Glossary›Assurance, audit evidence and working papers›Version control and change log (emissions data)
Glossary term
Cluster A · A37
Tier 1 · differentiator
Version control and change log (emissions data)
Definition
Version control is the discipline of keeping one identified current version of each emissions file, with a dated log of every change, who made it and why. Without it an assurance provider cannot confirm that the numbers they tested are the numbers you reported. Uncontrolled spreadsheets are the most common cause of rework in a first-year engagement.
No governing instrument
· practice ·
Practice
On this page
In practice
The failure mode is specific and almost universal. The assurer tests figures from a file, the entity then fixes something and re-runs the model, and the report figures no longer match the tested file. The testing has to be redone, at the entity’s cost and inside the lodgement window.
Minimum viable version control: one authoritative folder, dated filenames with a version number, a change log tab in the model recording date, change, reason and author, and a rule that the file is frozen once the assurer begins testing.
What the assurer does with it
The assurer records the version tested and reconciles it to the version reported. Any difference has to be explained and, if material, re-tested. They also read the change log for changes made late in the process, because a change to a judgement after testing started attracts attention.
Sources
1
ASSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
AUASB
2
Review status
Review required
Last reviewed
15 September 2026
Editorial pass, unsigned
Reviewer required
Registered company auditor
Next scheduled review
1 July 2027
Part of
Cluster A, Assurance, audit evidence and working papers
47 terms on what an assurance provider tests, what they accept as evidence, and what a preparer has to be able to produce.
Related terms
What version control keeps intact
The other half of a reproducible file
The file version control applies to
Related questions
Can we use spreadsheets, or will the auditor reject them?
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Spreadsheets are acceptable and no Australian standard requires software. What gets rejected is an unauditable spreadsheet: hard-coded numbers with no source, broken formula chains, no version control and no record of who changed what. A disciplined spreadsheet passes assurance and an undisciplined system does not.
What is the audit trail our auditor expects?
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An unbroken path from every reported number back to a document you did not create for the report, such as an invoice, a meter reading, a fuel card statement or a signed minute. At each step the trail shows the data used, the factor applied, the calculation, and who reviewed it.
Do we need to integrate our systems to do this?
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No. Nothing in AASB S2 or the Australian assurance standards requires system integration. The evidence an assurance practitioner wants already exists in your invoices, meter data, fuel card statements and general ledger, so extracting it once a year is a retrieval task rather than an IT project.
Other terms in this cluster
Version control and change log (emissions data)