What is a Stock Register in Accounting?

A stock register is a detailed record kept of the shares issued by a corporation, as well as any repurchases and transfers between shareholders. A register is most commonly maintained by a publicly-held company, but can be kept by any corporation, especially when there are many shareholders. This is quite useful for determining who has control over a business, as well as for determining voting rights, payouts in the event of an acquisition, and the payment of dividends.

What is a Stock Register for Inventory?

A stock register can also refer to a record of the unit quantities and value of all inventory kept in stock. It is quite useful for tracking the exact quantities of inventory items on hand, which is needed for inventory control purposes. If a business uses cycle counting, then it conducts counts of selected inventory items and compares these counts to the quantities recorded in the stock register. If there is a discrepancy, the warehouse staff investigates the reason for it - which may result in an adjustment to the inventory record in the stock register.