inventory count unattended… depreciation not charged

The auditor should always consider whether alternative procedures can be used to verify an assertion – to qualify the audit opinion should not be a foregone conclusion (!)
So, for example, suppose the y/e was 31-12-20 – how does the business trade/raise sales invoices in January if inventory doesn’t exist? Answer – inventory does exist – and the auditor must obtain sufficient evidence to confirm that. So, for example, goods shown to have been received (GDN/purchase invoice) at the end of December would have existed.

What the auditor can do by way of alternative procedures will depend on the specific circumstances of the client – in particular, whether the client keeps continuous (“perpetual”) inventory records or not. If yes, and they are accurate (as shown by test counts throughout the year) then the “full physical count” may not be necessary in any case.
The problem will be where a y/e count is necessary because there are no reliable stock records and the CLIENT has not been able to count inventory (e.g. if due to a pandemic the client did not have sufficient resources to perform stock counts) – in this case, management will have a hard job to come up with an inventory figure for the financial statements because inspection does not only confirm existence of quantity but condition (which affects valuation).

If, however, the client has been able to perform a count but the auditor was unable to attend it due to circumstances outside MANAGEMENT’s control (e.g. covid restrictions) the auditor might reasonably be expected to obtain sufficient evidence of existence through a combination of procedures. As I’ve suggested already – purchase before y/e and after-date sales – also comparing inventory quantities of major stock lines to the prior year quantities and analytical procedures (e.g. comparing gross profit margins by major product type with an expectation based on known margins).