Segregation of duties in cycle counting

In my earlier blog(s), I have explained the significance of cycle count and why it matters. I also want to emphasize that inventory count should be conducted by personnel who don’t have any direct responsibility for assets being subjected to the inventory count and therefore a trusted third party should be entrusted to perform this action such that the integrity of data can be maintained and analyzed by the business unit manager. In that capacity the company personal should not have any influence over

a) Processing and recording inventory transactions

b) Approval of inventory transactions and adjustments.

The trusted third party agents are knowledgeable about the inventory items and they are better able to detect errors and suggest corrections.