Audit Log & Compliance

Addsworth Accounting maintains an automatic audit trail of fiscal period status changes to support CRA T2 record-keeping requirements. This guide explains what is logged, how to review logs, and how to manage retention and export.

Who is this for?

Business owners, bookkeepers, and accountants who need to demonstrate a clear chain of custody over their accounting periods for CRA compliance.

What Is Logged

An audit log entry is created automatically whenever a fiscal period's status changes. You do not need to enable logging, it is always active. The following events are recorded:

• Period closed - a period is moved from Open to Adjustment Only.
• Period locked - a period is locked to prevent journals, adjustments included. The last period of a year that is not finalized can be reopened for adjustment. See the next two items.
• Period reopened for adjustment - the last period of an unfinalized fiscal year goes from Locked to Adjustment Only. You must type a reason.
• Period re-locked after adjustment - the period is locked again. The log holds this entry and the Locked entry.
• Period reopened - a closed or adjustment-only period is returned to Open. The entry records the reason "Period reopened by user".
• Year-end close - when you finalize the year-end close, the fiscal year is marked closed. The entry has the company and the closing journal number in its reason. It has no fiscal period, so it shows in the export and not on a period's log screen.

Each entry records:

• Timestamp of the change
• User who performed the action
• Previous and new period status
• Reason (you type one only when you reopen a locked period for adjustment; the app writes the reason for other actions)
• Company, fiscal period (not for year-end close)

Viewing Audit Logs

To review the audit trail for a specific period:

1. Navigate to Settings → Manage Fiscal Periods.
2. Select a period.
3. Click View Period Log in the toolbar, or right-click the period and choose View Period Log. The Audit Log screen lists each change with its time, action, user and reason.

Retention Settings

Navigate to Settings → Audit Log Settings to configure retention policy:

• Retain audit logs permanently (recommended): all logs are kept. This is the safest option for CRA compliance.
• While that switch is off, enter the years in Retention Period. Logs for fiscal periods that ended more than that number of years ago can be cleaned up.

The setting starts as a limited term of 6 years. The app does not set a lowest value; the CRA asks for six years. The retention policy controls only the cleanup action. Logs are always created regardless of the retention setting.

Exporting Logs

To export all audit logs as a CSV file:

1. Go to Settings → Audit Log Settings.
2. Tap Export All Audit Logs.
3. Save or share the CSV file.

The export includes every period log entry across all companies, fiscal years, and periods. It is recommended to export before performing any log cleanup.

Cleaning Up Old Logs

If permanent retention is disabled, you may delete logs for fiscal periods that ended beyond the retention window:

1. Verify the retention period is set (the CRA asks for six years).
2. Export logs first to maintain an archive.
3. Tap Clean Up Old Logs and confirm.

Warning: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

CRA Record-Keeping Requirements

The CRA states: "Generally, you must keep all required records and supporting documents for a period of six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to." The audit log helps satisfy this requirement by keeping a record of when and why fiscal periods were opened, closed or locked. Export the log before you clean it up.

For more information, see CRA: Keeping Records.