For many businesses, stocktake is treated as an accounting task. Count the stock. Reconcile the numbers. Make an adjustment in the accounts. Move on. For a growing business, that approach misses much of the risk. Inventory can represent a significant investment of working capital. It can also be one of the areas most vulnerable to error, theft, obsolescence, poor controls and inaccurate reporting. Stocktake governance matters beyond accounting. A stocktake therefore tells the