Centralized ledger system for document and process certification

Abstract

Abstract Organizations increasingly require secure document management with integrity guarantees beyond traditional audit logs, particularly in regulated industries where external accountability is critical. While blockchain technologies provide strong tamper-detection, they present significant enterprise adoption challenges including cost volatility, low throughput, and unpredictable operational expenses. This thesis proposes a Centralized Ledger System (CLS) that provides blockchain-inspired integrity verification through self-hosted architecture without external dependencies. The system implements a three-phase entry lifecycle, signature collection and verification, supporting multi-party transactions with asynchronous workflows. A multi-ledger architecture enables organizational segregation of business domains while maintaining referential integrity. Key contributions include automated receipt generation for independent verification, selective payload erasure preserving cryptographic validation, entry linking for audit simplification, and integration of security services with two-factor authentication and key management. The modular design enables flexible deployment while maintaining cryptographic guarantees equivalent to blockchain systems. The solution addresses the gap between traditional audit systems and distributed ledgers by providing cost-predictable, vendor-independent functionality that integrates into existing workflows without specialized blockchain expertise.