▪ I. audit, n.
(ˈɔːdɪt)
Forms: 5–6 awdite, 5–7 audite, 6 -yte, 7 -itt, 6– audit.
[ad. L. audītus a hearing, n. of action f. audīre to hear.]
1. gen. A hearing, an audience; esp. a judicial hearing of complaints, a judicial examination. arch.
| 1598 Florio, Vdita, the sence of hearing. Also an audite. 1649 Milton Eikon. v. 49 With his orisons I meddle not, for hee appeals to a high audit. 1683 Cave Ecclesiastici 90 The death of Arsenius..was not defendable at a fair Audit. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 610 Whoso seeks an audit here Propitious, pays his tribute..and his errand speeds. 1880 Ruskin in 19th Cent. Nov. 758 Whose last words..gave to Scott's heart the vision and the audit of the death of Elspeth of the Craigburn-foot. |
2. Official examination of accounts with verification by reference to witnesses and vouchers. (Accounts were originally oral: cf. Matt. xxv. 19–30; Luke xvi. 2–7.)
| 1435 in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 417 A dyner maad to the newe maistres and the Companye atte audite. 1589 Pasquil's Ret. D iij, I meane to be Clarke of their Audit. 1622 Markham Decades War v. vi. 2 Many Subtreasurers..skilfull in Audit and matter of account. 1704 J. Blair in Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 98 The Gov{supr}. & Council in a solemn audit examined & past the accounts of the revenue. 1860 Froude Hist. Eng. xxix. V. 474 An annual audit of the books of all collectors. |
3. fig. A searching examination or solemn rendering of accounts; esp. the Day of Judgement.
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Pref. 14 The generall daie of accoumpte and audite to bee made at the throne of God. 1606 Dekker Sev. Sins i. (Arb.) 15 Those heapes of Siluer..will be a passing bell..calling thee to a fearefull Audit. 1747 Hervey Medit. II. 9 One who walks on the Borders of Eternity, and is hasting continually to his final Audit. 1839 De Quincey Recoll. Lakes Wks. 1862 II. 179 The awful temper of the times..had summoned to an audit, even the gay. |
4. A periodical settlement of accounts between landlord and tenants; a yearly, half-yearly, or quarterly rent-paying; hence, receipts, revenue (obs.).
| 1489 Plumpton Corr. 87 He will have a generall awdite, where ye, & all other, shall have your lesses out. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 8 To make a true accompt therof at the lordes audyte. 1616 Pasquil & Kath. i. 62 When the Lord my Fathers Audit comes, wee'l repay you againe. 1625 Bacon Riches, Ess. (Arb.) 235 A Nobleman..that had the greatest Audits, of any Man in my Time. 1880 Daily News 13 Dec. 6/5 The audits on his Irish estates had just been held. |
5. A statement of account; a balance-sheet as prepared for the auditor; lit. and fig. arch. or Obs.
| c 1550 Lusty Juv. in Hazl. Dodsley II. 100 Your own secret conscience shall then give an audit. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 141 You haue scarse time To steale from Spirituall leysure a briefe span To keepe your earthly Audit. 1619 Visct. Doncaster Let. in Eng. & Germ. (1865) 174 You may give his Majesty an auditt of the time I have spent. 1654 Fuller Two Serm. 6 When he casteth up his Audit, he shall finde himselfe a great loser. |
6. attrib., as in audit-book, audit-day, audit-office; audit ale, ellipt. audit, ale of special quality brewed (at certain Colleges in the English Universities), originally for use on the day of audit; audit-house, -room, a building or room appendant to a cathedral, used for the transaction of business; audit trail, (a) Accounting, a means of verifying the detailed transactions underlying any item in an accounting record; (b) Computing, a record of the computing processes which have been applied to a particular set of source data, showing each stage of processing and allowing the original data to be reconstituted; a record of the transactions to which a database or a file has been subjected; cf. trace n.1 12 a.
| 1823 Byron Age of Bronze xiv, But where is now the goodly audit ale? 1872 Ouida Gen. Matchmaking 34 Are you going to smoke and drink audit on that sofa all day? a 1679 T. Goodwin Wks. (1863) VI. 487 Their own audit-book, in which losses and gains are written. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 15 b, Behynde hand with their reckenynges at the audite day. 1689 Wheler Ch. Prim. Chr. x. 115 Sermon at Ten in the Audit-house. 1884 Govt. Offices, Exchequer and Audit Department, Somerset House. 1726 R. Fiddes Wolsey 94 The Chapter-house..is commonly used as the Audit Room of the Canons. 1954 Jrnl. Accounting July 41/2 It is significant that the actual and projected uses of electronic equipment today do provide an adequate ‘*audit trail’. 1962 Data Processing Yearbk. 1962–63 156/2 The auditor..can ascertain whether the system contains adequate audit trails. 1964 T. W. McRae Impact of Computers on Accounting vi. 173 It is up to the firm being audited to provide an adequate audit trail so that both they and their external auditor can satisfy themselves as to the make-up of any balance. 1985 Personal Computer World Feb. 124/2 Popovich expects the drive will satisfy ‘a real need for archival and audit trail data’. |
▸ Business. An evaluation (esp. by formal, systematic review) of the effectiveness of the management, working practices, and procedures of a company or other professional body, usually conducted by independent auditors or external consultants. Also: the practice of carrying out such investigations at regular intervals or as part of a continuous process.
Such an audit may investigate an organization as a whole or specific aspects of its operations; hence freq. with modifying word (cf. efficiency audit n. at efficiency n. Compounds, personnel audit n. at personnel n. Compounds 1).The process is sometimes described as having three distinct stages—observation, documentation, action—known as the ‘audit cycle’.
| 1938 Jrnl. Soc. Advancem. of Managem. 3 155/1 After such an evaluation [of company executives] is once made it should make possible a recurring audit which will be complementary to the financial audits, the market surveys and the stock-takings... Some day we may be able to weigh human factor so that a personal audit of this sort can also be reduced to a numerical computation. 1969R. Nixon in Federal Register (U.S.) 34 31 Oct. 17606 This Order applies to all employees and agencies in the executive branch, except..any office, bureau or entity within an agency which has as a primary function investigation or audit of the conduct or work of officials or employees of the agency for the purpose of ensuring honesty and integrity in the discharge of their official duties. 1985 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 14 Sept. 719/1 We considered that formal audit of the teaching..should be attempted. 1992 Economist 28 Mar. 105/1 Many firms..offer clients a management ‘audit’, an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of an existing management team. 2000 Gymnast Mar.–Apr. 8/3 An audit of all Sports Science and Medicine Practitioners will be occurring to allow the institute to have a comprehensive database of all service providers. |
▸ Med. = medical audit n. at medical adj. and n. Special uses.
| 1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 21 Mar. 656/1 There is no audit by outside authorities on each piece of work as it is completed analogous to what is done in basic science. 1981 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 883/1 Diagnostic and prescribing practices in otitis media vary, and audit is difficult because doctors may not see comparable cases. 1991 Pulse 6 Apr. 77/3 When an audit has been carried out on an aspect of care, GPs are often amazed to find that what they are doing does not match up with their intended actions. 1994 Oxf. Compan. Med. 73/1 Audit in medicine has been defined as the systematic critical analysis of medical care, including the procedures used for diagnosis and treatment, the use of resources and the resulting outcome and quality of life for the patient. |
▸ Audit Commission n. an independent body that monitors and evaluates the performance or practices of a particular organization; (Brit. Polit.) an independent body established in 1983 to supervise and advise on public spending (esp. that of local authorities) on behalf of central government.
| 1866 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 29 324, I may also mention the sound principles consistently advocated, in the face of discouraging opposition, during many years by Mr Romilly, late chairman of the *Audit Commission. 1932 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 26 285 Two projects were proposed..(2) to amend an act, passed at the regular session of 1931, concerning an audit of the state highway department to expand and reinforce the authority of the highway audit commission in the securing of needed evidence. 1981 Local Govt. Finance Bill 6 Nov. 10 For the purposes of this Part of this Act there shall be a body to be known as the Audit Commission for Local Authorities in England and Wales. 1992 Economist 2 May 36/2 The Audit Commission calculates that more use of day surgery could cut waiting lists by 300,000—a third of the current total. 2000 Disability Now May 3/3 Fully Equipped, published by the Audit Commission in March, looked at NHS and social services equipment provision for four million people. |
▸ audit committee n. Accounting a committee set up by a company or other institution to supervise the auditing of its accounts.
| 1853 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 16 160 He will submit his accounts, with all the necessary vouchers, to the finance and *audit committees of the council whenever required to do so. 1954 Jrnl. Politics 16 203 Professor Robson noted that the Executive Council had received and approved the University of Florida Audit Committee's report on the financial transactions of the Journal of Politics for the period November 1, 1951–October 21, 1952. 1978 Detroit Free Press 5 Mar. b20/2 [He] believes that audit committees should have a minimum of three members and a maximum of five. 1993 Accountancy Oct. 17/4 Let each company, as represented by its audit committee, stakeholders' meetings, supervisory board (as distinct from the unitary board) decide whether it wants an audit. |
▪ II. audit, v.
(ˈɔːdɪt)
[f. prec. n.]
1. trans. To make an official systematic examination of (accounts), so as to ascertain their accuracy.
| 1557 Ord. Hospitalls B iv b, Auditors generall..to Audite..thaccompts of all other officers. 1726 Ayliffe Parerg. 283 Bishops Ordinaries..auditing all Accounts..take twelve Pence and no more. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. I. 153 With subscribed funds, regularly audited. |
2. To examine, ‘hear’ (a pupil). rare.
| 1805 W. Taylor in Ann. Rev. III. 511 He audited catechumens. |
† 3. gen. To calculate, reckon. Obs.
| 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. x. §40 I. 353 All things being audited proportionably. 1667 Decay Chr. Piety ix. §19. 306 And audit what real profit accrues to them from the expence of so many precious hours. |
† 4. intr. To draw up or render an account. Obs.
| 1640 Bp. Hall Chr. Moder. 20/2 It will be wofully audited for. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull (1727) 89 Let Hocus audit; he knows how the money was disbursed. |
5. trans. and intr. To attend (a course or other form of instruction) in order to participate without the need to earn credits by writing papers, etc. U.S.
| 1933 Bull. Ohio State Univ. Coll. Arts & Sci. 14 Mar. 16 A student in the University may audit a course without additional fee... One not a student in the University may be admitted as an auditor..subsequently paying the fees required in the College in which he desires mainly to audit. 1948 Bull. Ohio State Univ. Catal. 1948–49 325 No credit will be recorded for courses audited. 1969 Computers & Humanities IV. 74 As an introduction to software design, I audited a class in compiler-writing and implemented a portion of the class projects. 1974 A. Lurie War between Tates ii. 28 She audited his undergraduate lectures; she waylaid him in the department office. 1980 Early Music Gaz. Apr. 15/1 The brochure states that ‘participants can either be active or audit’. 1985 New Yorker 4 Nov. 63/1 He..studied with Millard Meiss.., and he audited lectures or seminars given by..other notable art historians. |
▪ III. audit
obsolete form of adit.