Audit Readiness in Business Central

In today’s regulatory and compliance-driven environment, businesses must maintain complete transparency over their financial transactions. Whether you're preparing for an internal audit, external audit, or regulatory review, having a robust audit trail is essential.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is designed with auditability at its core. It provides tools that ensure every transaction is traceable, every change is logged, and every user action is accountable.

Key Audit-Ready Features in Business Central

• Change Log: Tracks changes to master data and setup.

• General Ledger Entries: Immutable and fully traceable.

• User Permissions & Roles: Ensure segregation of duties.

• Workflow Approvals: Documented approval chains.

• Document Attachments: Store supporting evidence directly in the system.

  
  

These features give auditors confidence in the integrity of your financial data and reduce the time and effort required to perform audits.

Deep Dive into the Audit Trail Tools

1. The Change Log: A Digital Paper Trail

The Change Log in Business Central records changes to:

• Master records (e.g., vendors, customers, items)

• Setup tables (e.g., posting groups, dimensions)

• User permissions

Each log entry includes:

• Date and time

• User ID

• Old value and new value

• Table and field name

  
  

✅ Auditors can easily trace who changed what, when, and why—ensuring accountability and compliance.

2. General Ledger Integrity

Once a transaction is posted to the General Ledger, it is:

• Immutable: Cannot be edited or deleted.

• Linked to source documents (e.g., invoices, journals).

• Tagged with dimensions for contextual reporting.

  
  

This ensures that all financial data is historically accurate and fully traceable.

3. Workflow Approvals and Audit Trails

Business Central supports workflow approvals for:

• Purchase and sales documents

• Journal entries

• Vendor and customer changes

  
  

Each approval step is logged, providing a clear audit trail of who approved what and when.

Auditor Experience and Best Practices

Auditor-Friendly Navigation

Auditors can be granted read-only access with filtered views, allowing them to:

• Review posted transactions

• Trace document flows (e.g., from purchase order to payment)

• Export data to Excel or Power BI

  
  

This reduces the need for IT or finance teams to manually extract data.

Best Practices for Audit Readiness

1. Enable the Change Log for all critical tables.

2. Use workflows for approvals and document control.

3. Attach supporting documents to transactions.

4. Maintain clear user roles and permissions.

5. Use dimensions to add context to financial entries.

   
   
   
   

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides a comprehensive, built-in audit trail that supports transparency, accountability, and compliance. With tools like the Change Log, immutable ledger entries, and workflow approvals, auditors can confidently verify the integrity of your financial data—without disrupting your operations.

Whether you're preparing for a year-end audit or building a culture of financial control, Business Central gives you the tools to do it right.