A credible AWS cost audit should explain why spend exists, which changes are safe, what the estimated opportunity is, and how savings will be validated after implementation.
Begin with scoped read-only access
Billing, Cost Explorer, Compute Optimizer, utilization, tags, commitments, architecture, and workload context provide the evidence required for useful recommendations.
Analyze more than idle resources
Review EC2, RDS, EKS, storage, snapshots, data transfer, NAT Gateway, logging, retention, Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, and architectural cost drivers.
Deliver prioritized economics
Each recommendation should include estimated savings, engineering effort, risk, dependencies, owner, validation method, and whether it is reversible.
Measure realized savings
Track normalized spend after implementation, account for usage growth, separate cost avoidance from direct savings, and establish recurring ownership so waste does not return.
Before acting, confirm the owner, evidence, production risk, expected outcome, and validation method for each recommendation.