Documentation
Building an audit trail for sampled transactions
Reviewers do not need poetry. They need to reconstruct how a line entered the sample, why another line replaced it, and whether the app export matches the workpaper.
Minimum viable trail
Keep a dated frame definition, a size memo with purpose, a selection log with seed and parameters, a replacement register, and an exception pack. If any of these live only inside a chat thread, they will vanish before sign-off.
Seeds and parameters
Record the seed value, who generated it, and the software version or spreadsheet hash. “Selected in the tool” is not enough when the tool can be re-run with different settings six weeks later.
Replacements without embarrassment
Replacements happen. Document the reason, the rule that authorised the swap, and the new item identifier. Hiding replacements is worse than admitting a voided cheque or a duplicate export row.
Reconcile the export
Print or archive the transaction sampling audit app log beside the workpaper table. Tick count, high-value certainty items, and interval settings. Discrepancies found at review are expensive; discrepancies found by you are merely annoying.