Reserve Audit
A full external examination of an issuer's financial statements, broader and more demanding than a point-in-time reserve attestation.
An audit is conducted under recognized auditing standards and results in a formal opinion on whether the financial statements present fairly the entity's position and results, covering liabilities and related-party dealings as well as assets. Auditors assess internal controls, test samples of transactions across the whole reporting period, and consider whether there is substantial doubt about the entity continuing to operate. This is a materially higher bar than an attestation, and it is why the presence or absence of an annual audit is a standard question when comparing stablecoin issuers. An audit still has limits: it addresses a reporting period that has ended, not the position on any later day.
In practice
Some stablecoin issuers publish annual audited financial statements alongside monthly attestations, so readers can distinguish the two document types by their stated standard.
The common misunderstanding
An audit opinion covers a completed reporting period; it is not continuous monitoring and does not certify that reserves remain adequate on any day afterwards.