Managing an Inventory Store: Process Summary

    Identify need for inventory store

    • Agree need with Inventory & Fixed Asset Accountant

    Use of Oracle Financials is mandatory for those departments and units with significant stock holdings where the total value of stock issues per annum:

    • exceeds £50,000; or,
    • exceeds £10,000 and issues are made from stock to grant accounts or projects

    For stock holdings below these thresholds the key financial controls should be adhered to and a manual recording system should be used rather than Oracle Financials

    Review stock needs

    To ensure adequate stocks are always available:

    • Regularly review stock levels
    • Identify items for reorder
    • Order stock (as per Purchase to Pay process)

    Receive stock

    As soon as goods are received it is important to:

    • Check received goods
    • Separate non-acceptable items for return
    • Receipt acceptable goods onto Oracle Financials as soon as possible
    • Return rejected items to the supplier

    Maintain stock

    Physical stock levels should be regularly compared with the stock levels shown on Oracle Financials, to ensure ongoing integrity of the data.

    • Carry out a daily transaction review
    • Manage discrepancies between stores and Oracle Financials
    • Manage storage locators as required

    Issue stock

    • Physically issue stock as requested, ensuring they are authorised to request stock items
    • Record issue on Oracle Financials
    • Monitor stock levels – identifying where items need to be reordered

    Count stock

    It is essential that stock items are counted for audit purposes at least once a year.

    • Carry out regular (cycle) counts of stock, or annual physical count
    • Differences between the physical count and system quantity will need to be investigated and any corrections made as soon as possible

    Reconcile inventory and General Ledger

    Prior to the data transfer at the end of each period it is important to ensure that there are no pending transactions and that:

    • All issues made during the period have been entered onto the system
    • All deliveries of stock made during the period have been receipted on the system
    • All adjustments have been entered, including stock write off as required