Stock Audit

Stock is usually the largest number on the balance sheet that nobody outside the warehouse ever checks. It is also where profit quietly leaks: count errors, obsolete lines carried at full value, work in progress valued optimistically, and shrinkage that only surfaces when a lender or buyer starts asking questions. An independent stock audit replaces assumption with evidence.

Acumon provides stocktake attendance and observation, independent counts, and valuation reviews — for statutory audit support, lender and investor comfort, franchise and consignment arrangements, or simply because management wants to know the number is real.

Stocktake Attendance and Observation

We attend your physical counts — year-end, cyclical or ad hoc — and test them as an auditor does: observing whether count procedures are actually followed, performing independent test counts in both directions, reviewing cut-off around deliveries and despatches, and documenting the result. For companies whose statutory auditor is elsewhere, we act as component or attendance auditors at UK sites; for unaudited companies, the same discipline gives lenders and boards a number they can rely on.

Independent Counts and Reconciliation

Where you need more than observation, we run or supervise the count itself: structured count instructions, controlled count sheets or scanner data, third-party and consignment stock identified, and a full reconciliation of counted quantities to the inventory system. The output is not just a quantity — it is an explained variance: what was missing, what was found, and what that says about your controls.

Valuation, Obsolescence and Work in Progress

Existence is half the question; valuation is the half that changes profit. We review costing methods against accounting standards, test cost build-ups for manufactured and work-in-progress items, and challenge slow-moving and obsolete stock provisions against actual usage data. Overvalued stock flatters this year's accounts and detonates in next year's — or in due diligence, at the worst possible moment.

Warehouses, Multiple Sites and Third Parties

Multi-site retailers, third-party logistics warehouses and consignment arrangements each add a layer where stock can exist on paper only. We coordinate multi-site counts on a single date or a rolling programme, obtain and test third-party confirmations, and visit external warehouses where the balances justify it. ERP experience across SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Sage helps us work with your data rather than around it.

When Stock Audits Matter Most

The requests cluster around the same events: a statutory audit needing UK count attendance, a lender advancing against inventory, a buyer or seller in due diligence, a franchise or licence agreement with count rights, or a suspected shrinkage problem management wants quantified before it becomes a fraud investigation. In that last case, our forensic and anti-fraud teams are behind the same door.

What You Get With Acumon

• Stocktake attendance and observation for year-end and cyclical counts
• Independent test counts with two-way tracing and cut-off testing
• Full independent counts run or supervised with controlled procedures
• Valuation reviews: costing, WIP build-ups and obsolescence provisions
• Multi-site count coordination and third-party warehouse confirmations
• Component auditor attendance at UK sites for overseas group auditors
• ERP-literate: SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Sage
• Clear variance reporting — what was found, what it means, what to fix

Why Acumon for Stock Audit?

• ICAEW-registered and FRC-authorised audit firm
• Retail and manufacturing audit experience, including recognised consumer brands
• ERP experience across SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Sage X3
• Inflo data analytics enable whole-population testing of inventory data
• Anti-fraud and forensic capability in-house where counts uncover losses

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.