Audit
noun/verbBase audit · Past audited · Past Participle audited · Present Participle auditing · 3rd person audits
Definition
1. (noun) An official examination of a company's or organisation's financial records to check they are accurate and legal.
2. (verb) To officially examine financial records, systems, or processes to check for accuracy, legality, or quality.
3. (noun/verb) A thorough review or check of any system, process, or area — not limited to finance.
2. (verb) To officially examine financial records, systems, or processes to check for accuracy, legality, or quality.
3. (noun/verb) A thorough review or check of any system, process, or area — not limited to finance.
Context Alive
Your company has been growing fast and the management decides it is time for an external team to come in and audit the accounts. Everyone in the finance department looks stressed for weeks — double-checking every receipt, every invoice, every expense report. The auditors arrive on Monday morning with laptops and folders. By Friday they say everything looks clean. The whole office breathes a sigh of relief.
Meanings
3 meanings 1 An Official Financial Examination (Noun) Very Common ▼
This meaning is about a formal, official check of a company's money and financial records. Imagine a small business receiving a letter from the tax office saying they will be subject to an audit next month — the owner immediately starts gathering every receipt and bank statement. This is describing a structured review carried out by qualified professionals to make sure the numbers add up. You might hear "the company passed its annual audit without any issues", or a news report could say "the audit revealed millions in undeclared income". Or picture a charity that receives public donations — donors expect a regular audit to prove the money is being spent properly. The word suggests thoroughness, formality, and accountability.
✏️ An audit can be internal (done by the company's own team) or external (done by an outside firm). External audits carry more weight because the reviewers have no reason to hide anything. In many countries, large companies are legally required to have an annual audit. The person who carries out the audit is called an auditor.
2 To Officially Examine Records or Systems (Verb) Very Common ▼
This meaning is the action of doing the check — going through the books, the records, the systems. Imagine a team of accountants arriving at a company's office and spending two weeks going through every transaction from the past year — they are auditing the accounts. This is describing the process of reviewing and verifying. You might say "the government audited the hospital's spending after complaints about waste", or someone could say "we need to audit our suppliers to make sure they meet our standards". Or picture a school district being audited after parents raised concerns about how funding was allocated. The word suggests careful, systematic checking with a clear purpose.
✏️ When used as a verb, audit often appears in business and government contexts — "audit the accounts," "audit the records," "audit spending." In American English, audit also has a specific academic meaning: to attend a university course without getting a grade or credit. This use is rare in British English.
3 A Thorough Review of Any Area (Noun/Verb) Common ▼
This meaning extends beyond finance — any careful, systematic review of a process, system, or area can be called an audit. Imagine a company hiring a cybersecurity firm to check all their systems for weaknesses — they are conducting a security audit. This is describing a detailed examination aimed at finding problems or room for improvement. You might hear "the council carried out an energy audit of all public buildings", or someone could say "we did a content audit of the website and found hundreds of broken links". Or think about a restaurant chain doing a health and safety audit across all its locations after a customer complaint. The word suggests a structured, professional approach to checking quality.
✏️ This broader use has become very popular in recent years. You now hear about SEO audits, accessibility audits, diversity audits, and environmental audits. The idea is always the same — a careful, organised review designed to find what is working and what needs fixing. It borrows the seriousness and structure of financial auditing and applies it to other areas.
Common Patterns
Noun Patterns
conduct / carry out an audit → to perform a formal review
The firm was hired to conduct an audit of the charity's finances.
an audit of + noun → specifying what is being reviewed
They requested an audit of all government spending over the past year.
pass / fail an audit → the result of the review — positive or negative
The factory passed the safety audit without any issues.
Verb Patterns
audit + noun (accounts, records, systems) → to review something formally and thoroughly
An external team was brought in to audit the company's accounts.
be audited by + someone → passive form — being subjected to a review
The organisation was audited by the government after the scandal.
audit + noun + for + noun → specifying what you are looking for in the review
We need to audit the website for accessibility issues.
Collocations
10 collocationsfinancial audit
an official check of money and accounts
annual audit
a review that happens once every year
internal audit
a review done by people inside the organisation
external audit
a review done by an independent outside firm
tax audit
a review by the tax authority to check declarations
security audit
a check of systems for weaknesses or vulnerabilities
conduct an audit
to carry out a formal review
audit trail
a record of every step in a process for later review
audit report
the official document summarising the findings
pass an audit
to be reviewed and found in proper order
Example Sentences
10 examples
1
The company hired an independent firm to audit its financial records for the past three years.
The business brought in an outside team to check its accounts from the last three years.
2
The annual audit revealed several irregularities in the department's spending.
The yearly review uncovered a number of unusual items in how the department spent its money.
3
Small businesses often dread being audited by the tax authority.
Smaller companies often fear having their records examined by the tax office.
4
We need to conduct a full security audit before launching the new platform.
We should do a complete safety review of all systems before the new platform goes live.
5
The audit report confirmed that all donations had been used properly.
The review document verified that every donation was spent correctly.
6
After the scandal, regulators audited every branch of the bank across the country.
Following the controversy, officials reviewed the records of every bank branch nationwide.
7
The school passed its safety audit and was cleared to reopen after the renovations.
The school met all the safety requirements in the review and was allowed to open again after the building work.
8
She works as an auditor for one of the biggest accounting firms in the world.
She reviews financial records for one of the largest accounting companies globally.
9
The IT team carried out an audit of all user accounts and found dozens of inactive ones.
The technology team checked every user profile and discovered many that were no longer in use.
10
The charity welcomes being audited because it proves their transparency to donors.
The organisation is happy to have its records reviewed because it shows supporters the money is handled honestly.
Synonyms & Antonyms
6 items
Synonymsinspection
broader — can be physical (buildings, equipment) as well as financial
review
more general and less formal — used in everyday contexts too
examination
formal and thorough but not specifically financial
Antonymsneglect
to ignore or fail to check something that should be monitored
overlook
to miss or skip something that needed attention
disregard
to deliberately ignore information or standards