Reference table
The financial audit trail
Sets out what Vault records for each posting, correction and approval, the fields held, and how the trail reconciles to the ledger.
Vault writes an entry for every posting, correction and approval, in the same step as the change it records. This page sets out what each entry holds, the fields it carries, and how the trail reconciles to the ledger.
What gets an entry
Every money movement and every critical configuration change writes one entry. The entry is written in the same step as the change, so a committed change carries its record.
| Event | What the entry records |
|---|---|
| Charge posted | A new charge against an encounter. |
| Charge resolved | A held charge cleared onto the books. |
| Charge accepted | A held charge consciously accepted by a named employee. |
| Charge cancelled | A charge voided before its invoice was finalised. |
| Charge reversed | A charge on a finalised invoice reversed by credit note. |
| Invoice finalised | A numbered invoice raised and its charges locked. |
| Invoice cancelled | A numbered invoice voided with its number preserved. |
| Payment taken | Money received against an invoice. |
| Refund issued | Money returned to a payer or a patient. |
| Deposit collected | An advance held as a liability. |
| Deposit drawn | A deposit applied against a bill. |
| Credit note issued | A typed reversal, a write-off among them. |
| Claim opened | An insurance claim started for an encounter. |
| Claim moved | An insurance claim advanced to a new state. |
| Ledger posting | A balanced entry posted to the accounts. |
| Price rule published | A pricing or tax rule made effective. |
| Configuration change | A change to a site financial setting. |
| Period sealed | An accounting period closed. |
| Period reopened | A sealed period reopened under approval. |
| Approval decided | A pending request approved or rejected. |
| Override executed | A second-signature action carried out. |
| Master import | A bulk load of finance master data. |
Fields held per entry
Each entry carries who acted, what they did, the entity they touched, and the timing and position of the change.
actor person or system Required | The person who acted, or the named system role that acted. |
action label Required | The kind of event, drawn from a fixed list. |
entity reference Required | The type and reference of the charge, invoice, payment or record touched. |
account reference Required | The finance account the entry belongs to. |
reason label | A reason from a fixed list where the action carries one. |
occurredAt timestamp Required | When the change happened. |
recordedAt timestamp Required | When the entry was written. |
position number Required | The place of the entry in its account's chain. |
priorLink reference Required | The link to the entry before it, forming an unbroken chain. |
detail sealed Required | The before and after of the change, held sealed. |
An unbroken chain
Each entry carries its position and a link to the entry before it. Together the entries form an unbroken chain for each finance account. An entry is added and then held as written.
The trail moves with the change
The entry is written in the same step as the change, so a committed change carries its entry, and the chain reads continuously from the first entry to the last.
Reconciling to the ledger
Every posting that moves the books writes a balanced ledger entry in the same step, with equal debit and credit. The two are cross-referenced, so the trail and the accounts read as one.
| From | To | How they tie |
|---|---|---|
| A posting | A ledger entry | Written together in one step, each carrying the other's reference. |
| A correction | A new ledger entry | The new entry references the original, and the original stays as posted. |
| A period | Its entries | At close the period is sealed and its entries fixed. |
Locked periods
When an accounting period closes, it is sealed. A posting aimed at a sealed period lands instead in the current open period, carrying a back-reference to the original. Reopening a sealed period waits on a second signature, and the reason is recorded from a fixed list.
Common questions
Is an entry edited when a figure changes?
Entries are added and then held as written. A correction is a new entry that references the original, so the trail grows rather than being rewritten.
How does the trail tie to the accounts?
Each money movement writes a balanced ledger entry in the same step, cross-referenced to its source, so the audit trail and the ledger reconcile to each other.
How long is an entry kept?
An entry is kept for as long as the financial record it describes. The hospital sets that term as its books-of-account and tax retention period, and the entry is held as written for the whole of it. The period for each record class is set out in retention.
Trace a control to its mechanism in the controls matrix.