Audit features in Scaler

This article explains how Scaler supports assurance, verification, and audit processes across the full data lifecycle — from initial data capture, through calculation, to submission and change tracking. It's both a reference for how Scaler works and a guide your auditor can follow to navigate the platform.

If you're an auditor arriving in Scaler for the first time, this is the shortest path to verifying a client's reported numbers:

Each surface is covered in more detail below. For a fuller onboarding guide covering typical auditor workflows, see Getting started in Scaler: Auditor.

Before data reaches the report, Scaler enforces several controls that support integrity and provenance.

Scaler enforces data integrity through built-in validation:

Blocking issues surface directly in the Reports Portal as alerts and prevent final report generation until resolved.

Not every warning indicates a data problem. Some warnings flag legitimate situations (a kept-on-file expired certification, an intentional zero consumption, pre-ownership data retained for like-for-like benchmarking) and should be suppressed rather than corrected. To preserve the audit trail, Scaler tracks every dismissal:

Errors, blocking issues, and missing data cannot be dismissed and must be resolved at source.

For full guidance, see Dismissing warnings across assets and portfolios.

Scaler's Data Request feature supports controlled data collection by:

Requested fields follow the same validation rules as standard data entry, and submissions are captured in the Audit Log like any other data entry.

Once reporting data has been reviewed and submitted, an Admin can lock the reporting period via Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Settings. Locked data cannot be edited by other users, preserving the integrity of reported numbers after submission.

Admins can lift the lock if corrections are needed; any override is recorded in the Audit Log with the reason message attached.

Once the data is in, Scaler makes every calculation step inspectable.

Scaler provides default emission factors sourced from recognised databases:

Users can override default factors where permitted and provide a Reference on each override, supporting traceability back to the source used.

In the Generate Report modal, tick Include audit trail to bundle a full audit trail with the Excel output. This is available for most framework reports — the GRESB Spreadsheet and SASB report follow framework-specific structures and don't include this toggle. The audit trail adds the following sheets to the Excel output:

Together these sheets enable step-by-step verification from raw input to reported result.

For portfolios using the Roadmap Tool, Scaler provides a separate Excel download showing how portfolio-level roadmap values are aggregated from asset-level data — including any filters applied, excluded assets with exclusion reasons, and year-by-year data coverage percentages.

For full guidance, see Roadmap audit trail download.

Scaler maintains a timestamped audit log of every data change made in your portfolio. Each entry records who made the change, which entity was affected, the event type (Create / Update / Delete / Rollback), and where the change originated (platform UI or Scaler Spreadsheet upload). The log is available at portfolio and asset level in both the Data Collection Portal and the Analytics Portal.

For full guidance, see Using the Audit Log.

Saved Reports are the record of what was actually submitted. Each saved report is a timestamped, frozen copy that preserves the full output — including the raw data, emission factors, and conversion factors used at the moment of generation. If emission factors or inputs change later in the season, the saved report stays unchanged, providing a defensible reference point for auditors and reviewers.

Saved reports live under Data Collection Portal → Portfolio → Saved Reports. Every generation event (draft or final) is also logged in Report History for full audit traceability.

For full guidance, see Using the Reports Portal.

Users with access to the Data Collection Portal can export raw, meter-level data, including:

This supports line-by-line auditing and reconciliation outside the platform.

Auditors can be granted access to Scaler at no additional cost. An Admin in your organisation invites the auditor through user management, grants access to the relevant portfolios, and can assign the Auditor role to clearly identify them in the user list.

Once invited, auditors can:

All user activity across the platform is recorded in the Audit Log, supporting full traceability during the audit period.

Together, these features make data traceable, calculations inspectable, and changes recorded — supporting both internal assurance and external verification.