What financial or transaction data is required to support regulatory reviews?
Short answer
Regulatory reviews require itemized receipts, invoice documentation with purchase orders and receiving records, bank and account reconciliations, approval records with timestamps and user credentials, general ledger detail with supporting journal entries, audit trails showing all system actions, and retention of all records for three to seven years depending on jurisdiction.
On Ramp, transaction data, receipts (when submitted), approval workflows, and audit trails are captured and stored in formats designed to support regulatory documentation requirements.
Core documentation requirements
Regulators expect organizations to produce specific evidence for every financial transaction:
- Itemized receipts: Must show vendor name, date, amount, and detailed description of goods or services purchased
- Invoice packages: Original purchase order, receiving confirmation, vendor invoice, and approval documentation
- Bank reconciliations: Monthly statements matched to general ledger with all timing differences documented
- Approval records: User credentials, timestamps, authorization levels, and approval decisions for every transaction
- Account reconciliations: Evidence that subsidiary ledgers agree to general ledger control accounts
- Audit trails: Complete history of all system actions
Transaction-level data elements
Each transaction must include:
- Transaction details: Date, amount, vendor, payment method, and account coding
- Business purpose: Clear explanation of why the expense was necessary
- Authorization evidence: Documented approval from individuals with appropriate authority
- Supporting documentation: Receipts, contracts, or agreements that validate the transaction
- Reconciliation proof: Evidence the transaction was reviewed and matched to bank or card statements
Retention and accessibility standards
Regulatory frameworks require:
- Minimum retention periods: Three to seven years for most financial records; seven years under Sarbanes-Oxley
- Immediate retrieval: Auditors expect prompt access to complete transaction files upon request
- Preserved records: Audit trails should maintain transaction history and provide visibility into changes
- Complete history: All transaction modifications, corrections, and approvals must remain accessible
Organizations are responsible for meeting regulatory retention requirements, which may require exports or archiving based on their specific policies and jurisdictions.
How Ramp supports regulatory documentation
Ramp captures and organizes data to help meet regulatory requirements:
- Receipt collection: Employees upload receipts via mobile app or email; OCR technology extracts vendor, date, and amount information from submitted receipts. Ramp can auto-generate receipts for certain transactions when merchant data is available or under specific conditions (such as certain purchases under $75), though employees can upload or replace receipts as needed.
- Built-in approval workflows: Every transaction records who approved it, when, and under what authorization level
- Audit trails: All actions are logged with user credentials and timestamps, providing visibility into transaction history
- Linked documentation: Receipts, memos, and supporting files attach directly to transactions. Depending on your ERP integration and configuration, this documentation can sync to your accounting system.
- Reconciliation support: Ramp supports reconciliation workflows and accounting automation. The extent of automated matching depends on your accounting system integration and configuration.
- Policy enforcement: Spending limits, category restrictions, and approval requirements are enforced at the transaction level
- Compliance reporting: Export transaction data with supporting documentation for audit requests
For invoice packages requiring purchase orders and receiving records, Ramp can support PO matching and integrate with ERP systems. The specific workflow depends on your configuration and whether you use Ramp's procurement features or source PO and receiving evidence from your ERP.
Best practices
- Set clear receipt and memo requirements in your expense policy
- Require employees to upload receipts within 24 to 48 hours of purchase
- Review flagged transactions weekly to resolve exceptions before month-end
- Run monthly reconciliation reports to verify all transactions have complete documentation
- Maintain documented approval hierarchies that align with your authorization matrix
- Schedule quarterly reviews of audit trails to identify unusual patterns or policy violations
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