Audit Trail¶
Last reviewed: 2026-04-01 · Nnamdi
Status: Complete
Route: /tax/audit-trail
1. What is it?¶
Audit Trail is a visual pipeline showing how transactions flow through Finora's accounting system — from Source Documents through Journal Entries, the General Ledger, Financial Statements, and ultimately to Tax Computations. Each stage shows a count of records, and clicking a stage reveals an explanation of that stage's role. This is an educational and verification tool: it helps business owners and accountants understand and verify the data pipeline that produces their tax figures.
2. How does it work in Finora?¶
2.1 The Audit Trail page (/tax/audit-trail)¶
Header: - Heading: "Audit Trail" - Subtitle: "Visualize how your transactions flow from source documents to tax computations"
"How It Works" button — expandable section explaining the pipeline.
Time period filter: - "Show data for:" Last 30 days / Last Quarter / Last Year
2.2 The five-stage pipeline¶
The page displays five stages connected by arrows, each as a clickable card:
| Stage | Count (test business) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Source Documents | 0 | Invoices, receipts, expenses, bills — the original transaction records |
| 2. Journal Entries | 6 | Double-entry bookkeeping transactions generated from source documents |
| 3. General Ledger | 120 | Individual account balances in the Chart of Accounts, updated by journal entries |
| 4. Financial Statements | 3 | P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow — aggregated from the General Ledger |
| 5. Tax Computations | 0 | CIT, CGT, VAT, WHT, PAYE — calculated from financial statements and transaction data |
Clicking a stage expands it to show a description of what that stage represents.
2.3 Stage detail (example: Journal Entries)¶
Clicking "Journal Entries 6" shows:
Journal Entries "Double-entry bookkeeping transactions generated from source documents" "Journal entries are automatically created when you post transactions. Each entry shows the debit and credit accounts affected."
3. Business rules & constraints¶
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Visual pipeline only | This is a read-only visualization — you cannot create or edit records from this page |
| Counts are filtered by time period | The record counts change based on the selected time filter (Last 30 days / Last Quarter / Last Year) |
| Source Documents → Tax Computations | The pipeline shows the complete audit trail from original transactions to tax figures |
| Automatic generation | Journal entries, GL postings, and financial statements are generated automatically — no manual steps needed |
| Tax Computations depend on other modules | Tax computations only appear here if CIT/CGT computations have been created in their respective modules |
4. Nigerian regulatory context¶
Audit trail requirements¶
Nigerian tax law (NTA 2025 / NTAA 2025) requires businesses to maintain adequate records to support their tax returns. An audit trail demonstrating how source documents produce financial statements and tax computations is a best practice for: - NRS audits: Proving that tax figures are derived from actual transactions - CAC compliance: Supporting annual financial statements filed with CAC - External audits: Auditors (ICAN/ANAN) expect a clear audit trail from source to statements
Double-entry bookkeeping¶
Finora uses double-entry bookkeeping (every transaction has equal debit and credit entries). The Audit Trail visualizes this: Source Documents create Journal Entries, which update the General Ledger, which produces Financial Statements.
5. Common customer questions¶
Q: "Source Documents shows 0. Is that an error?"
If no transactions were created in the selected time period, Source Documents will show 0. Try changing the time filter to "Last Year" to see if there are records in earlier periods.
Q: "Journal Entries shows 6 but I only created 1 payroll run. Why?"
A single payroll run creates multiple journal entries — one for each component (salaries expense, PAYE liability, pension liability, net pay, employer pension). The count reflects individual JE entries, not source transactions.
Q: "General Ledger shows 120. What are those?"
The 120 represents the number of Chart of Accounts entries (accounts) that have been updated by journal entries in the selected period. This includes all revenue, expense, asset, liability, and equity accounts affected by transactions.
Q: "Tax Computations shows 0. Why?"
Tax computations are only created when you generate them in the CIT Computations or CGT Computations modules. If no computations have been generated, this stage shows 0.
Q: "What does this page actually do?"
It's a visualization tool — it doesn't create or modify data. It shows you the complete chain from your original transactions (invoices, expenses) all the way through to your tax figures, so you can verify that everything connects properly. It's especially useful during audits.
6. Known edge cases¶
Source Documents = 0 despite having transactions¶
The time period filter may be excluding older transactions. The test business shows Source Documents = 0 for the last 30 days because no new invoices, receipts, or expenses were created in that window. The 6 journal entries and 120 GL entries are from payroll posted within the period.
Financial Statements = 3¶
The 3 financial statements are the P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement — these are always present as they are generated dynamically from the GL. The count represents the number of statement types, not individual reports.
7. Escalation trigger¶
Escalate to Tier 3 (Founder) if: - Pipeline counts are clearly wrong (e.g., 0 journal entries despite posted transactions) - Clicking a stage shows an error instead of the description
Escalate to Tier 2 (Support Lead) if: - Customer needs help understanding the audit trail for an NRS or external audit - Customer wants a detailed breakdown of which source documents produced which journal entries
8. Last reviewed¶
2026-04-01 — Nnamdi. Verified against production. Audit Trail for COA Test School Academy: 5-stage pipeline confirmed — Source Documents (0) → Journal Entries (6) → General Ledger (120) → Financial Statements (3) → Tax Computations (0). "How It Works" button confirmed. Time period filter: Last 30 days / Last Quarter / Last Year. Journal Entries stage expanded: "Double-entry bookkeeping transactions generated from source documents" + explanation text confirmed. Arrow connectors between stages confirmed.