The most tedious hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Also, a series of accounting records that allow people to follow how money has been spent.
It may seem relatively obvious where money gets spent. In a large company, though, the way funds get distributed sometimes becomes murky. To keep tabs on everything, a system of documentation is put in place, making sure a paper trail exists that the accountants can follow later. This documentation is known as the audit trail, or sometimes the audit log.
Here's a quick example: you take a flight for a business trip. The audit trail for the flight might be the ticket confirmation, the statement from your company credit card showing the purchased ticket, the approval from your supervisor, and maybe some info about where you were going.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What is a proxy?8 Views
Finance a la Shmoop. What is a proxy? Well it's kind of an approx-i-mate. As in, it's
not exactly the way dogs mate. Not all of them try to text their goodies to each
other. In the land of Finance, a proxy is simply a substitute.
Someone's vote, for example, can be given to another party, who then acts on behalf
of the person, who was going to vote in the first place. But really couldn't care [coffee drive-thru]
less about the outcome, so she went to Dunkin Donuts instead. That's how
most votes are taken in public companies. Proxies are sent out to shareholders, who
then designate their wishes, to then be submitted to an individual, physically
present at the vote, who then you know votes and that's it.
We'll leave you with final warning. Beware of any incoming texts you may get
from a German Shepherd. [Phone with dog text]
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