physical verification

Process conducted by auditors to confirm that a company's assets actually exist. This may be performed by one to several auditors that will take a company's books and confirm that each asset listed is accounted for. Some of these auditors may be specialists on the auditing of a specific type of asset, which helps prevent an auditor from having to account for assets that he/she does not know exactly how to verify. An auditor may examine financial records, contracts, and other policies to verify any asset that is not physically at the company.