PMI Audit Before Payment

I registered for pmp exam in May 2017, the request was audited before payment. I got approval within 2 days with green signal.
I attempt for exam on July 10 and succeed.

Like my colleagues, I was audited. When I had to first withdraw my application, I was only refunded a portion of my payment. When I re-submitted a year later, I paid the full price then was audited.

While the link provided by Sisca seems to imply a different sequence than what we experienced, I'm not convinced that they have in fact decided to wait until after the audit before requiring payment.

When you check the FAQ, the last audit question is "What steps need to be taken when an audit candidate decides not to proceed with the audit?" (Which is what I opted to do.).

The answer given is:

If a candidate chooses not to complete the audit, it is considered a failed audit due to non-conformance. A candidate may reapply after one year. At that time, a new certification application and payment must be submitted, and the application will be subject to a re-audit.

Maybe the FAQ hasn't been updated but the answer clearly states that payment will happen before the audit.