Final answer:
In an inventory audit, selecting items from records and verifying their physical presence is intended to support the 'existence' assertion, which aims to confirm that inventory listed in records is real and physically present. Thus, the option 3 is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the audit of inventory, selecting inventory items from a perpetual master file and then going to the locations to obtain test counts is primarily intended to gather evidence for the existence audit assertion. This assertion is concerned with whether the inventory actually exists on the balance sheet date. By physically verifying the existence of inventory items, auditors can confirm that the items are present and thus support the assertion that the inventory recorded in the perpetual master file exists in reality.
When auditors perform such tests, they are trying to ensure that the listed inventory items are not just figures on a computer system but also physically present where they are supposed to be. While other assertions like completeness, rights and obligations, and valuation and allocation are also important in inventory audits, physical verification primarily relates to existence.
To illustrate with an example, consider the claim "There is a container of milk in the refrigerator." Verifying this claim would be similar to verifying the existence of inventory; one would physically check the refrigerator. Whether the claim is true would depend on the physical existence of the milk container, regardless of its type (bottle, wax container, powdered, or parmalat).