audit

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin audītus, from audiō (“I hear”).

noun

1. A judicial examination.
2. An examination in general.
3. An independent review and examination of records and activities to assess the adequacy of system controls, to ensure compliance with established policies and operational procedures, and to recommend necessary changes in controls, policies, or procedures
   National Assembly audit
4. The result of such an examination, or an account as adjusted by auditors; final account.
5. (Scientology) Spiritual counseling, which forms the core of Dianetics.
   [ Werner Erhard said:] I got a lot of benefit from auditing. It was the fastest and deepest way to handle situations that I had yet encountered. 1978, William Warren Bartley, Werner Erhard: the Transformation of a Man: the Founding of est, New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., pages 146–47
   The trainings of Landmark, Block Training and UP Hans Schuster und Partner thus display strong similarities with the self-improvement seminars of Scientology, which are incidentally called 'auditing sessions', a term taken from the business world. 2007, Martin Ramstedt, “New Age and Business: Corporations as Cultic Milieus?”, in Daren Kemp, James R. Lewis, editors, Handbook of the New Age (Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion), volume 1, Leiden: BRILL, pages 196–197
6. (obsolete) A general receptacle or receiver.
   , "A Funeral Sermon" It [a little brook] paid to its common audit no more than the revenues of a little cloud.
7. (obsolete) An audience; a hearing.

verb

1. To examine and adjust (e.g. an account).
   to audit the accounts of a treasure, or of parties who have a suit depending in court
2. (finance, business) To conduct an independent review and examination of system records and activities in order to test the adequacy and effectiveness of data security and data integrity procedures, to ensure compliance with established policy and operational procedures, and to recommend any necessary changes
3. (Scientology) To counsel spiritually.
   In John's case, I suspect, when he lost Diana he went back to his Scientology church to be audited. 2011, Diane Saks, Overcoming Celebrity Obsession, page 225
4. To attend an academic class without the opportunity to receive academic credit.