Module 09: Audit & Reporting Readiness (Canonical)
Path: /public_html/library/_docs/module-09-audit-reporting.md
Status: CANONICAL
Last Updated (UTC): 2026-01-10
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Purpose
This module defines how WST remains continuously audit-ready.
It exists to ensure that:
- System state can be reconstructed at any time
- Decisions are traceable from intake to outcome
- No audit requires emergency preparation
- Reporting reflects reality, not interpretation
Audit readiness is a steady-state condition, not an event.
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Definition: Audit
An audit is any internal or external review that requires:
- Verification of actions taken
- Validation of data integrity
- Confirmation of compliance with documented procedures
- Reconstruction of historical system state
Audits may be:
- Internal
- Operational
- Financial
- Legal
- Compliance-based
This module applies to all audit types.
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Core Audit Principles
- Reconstructability
- Any action must be traceable through records
- No reliance on memory or verbal explanation
- Immutability
- Intake, scoring, and continuity records are append-only
- Historical data is never overwritten
- Completeness
- Every meaningful action produces an artifact
- Absence of evidence is evidence of failure
- Separation of Fact and Interpretation
- Logs record facts
- Reports summarize facts
- Opinions are excluded from primary records
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Canonical Evidence Sources
The following are considered authoritative:
Intake Records
/portal/_data/intake/
Evidence:
- Submission timestamp
- Submitted data
- Intake ID sequencing
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Scoring Records
/portal/_data/scoring/
Evidence:
- Scoring outcome
- Evaluation metadata
- Intake ID linkage
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Decision & Email Logs
/portal/_data/email_outbox.log
/portal/_data/email_sent.log
/portal/_data/email_failed.log
/portal/_data/email_processed_index.log
Evidence:
- Notification intent
- Delivery status
- Idempotency and retries
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Continuity Log
/portal/_data/continuity.log
Evidence:
- Operational timeline
- Admin actions
- Incident handling
- System transitions
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Canonical Documentation
/library/_docs/
Evidence:
- Governing procedures
- Change control
- Incident response
- Security posture
Documentation defines expected behavior.
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Audit Reconstruction Procedure
When an audit is requested:
Step 1: Identify Scope
Define:
- Date range
- Affected modules
- Data types required
No data is collected before scope is clear.
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Step 2: Preserve State
- Do not modify live files
- Copy required artifacts to a working directory
- Preserve original timestamps
Original data remains untouched.
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Step 3: Extract Evidence
Pull:
- Relevant intake files
- Corresponding scoring files
- Related email logs
- Continuity entries covering the period
Ensure all artifacts reference consistent IDs.
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Step 4: Build the Timeline
Using continuity + logs:
- Reconstruct sequence of events
- Identify decision points
- Confirm actions followed documented procedures
Timeline must be mechanically verifiable.
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Step 5: Produce Report
Reports must:
- Cite evidence locations
- Avoid speculation
- Clearly separate facts from summaries
Reports are derived artifacts, not primary truth.
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Reporting Standards (Canonical)
Allowed Reports
- Intake volume summaries
- Decision outcome distributions
- Email delivery metrics
- Incident counts and resolution times
- Change activity summaries
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Prohibited Reports
- Reports requiring modification of source data
- Narrative reconstructions without citations
- Aggregations that obscure individual records
If a report cannot be traced back to raw artifacts, it is invalid.
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Audit Readiness Checklist
At any time, the following must be true:
- ☐ Intake IDs sequential and intact
- ☐ Scoring matches intake count
- ☐ Email logs consistent and idempotent
- ☐ Continuity log append-only
- ☐ Modules reflect current behavior
- ☐ No undocumented changes
Failure of any item triggers Module 06.
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External Audit Handling
For third-party audits:
- Provide copies, not live access
- Redact secrets and personal data as required
- Maintain chain-of-custody for shared artifacts
- Record audit interaction in continuity
Auditors observe; they do not operate the system.
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Long-Term Retention
- Archive directories are preserved indefinitely unless policy dictates otherwise
- Continuity and intake records form permanent history
- Deletion requires formal authorization and documentation
Retention decisions are governance actions.
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Continuity Requirements
All audit-related activities must be logged in:
/library/_docs/_continuity.md
Example entry:
### YYYY-MM-DD — Audit Conducted
- Scope: <description>
- Period: <date range>
- Artifacts Reviewed: <list>
- Outcome: No findings / Findings noted
- Canonical Reference:
→ Module 09: Audit & Reporting Readiness
Lock Status
This module is LOCKED once approved.
Any change requires:
Justification
Updated timestamp
Continuity entry explaining the revision
End of Module 09