Returnable Asset Tracking Systems – How They Can Help Your Company With Sarbanes-Oxley Requirements

Can a returnable asset tracking system help in the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley? Yes it can and it will save you money too!

Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 requires companies with large dollar volumes of returnable assets to effectively track those assets to ensure accurate balance sheets and income statements. Without a returnable asset tracking and recovery system in place, companies open themselves to Sarbanes-Oxley liability if error-prone processes lead to significant misstatements of asset positions. This can be a particular issue with a fleet of returnable shipping assets, such as totes, tanks, containers or cages.

Using the Internet and enabled by media such as electronic file transfer, RFID or Bar Code, a returnable asset tracking system can be a major step towards controlling, recovering and securing returnable shipping assets during their entire lifecycle while aiding in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. Unlike a GPS location application, the returnable asset tracking software solutions includes not only each returnable asset’s most recent location but also a permanently archived history or “passport” from the date the returnable shipping asset was acquired.

In addition to assuring compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, the returnable asset tracking system support internal and external audit requirements, regulatory compliance and Trade (NAFTA) requirements but also improves Return on Assets (ROA) by identifying unneeded inventory and increasing utilization of tracked returnable assets.

Some of the management benefits you should also expect from automated returnable asset tracking software can be derived from a focus on event-triggered exception or smart reports. This should address potential trouble areas of the returnable asset fleet performance such as stranded assets, excessive dwell or transit times or inordinately high damage.