Cut-off testing without drowning in December shipments
Year-end cut-off testing for exporters often balloons because every late December shipment feels material. Define the population as goods shipped within a fixed window around the reporting date, then sample within that window rather than the entire month’s invoices.
Evidence that matters: bill of lading dates, warehouse gate logs, and customer receipt acknowledgements. Sales invoices alone rarely settle FOB questions.
When Incoterms vary by customer, tag the population with the term before sampling. Untagged populations produce exceptions that are really classification problems.
Share the cut-off plan with the warehouse supervisor a week ahead. Surprises on count day cost more than an extra hour of planning in the Taichung office.