Auditing

Auditing in Dynamics 365 helps track data changes, understand user activity and meet compliance requirements.

Core auditing requirements

All tables that store business data must have out-of-box auditing enabled. This includes auditing for:

• Record creation
• Record updates
• Record deletion

Sensitive data and read-event auditing

Auditing when data is viewed/read is not handled through Dynamics 365. If a service needs to track read access for sensitive information, Microsoft Purview should be used.

• Use Purview for monitoring read events on high‑risk or sensitive data
• Avoid enabling unnecessary auditing to reduce storage and overheads

Do’s

• Enable auditing on all business data tables.
• Agree with business owners on which fields should be audited.
• Regularly review audit logs for anomalies or unusual changes.
• Use Purview when read‑event tracking is required.
• Document which tables are audited and why.
• Keep audit logs for as long as needed and then delete.

Don’ts

• Do not disable auditing on business data tables
• Do not audit every field unnecessarily - focus on meaningful data as excessive field‑level auditing can affect performance and audit logs can grow quickly

Summary

Enable auditing for all business‑data tables, use Purview for sensitive read‑access tracking, and keep auditing focused and purposeful. This helps DfE maintain transparency, protect sensitive information and meet compliance standards.