Evidence (inventory)

As a term from (intra-) logistics, evidence refers to a list that shows the warehouse movements over a certain period of time, as well as the initial and final inventory. It serves as proof of correct inventory accounting , analogous to financial accounting .

The opening balance must match the ending balance of the previous period. Corresponding receipts must be available for all incoming and outgoing payments. After any inventory differences have been booked, a newly determined final inventory must match the counted inventory of the inventory, i.e. the actual inventory .

To ensure that the inventory accounting has been carried out properly, it is necessary to check

• Are there payments to suppliers without an associated goods receipt in the warehouse record?

• Are there goods issues in the warehouse records without an associated payment from the customer?

• Are the inventory differences acceptably low?

The warehouse records are usually kept per item number and storage location. The list can therefore be quite extensive.

In some countries, for example the Czech Republic and Switzerland , the tax authorities require such storage records to be drawn up. Inconsistencies can be an indication of tax evasion.

In other countries, such as Germany and Austria , the only requirement is that goods movements that have tax relevance and are mapped in the financial accounting can be found. Any tax audit takes place primarily in financial accounting.