Audit trails are essential for accountability and defensibility because they show who accessed, changed, or disposed of records and when those actions occurred. They support compliance obligations, internal investigations, and legal defensibility, and should be captured automatically by systems rather than relying on manual tracking. Reflection Questions 1. Do your systems maintain reliable and complete audit trails? 2. Are audit logs actively reviewed, or simply enabled and forgotten? Action: Confirm whether audit logging is enabled in at least one key system.

Version control ensures records remain reliable and authoritative. Multiple uncontrolled versions undermine trust and increase errors. Clear rules prevent confusion. 1. How does your organisation manage document versions? 2. Is there a single source of truth? Action: Identify one document type with version control issues.

Access controls protect records from unauthorised use while supporting legitimate business needs. Over-permissive access increases risk, while overly restrictive access hinders productivity. Balance is essential. Questions: 1. Are access rights reviewed regularly? 2. Are they role-based? Action: Check access permissions for one shared repository.