Field Notes · 11 March 2026
Preparing the Inventory Count When Snow Closes the Yard
Practical steps for year-end stocktakes at Niigata warehouses when weather delays truck movements and outdoor counting.
Winter in Niigata can push outdoor yard counts into the next clear morning. For companies with bulk materials or finished goods stored under tarp, that delay affects cut-off between the shipping dock and the general ledger.
Freeze movements early
Agree a cut-off time with warehouse supervisors and the sales desk. Goods leaving after that time belong to the next period, even if the truck sat overnight because of snow. Print a last-shipment list before the count starts.
Tag unfinished production
Work-in-progress on the floor is easy to miss when staff are clearing snow from loading bays. Ask production to hang count tags on partially completed lots and to note the stage of completion for the valuation team.
What we look for as auditors
Coral Bay attends material inventory counts as part of the statutory financial statement audit. We observe whether count teams work in pairs, whether obsolete lots are segregated, and whether reconciling items between the perpetual system and the floor count are investigated the same day.
If your fiscal year-end falls in February or March, tell us at planning so we can schedule attendance around weather windows rather than forcing a single date that the yard cannot support.