Expense audit trail: who approved it, on which document and on what basis
An inspection does not ask for the amount but for its path: the supporting document, the person who approved it and the date. 4expenses keeps the document's data, the OCR-extracted text and the full approval history on every line. Archiving the original file stays with the company — the application records what was approved, by whom and on what basis.
What stays recorded on every expense
Who approved it, when and for how much
Every approval step is recorded with the person, the timestamp and the approved amount. If the amount changes after approval, the step is re-run — an approval given for one value is never silently reused for another.
Approval delegations, on the record
When an approver is away and the right passes temporarily to someone else, the delegation stays on file with its period. Otherwise an audit turns up an approval given by someone who, on paper, did not hold that right.
The document's data, bound to the line
Supplier, date, amount and the OCR-extracted text stay bound to the line they support rather than sitting in a separate folder. Romanian accounting law (art. 6 of Law 82/1991) requires every operation to be recorded on the basis of a supporting document.
The report locks after submission
A report can be edited only while it is in draft or after it has been returned for correction. Once submitted the application refuses any edit — so an approved amount cannot be changed after the fact.
Export batch reference
Every line sent to accounting carries the reference of the batch it left in, so a bookkeeping entry can be traced back to the scanned receipt.
The statutory retention term, explained
Supporting documents are kept for 5 years, counted from 1 July of the year following the close of the financial year in which they were drawn up (art. 25 of Law 82/1991, shortened by Law 36/2023). Annual financial statements are kept for 10 years under art. 35(3). 4expenses does not hold the archive of original documents — you organise that separately, per your own policy.
An audit trail is not a report you generate on demand — it is a consequence of how data is entered: the document's data bound to the line, approval in steps, and the export batch reference. 4expenses covers that decision trail; keeping the original files for the statutory period remains a separate obligation, which you can meet with a document-archiving system.
Frequently asked questions about the audit trail
The tax and legal information on this page was verified on 30 July 2026 and is provided for information only — it is not tax advice. Legislation changes and its application depends on your company's specific situation: confirm with your accountant or adviser before acting on it.
See also
See on any expense who approved it, when and on what basis
The document's data bound to the line, step-by-step approvers, recorded delegations and an export reference.