Audit books
Reference: DCD/L/AA
Dates of creation: 1678-1902; 1908-1976
Extent: 20 volumes
The audit books include the annual accounts for the dean and chapter. The accounts largely cover the period ending in the immediately previous Michaelmas (29th September), although some of the account headings include receipts or expenditure up to early November or (in the case of the receipts from renewal fines) up to the audit itself (20th November). From 1939, the accounting year changes from Michaelmas to Lady Day (25th March).
The accounts consolidate summary figures from the Treasurer's and Receiver's Books (i.e. payment of stipends and salaries, and receipts from annual rents respectively) with information about miscellaneous expenditure and income from renewal fines. They also include calculations for the annual dividends for members of chapter and record allowances for hospitality residence.
The 1902 accounts are incomplete, including only about three quarters of the receiver's income (details of rents), and no audit or similar accounts appear to survive for the period 1903-1907.
The "trust" accounts From 1929, a separate "trusts account" includes many small charitable bequests and similar funds. The following funds have been identified in the accounts (year funds first appear is given in brackets).

Layout of the audit books (up to 1870) Each audit book covers several years. Blank pages are usually left between the accounts for each year, but otherwise the beginning of the accounts are not clearly marked, so an indication of the standard layout may help to navigate the volumes.
Up to 1870, the audit accounts follow a standard pattern (with some variation as to the order), as follows:

The headings for the main payments section of the audit accounts are as follows (not all these headings occur at all dates).

Layout of the audit books (from 1871) From 1871 to 1899, the layout and headings in the accounts change somewhat, reflecting both the ending of the system of church leasehold under which most of the chapter's estates were held until the 1860s (see section F in this guide, on the records of leasehold properties), and the commutation of the estate by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1872 (see series K/B). The income from renewals of contracts or fines (previously paid directly to the Treasurer's account) no longer appears, and the Receiver's income (from property rents) is set out in full within the audit books (instead of being taken from totals in the separate series of Receiver's Books). The charge side of the accounts is referred to as "revenue" or "income," and the discharge as "expenditure." Additionally, during the 1870s, the Receiver's account is instead called the "estate account," and the Treasurer's account is referred to as the "general account." A separate account for the grammar school is included in the audit books. The accounts are therefore set out as follows:

From 1900, additional funds are included separately in the accounts, and only broad headings for expenditure are shown, with far less detail than in the earlier audit books (though rents continue to be listed in full). Full balance sheets are included at the ends of the accounts, which are now set out as follows:

Apart from the "revenue" and "grammar school" accounts, the totals are quite small, and the income is mainly from investments. Dean and chapter contributions to the separate accounts appear on both the income side of the individual accounts, and the expenditure side of the main revenue account.
From 1908-1915 and 1927-1929, half-yearly Lady Day accounts are also included, accompanied by more detailed notes on the receiver's income (for rents); these cover the main revenue and school accounts only (also the Choristers' school account, 1914-1915). From 1929, the accounts and balance sheets for the smaller trust funds are shown in a separate "Trusts account". See note above about missing accounts for 1902-1907, and change in accounting year from Michaelmas to Lady Day in 1939.
At one stage some volumes from both series of audit books (classes L/AA and L/AB) were arranged in a continuous series bearing Dean and Chapter numbers 1-14. Of these, numbers 1-6, 9-11 are now in L/AA and numbers 7-8, 12-14 in L/AB. Each series has now been separately renumbered, though the former numbers are recorded on the front covers of many of the volumes and noted in the list following.

Audit books (duplicate series)
Reference: DCD/L/AB
Dates of creation: 1726-1899
Extent: 15 volumes
Largely duplicate the accounts in the previous class, L/AA, although all these accounts also include the Wood Fund accounts (used for fabric repairs: for Wood Fund accounts 1693-1707, see L/AA/3 in the previous series). Any other extra accounts included within this series are noted in the following list.
See note on numbering of audit books under the previous class, L/AA.

Draft audit accounts (bound)
Reference: DCD/L/AC
Dates of creation: 1743, 1793-1899
Extent: 2 boxes & 75 volumes
Three series of bound volumes, all containing drafts or copies of the annual audit accounts or of accounts apparently prepared in order to compile the audit accounts. The series are described more fully and listed in the list following.

Vouchers for the audit
Reference: DCD/L/AD
Dates of creation: 1679-1836
Extent: 18 boxes
Bills and vouchers for the audit, grouped in bundles by year and accounting fund. These vouchers correspond to entries in the Audit Books (L/AA, L/AB), but generally include more detail on the payments made.
The vouchers are grouped in bundles according to the audit year (Michaelmas to Michaelmas). From XXXX, the yearly bundles are split into smaller bundles, corresponding to the headings in the Audit Books. These are customary headings, and
Related material - here DCD/Misc.Ch.: Miscellaneous Charters (post-dissolution items), 1541 - 1753
The 'Miscellaneous Charters' section of the medieval muniments includes many post-dissolution bills and vouchers, mainly for the period 1541-1649.