Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology".

Auditing in the context of Dianetics or Scientology is an activity where a person trained in auditing listens and gives auditing commands to a subject, which is referred to as a "preclear".^{[citation needed]} All communications during auditing sessions are kept confidential between the auditor, the case supervisor and the pre-clear^{[citation needed]}.