Why is periodic audit important in Medical Stores?

• A. To verify supplier performance and contract compliance
• B. To detect discrepancies, fraud, and non-compliance, and to ensure accuracy of stock data and governance
• C. To increase stock turnover
• D. To reduce storage requirements

Answer: (B)

Periodic audit in Medical Stores focuses on safeguarding inventory accuracy and ensuring proper governance. By systematically checking physical stock against records, it helps uncover discrepancies, potential fraud, and non-compliance with policies and regulations. This process strengthens internal controls, provides an audit trail, and supports accountability, so stock data remain reliable for decision-making, procurement, dispensing, and financial reporting.

While evaluating supplier performance and contract compliance can be part of broader oversight, the fundamental purpose of periodic audit is to detect variances and irregularities and to ensure that stock data and governance frameworks are sound. Increasing stock turnover and reducing storage needs are important operational goals, but they come from inventory management and logistics strategies, not the core aim of an audit.