Lars,
You're spot on with this advice. I was making things more complicated than they needed to be. My early research didn't reveal AUDIT_LOG, but this solution fits our needs. Appreciate the quick help! There still appears to be a gap in functionality when wanting to develop advanced triggers, however that is for another discussion.
For future reference, I compiled a few helpful AUDIT_LOG links:
Turning on Auditing:
https://help.sap.com/saphelp_hanaplatform/helpdata/en/20/d3d56075191014af43d6487fcaa603/content.htm
The Audit Log Table:
https://help.sap.com/saphelp_hanaplatform/helpdata/en/d1/fe1244d29510148f69be8b0e060dcc/content.htm
Clearing the Audit Log:
https://help.sap.com/saphelp_hanaplatform/helpdata/en/d2/231bd2d2951014ad35d218ea6628c8/content.htm
http://saphanawiki.com/how-to-truncate-audit_log-in-hana/
Thanks,
Eric Zenner