Inventory / stores
Inventory Shrinkage — Stores
Stock losses from theft, expiry and stock-count variances across warehouses and clinics.
Finding what the stock count cannot
Inventory shrinkage across warehouses and clinics, whether from theft, expiry or counting error, drains both budget and service delivery, especially where pharmaceuticals are involved. GRAP 12 governs inventory measurement and the MFMA and PFMA require its safeguarding, while COSO frames periodic counting and reconciliation as the key controls. AuditPro Core reconciles stock movements against physical counts so shrinkage is quantified, classified and traced to its cause.
The Numbers
AuditPro Core renders this view from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records. The figures below are illustrative sample data.
Shrinkage value
R96 m
▲ 9%
Count variance
4.2%
▲ 0.6%
Expired written off
R31 m
Theft-linked
R22 m
Shrinkage by cause (R m)
Shrinkage by store
| Store | Shrinkage (R m) | Variance % |
|---|---|---|
| Provincial medical depot | 38 | 5.4 |
| Metro B central stores | 24 | 4.1 |
| Dept C spares warehouse | 19 | 3.7 |
| Clinic network | 15 | 3.2 |
Figures shown are illustrative sample data for demonstration. AuditPro Core renders these views from your own tenant's live, tamper-evident records.
Defining shrinkage
Shrinkage is the gap between recorded and actual stock. It blends genuine theft, expiry and wastage, and recording or counting error, each needing a different response.
Expiry in clinical stores
In clinics and pharmacies, expired stock is a major shrinkage source with direct service-delivery cost. First-expiry-first-out discipline and expiry monitoring contain it.
Count-variance analysis
Persistent negative variances at a specific store point to theft or weak controls; erratic variances point to poor record-keeping. The pattern guides where to investigate.
Safeguarding obligations
Public inventory must be safeguarded as a public asset. Unexplained shrinkage is a control failure that the AGSA will probe, regardless of the value involved.
How AuditPro Core Bridges the Gap
- Reconciliation: recorded stock movements are matched to physical counts to quantify shrinkage per store.
- Continuous monitoring: expiry exposure and count variances are tracked across warehouses and clinics.
- Exception workflow: stores with persistent negative variance are flagged for investigation.
- Traceability to source: shrinkage links to the issue, receipt and count records that compose it.
Key Takeaways
- Shrinkage blends theft, expiry and recording error; classify each.
- Expiry is a major and avoidable loss in clinical stores.
- Persistent negative variance at one store suggests theft or weak control.
- Unexplained shrinkage is a control failure the AGSA will pursue.
See This on Your Own Data
AuditPro Core renders this dashboard from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records — every figure traceable to source.