Auditing

Synonyms

Assessment; Attestation; Certification; Review; Validation

Definition

An examination of the implementation, execution, and results of a test or benchmark, generally performed by an independent third-party, and resulting in a report of findings

Historical Background

The use of a third-party audit to attest to the veracity of a claim has historically been commonplace in the financial sector. The goal of such audit activities is to bolster the credibility of an organization’s claims regarding its financial standing. Similar auditing activities are found in other fields where there is value in validating the level at which a set of requirements have been followed.

As formal definitions of computer systems performance benchmarks started to emerge, so did the call for independent certification of published results. The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC – www.tpc.org) was the first industry standard benchmark consortium to formalize the requirement for independent...