One of the most important parameters of accounting tools is confidence in the information. Let’s take a familiar and very accessible tool that is often used for financial accounting – Excel. Its critical flaw is the falsification of data. The user can change/delete any figure at any time. Sometimes by mistake, sometimes on purpose.
In an ERP system, you do not just have numbers, but transactions created as a result of accounting for a particular primary document of business activity. If there is an error in a document, you cannot correct it directly or delete the document.
You can create a new document that adds the same transaction to the accounting records but with the opposite sign. This document will correct the total amount and then allow you to create a new primary document where you can enter the correct data. Storing information about an error, creating a corrective document, and then creating a correct document is what an audit trail is.
Any manipulation of documents must be recorded. This gives the data credibility. Business Central fully meets the requirements of an audit trail. Unlike the popular Russian accounting system 1C/BAS.
Because the recorded documents retain their original appearance, the system is a carrier of reliable information for management and owners. The ability to have a so-called “audit trail” helps to prevent data manipulation and misuse in the organization.
For the errors that sometimes occur when you need to correct the data in a posted document, Business Central provides convenient mechanisms for reversing selected documents. Transactions are created in the opposite direction and at the same time a new document is opened with all the fields filled in, which can be corrected and re-accounted.
Business Central also has a great feature for previewing transactions during the accounting process. This allows the user to take a second look and double-check themselves before posting the document.