3 Essential Audit Readiness Competencies

The number of warehouses in the U.S. is ever increasing as a demand for storage from both the public and the private sector rises. There has been a 6.8% increase in the number of storage facilities in the last five years, a number that is expected to continue to grow.
 
However, in order to have a warehouse running smoothly, one needs to have good inventory tracking software. These can be crucial to keeping inventory noted and marked and to knowing where everything is. Especially if you’re subject to a large number of audits like government inventory typically is.
 
One of the biggest users of storage space is the government, which has a large inventory of items in the defense and security fields. Everything from armor, vehicles, and weapons is stored in government warehouses, and that makes it a primary auditing target. Keeping track of these items is very important and losing them could spell disaster.
 
If you are in charge of keeping these items secure and ready to be called upon at a moment’s notice during an audit, here are three essential audit readiness competencies for you to know:
 
Leadership Support
This is defined by a culture in which operational leaders push for audit readiness and keep their employees prepared at all times. This is especially important with government inventory management, as the items in question are often highly dangerous and off-limits to non-qualified personnel. Keeping coordinated and having cooperation can be key to audit readiness, and a leader can help achieve this.
 
Internal Controls
These are the set procedures designed to provide reasonable and fast assurance about the reliability of financial reporting, effectiveness of operations, and compliance with laws and regulations. A government inventory system is subject to all the same laws that a public one would be and is often even more strict. Internal controls must be established to keep everything in line and operating as it should be.
 
Information Technology
These are a number of systems that work together to support something like a government inventory system. They include financial systems, electronic data, micro applications, and feeder systems. Electronic data keeping is a large part of a successful, modern, system. If your data isn’t accurate and quickly called upon, then you will fail an audit, especially if it’s a government inventory systems audit.
 
It can be difficult to handle operations in secure facilities where everything that goes in and out needs to be marked, recorded, and triple checked for compliance. Make it a little easier on yourself and your employees by following the competencies above, and getting a good inventory tracker.