No Trail, No Trust? Digital Record Auditability and Lender Decision Use in SME Finance; a Focused Critical Review and Evidence Mapping
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2026-11-02Downloads
Abstract
Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lenders increasingly encounter digital financial and transaction records, yet availability neither establishes credibility nor demonstrates organizational use. This focused critical review and structured evidence mapping examined the transition from record creation to auditability, actor-specific verification, lender processing, and financing outcomes. Eight traceable studies were selected retrospectively for contrasts in mechanisms, designs, actors, endpoints, and counterevidence; they were analytical cases, not a representative final sample. Registry comparisons identified reporting discrepancies, auditor-reliability cues influenced hypothetical lender judgments, and third-party certification was associated with observed borrowing terms. Prediction studies demonstrated incremental information but not lender deployment. Electronic invoicing informed tax compliance, while borrower-reported access did not establish observed loan approval. Drawing on SME lending technology and organizational-information theories, the review identified an under-observed conversion from usable verification to authorized credit action. Five falsifiable propositions addressed access and usability, exception resolution, substitute signals, product fit, and decision rights. Qualitative missing-evidence scenarios supported the distinction between record availability and decision-use, while leaving the empirical strength of the verification-to-outcome bridge unresolved. The resulting framework was conditional rather than a universal digitalization effect.
Keywords:
SME Finance Digital Records Auditability Lender Decision-Use Evidence MappingReferences
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