactions from origin to output.
• C. It forecasts budgets.
• D. It reconciles accounts monthly.

Answer: (B)

An audit trail is about tracing the lifecycle of a transaction from start to finish. It provides a record of where a transaction originated, every step it passed through, who handled it, when each step occurred, and what data changed. This level of traceability lets you reconstruct events, verify that processes were carried out correctly, and detect errors or tampering.

That’s why the statement about providing a trace path for transactions from origin to output is the best fit. Listing all employees who accessed the system describes an access log, which is related but not the core function. Forecasting budgets and monthly account reconciliation are unrelated to the fundamental purpose of an audit trail.