Audit trail
An audit trail is a chronological, tamper-evident record of the creation, modification and deletion of data, showing who did what, when and, where relevant, why. It allows auditors and authorities to reconstruct how evidence, such as a plot map or risk decision, came to be.
Also known as: audit log · change history · data lineage · provenance
Why does it matter?
Compliance evidence is only credible if it can be reconstructed. Under the EUDR, operators must document and review risk assessments, keep records for five years and make them available on request. Certification bodies ask similar questions. When a plot was re-mapped, a farmer merged or a risk flag cleared, the reviewer needs to see the before and after.
How does it work?
- Every change creates a new record, rather than overwriting the old value.
- Each record captures the user or system, timestamp, action and, ideally, a reason.
- Records are protected against alteration, for example through append-only storage or cryptographic hashes.
- Views allow reconstruction of the data as it was at any date, such as the date of a statement.
Common pitfalls
- Overwriting polygons after corrections, losing the original.
- Shared accounts that make it impossible to know who acted.
- Audit logs that exist technically but cannot be queried by compliance teams.
- Retaining personal data longer than necessary; retention rules must balance audit needs with data protection.
Farmer1st keeps a full history of first-mile records, so every statement can be traced to the data that supported it. See data integration.
Frequently asked questions
Does the EUDR require an audit trail?
The EUDR does not use the term, but requires operators to keep due diligence documentation for at least five years and to demonstrate how information was checked and risk determined. An audit trail makes that demonstration possible.
What should an audit trail capture for plot data?
Who captured or edited the geometry, when, with which device or method, the previous version, and the reason for change, such as a correction after a field visit.
Tell us about your supply chain.
Ten minutes with our scoping assistant. We come back with a first sketch of your service.
