a. You are the manager of the audit of a Platonic Limited ("Platonic"), an online retailer of clothing, shoes, and fashion accessories. Platonic's single largest asset is inventory.

Explain the purpose of substantive testing for inventory and describe the substantive procedures you will carry out at year end in order to obtain sufficient audit evidence regarding the assertions of valuation and existence and give examples of the main types of substantive test?

b. Using the information set out above for Platonic, discuss the process of determining the number and / or type of inventory items that would be tested using substantive testing procedures.