diff --git a/backend/app/api/routers/audit.py b/backend/app/api/routers/audit.py
index b5a5edf..de17abb 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routers/audit.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routers/audit.py
@@ -1,15 +1,55 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import uuid
+from collections.abc import Sequence
+from typing import Any
+
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, Query
 from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app.api.deps import get_db, require_operations_manager
 from app.models.audit import AuditEvent
+from app.models.booking import Booking
+from app.models.customer import Customer
+from app.models.data_quality import DataQualityIssue
+from app.models.vehicle import Vehicle
 from app.schemas import AuditEventOut, CurrentUser
 
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/v1/audit", tags=["audit"])
 
+# Only entity types with a stable public reference and (optionally) a real frontend route
+# are resolved here. Types like "system", "knowledge" or "mcp_tool" carry no linkable
+# entity_id and are left as plain labels.
+_ENTITY_MODELS: dict[str, Any] = {
+    "vehicle": Vehicle,
+    "booking": Booking,
+    "customer": Customer,
+    "data_quality_issue": DataQualityIssue,
+}
+_ROUTE_TEMPLATES: dict[str, str] = {
+    "vehicle": "/vehicles/{ref}",
+    "booking": "/bookings/{ref}",
+    "data_quality_issue": "/data-quality/{ref}",
+    # No customer detail route exists in this proof of concept; still resolve the
+    # reference for display, just without a link.
+}
+
+
+def _resolve_entity_refs(db: Session, events: Sequence[AuditEvent]) -> dict[uuid.UUID, str]:
+    ids_by_type: dict[str, set[uuid.UUID]] = {}
+    for event in events:
+        if event.entity_id is not None and event.entity_type in _ENTITY_MODELS:
+            ids_by_type.setdefault(event.entity_type, set()).add(event.entity_id)
+
+    refs: dict[uuid.UUID, str] = {}
+    for entity_type, ids in ids_by_type.items():
+        model = _ENTITY_MODELS[entity_type]
+        rows: Sequence[Any] = db.scalars(select(model).where(model.id.in_(ids))).all()
+        for row in rows:
+            refs[row.id] = row.public_ref
+    return refs
+
 
 @router.get("", response_model=list[AuditEventOut])
 def list_audit_events(
@@ -31,17 +71,27 @@ def list_audit_events(
     if correlation_id:
         stmt = stmt.where(AuditEvent.correlation_id == correlation_id)
     events = db.scalars(stmt).all()
-    return [
-        AuditEventOut(
-            id=str(e.id),
-            actor_type=e.actor_type,
-            actor_label=e.actor_label,
-            action=e.action,
-            entity_type=e.entity_type,
-            entity_id=str(e.entity_id) if e.entity_id else None,
-            correlation_id=str(e.correlation_id),
-            occurred_at=e.occurred_at,
-            metadata=e.metadata_json,
+    entity_refs = _resolve_entity_refs(db, events)
+
+    out = []
+    for e in events:
+        ref = entity_refs.get(e.entity_id) if e.entity_id else None
+        route = _ROUTE_TEMPLATES.get(e.entity_type)
+        out.append(
+            AuditEventOut(
+                id=str(e.id),
+                actor_type=e.actor_type,
+                actor_label=e.actor_label,
+                action=e.action,
+                entity_type=e.entity_type,
+                entity_id=str(e.entity_id) if e.entity_id else None,
+                entity_ref=ref,
+                entity_link=route.format(ref=ref) if route and ref else None,
+                correlation_id=str(e.correlation_id),
+                occurred_at=e.occurred_at,
+                before=e.before_json,
+                after=e.after_json,
+                metadata=e.metadata_json,
+            )
         )
-        for e in events
-    ]
+    return out
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_audit.py b/backend/tests/test_audit.py
index ecda136..78a9257 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_audit.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_audit.py
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+from sqlalchemy import select
+
+from app.core.db import SessionLocal
+from app.models.booking import Booking
+from app.models.vehicle import Vehicle
+
+
 def test_demo_login_is_audited(ops_client):
     response = ops_client.get("/api/v1/audit", params={"action": "demo_login"})
     assert response.status_code == 200
@@ -14,3 +21,54 @@ def test_audit_requires_authentication(client):
 def test_audit_requires_operations_manager(employee_client):
     response = employee_client.get("/api/v1/audit")
     assert response.status_code == 403
+
+
+def _activate_booking(vehicle_ref: str, start_odometer_km: int) -> str:
+    db = SessionLocal()
+    try:
+        vehicle = db.scalar(select(Vehicle).where(Vehicle.public_ref == vehicle_ref))
+        booking = db.scalar(
+            select(Booking).where(Booking.vehicle_id == vehicle.id, Booking.status == "returned")
+        )
+        booking.status = "active"
+        booking.start_odometer_km = start_odometer_km
+        booking.end_odometer_km = None
+        db.commit()
+        return booking.public_ref
+    finally:
+        db.close()
+
+
+def test_return_registered_audit_event_exposes_before_after_and_link(ops_client):
+    booking_ref = _activate_booking("MO-015", start_odometer_km=17000)
+    vehicle_before = ops_client.get("/api/v1/vehicles/MO-015").json()
+    ops_client.post(
+        f"/api/v1/bookings/{booking_ref}/return",
+        json={
+            "end_odometer_km": vehicle_before["odometer_km"] + 10,
+            "fuel_level_percent": 50,
+            "cleanliness_ok": True,
+            "damage_reported": False,
+            "technical_warning": False,
+        },
+        headers={"Idempotency-Key": "test-audit-before-after-001"},
+    )
+
+    key = "test-audit-before-after-001"
+    events = ops_client.get(
+        "/api/v1/audit", params={"action": "return_registered"}
+    ).json()
+    event = next(e for e in events if e["metadata"]["idempotency_key"] == key)
+    assert event["before"] == {"status": "active"}
+    assert event["after"]["status"] == "returned"
+    assert event["entity_ref"] == booking_ref
+    assert event["entity_link"] == f"/bookings/{booking_ref}"
+
+    vehicle_events = ops_client.get(
+        "/api/v1/audit",
+        params={"action": "vehicle_status_changed", "correlation_id": event["correlation_id"]},
+    ).json()
+    assert len(vehicle_events) == 1
+    assert vehicle_events[0]["entity_ref"] == "MO-015"
+    assert vehicle_events[0]["entity_link"] == "/vehicles/MO-015"
+    assert vehicle_events[0]["before"]["odometer_km"] == vehicle_before["odometer_km"]
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/interactive-elements.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/interactive-elements.spec.ts
index 24bfc66..9d9f7f3 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/interactive-elements.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/interactive-elements.spec.ts
@@ -113,6 +113,24 @@ test("bookings page: pagination renders at most 25 rows and page 2 differs from
   await expect(prevButton).toBeEnabled();
 });
 
+test("return preview correctly reports blocked (not maintenance) for damage reported", async ({
+  page,
+  request,
+}) => {
+  await resetDemoData(request);
+  await page.goto("/bookings/BK-DEMO-RETURN");
+  await page.getByLabel("End odometer (km)").fill("55000");
+  await page.getByLabel("Fuel level (%)").fill("40");
+  await page.getByRole("checkbox", { name: "Damage reported" }).check();
+  await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Review return" }).click();
+
+  // The preview is the server's authoritative evaluation: damage always routes to
+  // "blocked", never "maintenance" -- this used to be guessed client-side and wrong.
+  await expect(page.getByText("Damage was reported on return.")).toBeVisible();
+  const statusRegion = page.locator(".impact-preview");
+  await expect(statusRegion.getByText("blocked", { exact: true })).toBeVisible();
+});
+
 test("data quality page: status and rule-type filters work", async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto("/data-quality");
   await expect(page.locator(".data-table")).toBeVisible();
@@ -174,6 +192,38 @@ test("audit page: action filter works", async ({ page }) => {
   expect(actions.every((a) => a.includes("demo login"))).toBeTruthy();
 });
 
+test("audit page: shows human-readable before/after and a safe entity link", async ({
+  page,
+  request,
+}) => {
+  await resetDemoData(request);
+  // demo/reset deletes the acting session's own cookie, so submit the return through
+  // page.request instead -- it shares the browser context's still-valid OM session from
+  // beforeEach rather than the now-logged-out standalone `request` fixture.
+  const submitted = await page.request.post("/api/v1/bookings/BK-DEMO-RETURN/return", {
+    data: {
+      end_odometer_km: 60000,
+      fuel_level_percent: 55,
+      cleanliness_ok: true,
+      damage_reported: false,
+      technical_warning: false,
+    },
+    headers: { "Idempotency-Key": "e2e-audit-before-after-check" },
+  });
+  expect(submitted.ok()).toBeTruthy();
+
+  await page.goto("/audit");
+  await page.getByLabel("Action").fill("return_registered");
+  await expect(page.locator(".data-table tbody tr").first()).toBeVisible();
+
+  const changeCell = page.locator(".data-table tbody tr").first().locator("td").nth(4);
+  await expect(changeCell).toContainText("status");
+  await expect(changeCell).toContainText("returned");
+
+  const entityCell = page.locator(".data-table tbody tr").first().locator("td").nth(3);
+  await expect(entityCell.locator("a")).toHaveAttribute("href", /\/bookings\/BK-/);
+});
+
 test("knowledge page: form submits and clears input", async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto("/knowledge");
   const input = page.getByPlaceholder(/What must I do when a vehicle returns with damage/);
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/Audit.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/Audit.tsx
index 6bb65d2..01e522c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/Audit.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/Audit.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,25 @@
 import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
 import { api } from "../api/client";
 import type { AuditEvent } from "../api/types";
 import { useAuth } from "../context/AuthContext";
 import { EmptyState, ErrorState, LoadingState, PageHeader } from "../components/PageChrome";
 
+function describeChanges(before: Record<string, unknown> | null, after: Record<string, unknown> | null): string {
+  if (!before && !after) return "No recorded change detail.";
+  const keys = new Set([...Object.keys(before ?? {}), ...Object.keys(after ?? {})]);
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  for (const key of keys) {
+    const b = before?.[key];
+    const a = after?.[key];
+    if (JSON.stringify(b) === JSON.stringify(a)) continue;
+    if (b === undefined) lines.push(`${key}: set to ${JSON.stringify(a)}`);
+    else if (a === undefined) lines.push(`${key}: was ${JSON.stringify(b)}`);
+    else lines.push(`${key}: ${JSON.stringify(b)} → ${JSON.stringify(a)}`);
+  }
+  return lines.length > 0 ? lines.join("; ") : "No field-level change detected.";
+}
+
 export function Audit() {
   const { user } = useAuth();
   const [events, setEvents] = useState<AuditEvent[] | null>(null);
@@ -60,7 +76,8 @@ export function Audit() {
               <th scope="col">Actor</th>
               <th scope="col">Action</th>
               <th scope="col">Entity</th>
-              <th scope="col">Correlation</th>
+              <th scope="col">Change</th>
+              <th scope="col">Details</th>
             </tr>
           </thead>
           <tbody>
@@ -73,8 +90,20 @@ export function Audit() {
                 </td>
                 <td data-label="Actor"><strong>{e.actor_label}</strong><small className="table-subtext">{e.actor_type}</small></td>
                 <td data-label="Action">{e.action.replace(/_/g, " ")}</td>
-                <td data-label="Entity">{e.entity_type}</td>
-                <td className="mono" data-label="Correlation"><details><summary>{e.correlation_id.slice(0, 8)}</summary><pre>{JSON.stringify(e.metadata ?? {}, null, 2)}</pre></details></td>
+                <td data-label="Entity">
+                  {e.entity_link ? (
+                    <Link to={e.entity_link}>{e.entity_ref ?? e.entity_type}</Link>
+                  ) : (
+                    e.entity_ref ?? e.entity_type
+                  )}
+                </td>
+                <td data-label="Change">{describeChanges(e.before, e.after)}</td>
+                <td className="mono" data-label="Details">
+                  <details>
+                    <summary>{e.correlation_id.slice(0, 8)}</summary>
+                    <pre>{JSON.stringify({ before: e.before, after: e.after, metadata: e.metadata }, null, 2)}</pre>
+                  </details>
+                </td>
               </tr>
             ))}
           </tbody>