Investigation Audit Execution and Physical Asset Verification Efficiency: A Case Study on Evidence Readiness and QR/Barcode-Based Asset Tagging Controls

Abstract

This paper examines the efficiency of investigation-audit execution and physical asset verification within a multi-industry corporate advisory practice, through two field-based case studies carried out at Vibhuti Corporate Advisory Consultants LLP, Bengaluru. The first case study analyses a delay in receiving supporting evidence — closing stock, carriage inward, and carriage outward records — during an investigation audit, and its effect on field execution. The second case study examines physical asset verification and tagging at Sagility Ltd., where a gap between the verification stage and the tagging stage created repeated identification effort across a four-building site. The study identifies root causes such as unstructured evidence readiness on the client side and the separation of identification from tagging activities, and proposes practical controls, including a pre-visit evidence-readiness checklist and a one-visit QR/barcode-based asset-tagging workflow. The findings indicate that audit efficiency depends as much on process design, documentation discipline, and coordination as on the execution capability of the audit team itself.