What is the recommended immediate action for unresolved discrepancies between physical stock and system records?

• A. Secure the area; document the discrepancy; escalate to supervisor; perform interim controls; plan thorough reconciliation after root cause analysis.
• B. Secure the area; document the discrepancy; escalate to supervisor; adjust system to reflect the discrepancy.
• C. Ignore the discrepancy and wait for the next cycle count.
• D. Secure the area; document the discrepancy; escalate to supervisor; perform interim controls; plan a thorough reconciliation after root cause analysis.

Answer: (D)

When there’s an unresolved discrepancy between physical stock and what the system shows, the priority is to contain the risk and preserve data integrity while you investigate. Secure the area to prevent tampering, document the discrepancy with as much detail as possible (what, where, when, who was involved), and escalate to a supervisor so the right authority can authorize the next steps. Implement interim controls to reduce further exposure or movement of the stock—this might mean quarantining the items, restricting access, or performing immediate manual counts to refresh the record-keeping. Then plan a thorough reconciliation after a root cause analysis is completed, so you can determine whether the issue was a theft, a data-entry error, a receiving/picking mistake, or another root cause, and correct the system accordingly once the investigation supports it. Ignoring the discrepancy or adjusting the system without investigation would undermine controls and misstate inventory.