Reading an aging report before the auditors arrive

An aging report is only as honest as the last receipt date attached to each SKU. Distributors who reset dates when stock moves between hubs inflate freshness and shrink reserves without meaning to.

Start with the oldest band and ask which items still sell in the next ninety days. If the warehouse lead laughs, that band needs a reserve conversation — not a footnote.

Next, separate damaged and returns cages from sellable aging. Mixing them makes finance argue about percentages while operations already knows those units will never ship.

For Taiwan networks, mark typhoon-hold periods on the calendar beside the aging extract. Stock that sat through a port delay is not the same as stock that simply stopped moving because demand faded.