Inventory Count and Inventory Verification Services

When Businesses Usually Need This

• Year-end or period-end physical inventory counts
• Warehouse inventory verification before reporting, financing, or management review
• Independent count support when records and physical quantities do not align
• Inventory reconciliation after system changes, warehouse transfers, or stock movement concerns
• Agreed-upon procedures involving selected inventory locations, items, or documents

Businesses That May Benefit

Inventory work may be relevant for manufacturers, distributors, retailers, pharmaceutical businesses, food businesses, construction supply companies, warehouses, importers, and trading companies.

The exact scope should match the business records, inventory locations, materiality of stock balances, and reporting purpose. The page does not claim experience in every listed industry or imply that every engagement requires the same procedures.

Example Scope of Work

• Physical inventory count observation
• Independent inventory verification and test counts
• Warehouse inventory count or selected stock count procedures
• Reconciliation of physical quantities to inventory records
• Investigation support for significant count differences
• Review of receiving, issuance, and stock movement documents
• Cutoff procedures and warehouse-to-warehouse inventory movement review
• Inventory reporting and agreed-upon procedures involving inventory

Possible Deliverables

• Inventory count plan or procedure checklist based on the agreed scope
• Count sheets, test count summaries, and exception notes
• Reconciliation schedules comparing physical quantities with inventory records
• Summary of significant differences and documents reviewed
• Inventory verification or agreed-upon procedures report, depending on the engagement

Engagement Process

• Confirm the purpose, locations, inventory records, and reporting date
• Define whether the work is a count, verification, agreed-upon procedure, or audit-related procedure
• Prepare count instructions, document requests, and cutoff considerations
• Perform observation, test counts, document review, and reconciliation based on scope
• Report findings, exceptions, limitations, and next-step documentation needs

Important Technical Boundaries

A physical count or verification engagement does not automatically provide an audit opinion or assurance over the full inventory balance. Any assurance, opinion, or audit-related work must be expressly included in the engagement scope.