Although most application reports are designed to be date-driven, there are still things that can affect historical data and reporting output. These can potentially have an effect on Stock Valuation and LIFO reporting, for example.

Historical data is recorded for each item in the Item database based upon the calendar date. It's important to realize, however, that this history information is (a) still linked to an existing item and (b) that this item's settings can change which potentially can affect reporting.

Here is a situation to consider, my item XYZ had a value at the end of the prior year. If an inventory valuation report is created at the end of the year, the item appears as it exists at that time along with figures calculated based-upon the item's historical data. But, what happens if XYZ is merged with another item --or-- changes are made to the product group assigned to XYZ at a later time?

Despite the fact that the same report is being run for the same time period, later changes to the items will affect the report's output. The after effect of these modifications may change where that item's value appears on the report (as could be the case with a change in group, vendor, or location*) or in the case of merging, it may cause another item's value to be affected while removing any reference to the original item.

*Depending upon the report's selection criteria when processed.

Even historical data isn't necessarily static. It can be modified by certain actions in the software. For these reasons, it's a good idea to run and save a copy of your stock valuation reports at the end of the fiscal and/or calendar year. Minimally, users should avoid doing any item merges or modifications to groups, vendors, or locations until any required reports have been processed and saved as a file. The good news is that changes to items shouldn't affect your company's stock value overall, just how the valuation appears when examining a detailed breakdown rather than the total value.

Although we've used inventory as a specific example, there's potential for similar types of issues with other types of data. As a rule, if you need an accurate report for a specific time period, it is suggested that you run the needed report at the end of the period and create a file copy on paper or electronically (or both).