=24. Verification of Stores Records.= When indexed in this manner the stores record of any article can be quickly located, and the sectional divisions will assist greatly in verifying the records. While the stores records are intended merely as records of material in stock, their accuracy must be verified by an actual inventory, just as the cash account is verified by a count of cash on hand. However, if thoroughly classified, it is not necessary to verify all of the stores records at one time; they can be verified by sections, or the record of a single article can be verified by an article inventory, without regard to other records. Accounts in the ledger should be arranged to correspond with the stores classifications, that is, purchase accounts should be carried with materials forming the main divisions of the stores records; as _Hardware_, _Bar Steel_, _Foundry Material_, _Foundry Supplies_, and _Factory Supplies_. When the stock of one class, as hardware, is inventoried, the result should be recorded on the regular inventory sheet, priced, and extended, and the total compared with the hardware purchase account in the ledger. Any discrepancies should be adjusted at once, but if the records are carefully kept, and an inventory of each class is taken two or three times a year, the discrepancies should be practically nil. If the routine prescribed is faithfully followed, there is no theoretical reason why stores records should not check as closely as cash, with the possible exception of bulk stores, like fuel and ores, where estimates are necessary. Even then, if inventories are taken when these stores are at the lowest point, there should be little difficulty in arriving at accurate results. However, the greatest responsibility rests on the chief stores clerk. He must not let a single pound of material leave the storeroom without an order, for it is on the accuracy of his records that all of the accounts are based. The order copies received in the cost department furnish the basis for all material charges. Here prices are entered and extensions are made. The chief cost clerk will transmit to the chief accountant weekly or monthly recapitulations of all material charged out. The chief accountant will credit his purchase accounts and debit _Manufacturing_, _Maintenance_, _Repair_, or _Expense_ accounts as the case may be. _Purchase_ accounts thus become _controlling_ accounts of the stores records, and the latter takes its legitimate place as an integral part of the accounting system. RECORD FORMS =25.= All forms for stores records, no matter what the class of material recorded, possess certain characteristics in common; yet the information required about each special class is usually of such nature that a special form is advisable. This may mean the use of several forms in the same establishment.