In a three-way matching control, which reconciliation is tested to ensure consistency across documents?

• A. Quantities ordered with quantities received
• B. Invoice amount with invoice sales price
• C. Quantities ordered with quantities requested
• D. Invoice amount with requisitioned price

Answer: (A)

Three-way matching focuses on ensuring consistency among the purchase order, the receiving document, and the vendor invoice to prevent paying for goods that weren’t ordered or delivered, and to confirm the terms (quantity and price) are correct across documents. The reconciliation that compares quantities ordered with quantities received is the key test here because it directly verifies that what was requested actually arrived. If the received quantity differs from the ordered quantity, it signals issues like partial deliveries, extra items, or data entry errors that need resolution before payment.

Prices and totals are also checked in a three-way match (invoice price against the purchase order price, and the total invoice amount against expected cost), but the specific cross-document quantity verification is the one that ensures consistency across the documents in terms of how much was supposed to be delivered versus how much was actually received.