AUDIT - Audit Trail Reporting
What is AUDIT
This application/feature of the system is fully dependent on the correct setup of the ITAS tables. It relies on Database Triggers being in place and these are generated when companies/tables are created usually through SSU (S01).
Some specific tables are totally ignored from audit logging by the application, e.g. inserts into archive tables. The triggers for amendments to the tables are controlled by the IDD column Audit whereby a tick in that column/row will disable collection of audit details for that table column; this is needed for elements such as amendment date/time/user.
A feature of AUDIT is the view of which tables have their triggers set and what is the current status of those audit triggers, use mouse right-click to view 'audit triggers report'.
The audited details are removed after a specified number of days (S01/company/1st screen), for good house-keeping practice.
The data trail is available for user and audit enquiry/viewing. Every database task will be logged. The effect of this is that every insertion/update/deletion is logged with date/time/who and the before/after values. The AUDIT procedure allows filtering of that information for a friendly enquiry.
How to Use
· Start Date - the calendar date range for the search, this date relates to the SQL/database date and not the ITAS working day.
· Audit Group - the type of data to search. Some audit groups will be setup (IDD/Audit Objects) to allow selection of FREEZE tables as an alternative to the current tables/data. Ctrl-F to find.
· Database - will be enabled if Freeze Triggers are available (see above)
· Changed By - allows identification of specific ITAS user account to apply to search (optional)
· Program - allows identification of specific ITAS application to apply to search (optional)
· Filter - will display all relevant columns identified as keys or indexes on the related table and so can accept any combination of search criteria
· Sort Order - the standard sequence is audit date and time. When specific audit groups are selected, there can be an alternative sequence e.g. Contract Ref when a TRADE group has been selected
· Include - there are 3 different types of AUDIT record;
o Insert: a single line with no detail
o Delete: either a single line or a row per field of the deletion (show detail = ticked)
o Updates: can restrict which update you wish to view by use of field changed, old value, new value and can optionally show the actual Database column name by unchecking Show Friendly Names
The results will be a report of every audit item in that range, it could be very large. The report is simple to read, being a chronological listing of before/after values and who did what and when. This report can be exported to Excel for further analysis or printed.