Which of the following statements is NOT true under the perpetual inventory system?

a.The merchandise inventory account is continually updated for purchase and sales transactions.

b.The balance of the inventory account is the amount of merchandise available for sale at that point in time.

c.The physical inventory on hand at the end of the accounting period is usually more than the balance of Merchandise Inventory.

d.Since inventory shrinkage cannot be totally eliminated, it is considered a normal cost of operations.