Audit Trail: Why Document Access Logging Is Mandatory
Who accessed the document? Who modified it? Who deleted it? Without an audit trail, you have no answers to these questions.
What Is an Audit Trail?
An audit trail is an automatic log of all activities related to documents: who accessed, who modified, who downloaded, who deleted, when, and from which location. It's the "black box" of your document management system.
Why Is an Audit Trail Mandatory?
- GDPR: you must know who accessed personal data
- Archival law: document integrity must be provable
- ISO standards: ISO 27001 requires access logging
- Tax audits: inspectors may require proof that a document wasn't altered
What Does an Audit Trail Record?
| Activity | Recorded Data |
|---|---|
| Document access | User, time, IP address |
| Document modification | User, time, what was changed |
| Download | User, time, download format |
| Deletion | User, time, reason (if provided) |
| Sharing | User, recipient, access level |
Practical Examples
Example 1: An employee claims they never saw the contract: the audit trail shows they opened the document 3 times.
Example 2: An inspector requests proof that an invoice wasn't altered: the audit trail confirms integrity from the moment of creation.
Conclusion
Arhivix automatically logs every activity on documents. Complete access, modification, and deletion records, with zero extra work. Legal compliance out of the box. Try it free.
