Which statement about maintaining an audit trail in cost estimating is true?

Which statement about maintaining an audit trail in cost estimating is true?

• A. It is optional.
• B. Required only for internal projects.
• C. It is documented but not verifiable.
• D. It must be maintained.

Answer: (D)

Maintaining an audit trail in cost estimating is about ensuring traceability and defendability of the estimate. It means keeping a documented, versioned record of every input, data source, calculation, assumption, and change, plus who approved it. This allows another reviewer to follow the reasoning, reproduce results, and verify that the estimate is sound. Because of that, the audit trail must be maintained throughout the estimating process and retained for review, audits, and future updates. It isn't optional, it doesn't apply only to internal projects, and a proper audit trail is meant to be verifiable, not merely documented without a way to confirm its accuracy. So the statement that it must be maintained is the correct one.

Maintaining an audit trail in cost estimating is about ensuring traceability and defendability of the estimate. It means keeping a documented, versioned record of every input, data source, calculation, assumption, and change, plus who approved it. This allows another reviewer to follow the reasoning, reproduce results, and verify that the estimate is sound. Because of that, the audit trail must be maintained throughout the estimating process and retained for review, audits, and future updates. It isn't optional, it doesn't apply only to internal projects, and a proper audit trail is meant to be verifiable, not merely documented without a way to confirm its accuracy. So the statement that it must be maintained is the correct one.