When a discrepancy is found during inventory, what is the proper course of action?

• A. Initiate an investigation to determine cause, document discrepancy, and take corrective actions
• B. Immediately correct all discrepancies in the system without investigating
• C. Reconcile by updating only the financial records
• D. Notify only the supervisor and do nothing

Answer: (A)

When a discrepancy is found during inventory, the proper course is to handle it by conducting a formal investigation to determine the cause, documenting the discrepancy, and implementing corrective actions. This approach ensures you identify whether the issue came from a clerical error, a miscount, damage, or loss/theft, and it creates an auditable trail of what happened. Documenting the discrepancy in the property records maintains accountability and provides a record for root-cause analysis. After uncovering the cause, you adjust the inventory as needed and put in place corrective actions—such as process improvements, additional training, or tighter controls—to prevent recurrence.

Skipping the investigation and simply correcting the system would gloss over the underlying cause, which could allow real problems to persist. Updating only financial records ignores the physical asset accountability, so the real asset counts and conditions wouldn’t be accurate. Not reporting or doing anything neglects duty of care and could permit losses to continue unchecked and violate policy and regulatory requirements.