Audit Certificate

A reproducible, verifiable record of every reconciliation.

What is an Audit Certificate?

An Audit Certificate is a structured document generated at the end of every reconciliation. It contains everything needed to verify and reproduce the results.

The certificate serves as the official record for sign-off, audit trail, and compliance documentation.

Certificate Contents

Dataset Hash

SHA-256 hash of the combined input files. Ensures you can verify the exact files used.

a7f3c9b2e1d8f4567890abcdef123456...

Thresholds & Configuration

The exact parameters used for matching.

config

similarity_threshold: 0.85
date_tolerance_days: 3
semantic_threshold: 0.85

Summary Statistics

High-level counts and percentages.

Total PDF Rows:127

Total Ledger Rows:134

Matched:119 (93.7%)

Discrepancies:12

Timestamp

ISO 8601 timestamp of when the audit completed.

2024-01-04T18:30:00.000Z

Verification

To verify a certificate:

Compute the hash of the original input files using SHA-256.
Compare the hash to the one in the certificate. They must match exactly.
Re-run the audit with the same files and thresholds.
Compare results. Match counts and discrepancy lists should be identical.

Reproducibility Promise: If any result differs, either the input files were modified or there's a bug in STET (please report it!).

Why It Matters

Audit Trail

Auditors can verify that reconciliations were performed correctly and with appropriate rigor.

Regulatory Compliance

SOX, MiFID II, and other regulations require documented evidence of reconciliation processes.

Dispute Resolution

If discrepancies arise later, the certificate proves what was known at the time of sign-off.

Process Improvement

Historical certificates help identify patterns and improve reconciliation quality over time.