Inventory & Costing

How far does physical stock differ from the books, and who cleared the variance?

• Book stock balances
• Physical count results
• Adjustments entered and by whom

A list of variances by value and quantity, and who approved each adjustment.

Owner — a variance cleared without question is a buried loss.

Is the costing method applied consistently, and is your stock value realistic?

• Costing method per item
• Unit cost over time
• Book value of inventory

Book valuation vs. valuation under the stated method, with material differences.

CFO — a wrong valuation means a wrong profit.

How much of your cash has been sleeping on the shelves for months?

• Last movement date per item
• Turnover rate
• Value of standing balance

Dead items and their value by age bucket, and the cash trapped in them.

Owner — the fastest way to free up liquidity without borrowing.

Did you issue items that were never in the system to begin with?

• Inbound and outbound stock movements
• Negative balances and their dates
• Reversed and adjusted movements

Items that went negative and why — sequence errors or issues without receipt.

Operations — negative stock means cost is being calculated wrong.

Which items actually make money, and which sell at a loss without you knowing?

• Actual unit cost
• Actual selling price after discount
• Quantities sold

Margin per item after cost and discount, flagging negative-margin items.

Owner — you may find your best-seller is your biggest loss-maker.

Does cost of goods sold in your accounts match what actually left the warehouse?

• COGS journal entries
• Stock issue movements
• Linked invoices

A reconciliation of stock movement against accounting entries, with unexplained differences.

CFO — a gap here means your reported margin is not real.