audit
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.an official examination of the accounts or records of a business.
n.an independent examination of financial records and internal controls to ensure accuracy and compliance with regulations.
Simple“The company had to provide all its receipts for the annual tax audit.”
In context“The internal audit revealed several discrepancies in the procurement department, leading to a complete overhaul of their reporting procedures.”
UsageOften used with the verbs 'conduct', 'carry out', or 'undergo'.
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to officially examine financial records to make sure they are correct.
v.to conduct a formal financial or operational review of an organisation.
Simple“The government decided to audit the charity after some money went missing.”
In context“External specialists were brought in to audit the bank's risk management systems following the market crash.”
UsageThis is a transitive verb that always takes a direct object.
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to sit in on a university course to learn, but without taking exams or getting a grade.
v.to attend an academic course as a listener without the intention of obtaining formal credit or a grade.
Simple“I decided to audit the history class because I was interested in the topic but too busy for extra homework.”
In context“Although she was a physics major, she chose to audit a series of lectures on Renaissance art to broaden her cultural horizons.”
Teacher's tipThis usage is very common in North American universities but less frequent in other English-speaking regions.
“Additionally, higher employee churning in an accounting department was associated with higher audit fees and less accurate management forecasts.”
“The same audit shows the department also doesn’t know which schools – if any – more than 30,000 K-12 students in the state attend.”
Borrowed from Latin audītus, from audiō (“I hear”). Sense of “examine” was because examinations were originally presented orally, and the examiner listened.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.