Which of the following controls can minimize the threat of inaccurate time and attendance data?

Knowledge management systems

Software that stores and organizes expertise possessed by individual employees so that knowledge can be shared and used by others.

A listing of payroll data for each employee for a payroll period.

A report that report the amount of gross pay, deductions, net pay for the current period and the year-to-date total for each category.

Advantages of outsourcing payroll

  • Reduces costs
  • Broader range of benefits
  • Free up computer resources

Traditionally, accountants have been most involved with which portion of the HRM/payroll cycle?

a. hiring

b. payroll

c. training

d. performance evaluation

Which of the following statements is true?

a. Financial statements report the value of employee knowledge and skills.

b. Turnover and absenteeism are costly.

c. All employees must fill out time cards.

d. Default configurations of ERP packages typically provide good segregation of duties.

b. turnover and absenteeism are costly

Which document lists the current amount and year-to-date totals of gross pay, deductions, and net pay for one employee?

a. payroll register

b. time card

c. paycheck

d. earnings statement

Online processing is most useful for which of these tasks?

a. preparing payroll checks

b. reconciling job-time tickets and time cards

c. paying payroll tax obligations

d. making changes in employee benefit choices

d. making changes in employee benefit choices

Use of a payroll service bureau or a PEO provides which of the following benefits?

a. fewer staff needed to process payroll

b. lower cost of processing payroll

c. less need for developing and maintaining payroll tax expertise

d. all of the above

Which control procedure would be most effective in detecting the failure to prepare a paycheck for a new employee before paychecks are distributed?

a. validity checks on the employee number on each time card

b. record counts of time cards submitted and time cards processed

c. zero-balance check

d. use of a separate payroll bank account

b. record counts of time cards submitted and time cards processed

Which department should have responsibility for authorizing pay-rate changes?

a. timekeeping

b. payroll

c. HRM

d. accounting

To maximize effectiveness of internal controls over payroll, which of the following persons should be responsible for distributing employee paychecks?

a. departmental secretary

b. payroll clerk

c. controller

d. departmental supervisor

a. departmental secretary

Where should unclaimed paychecks be returned?

a. HRM department

b. cashier

c. payroll department

d. absent employee’s supervisor

Which of the following is an important supporting document to authorize the transfer of funds to the payroll bank account?

a. earnings statement

b. time card

c. payroll register

d. W-2 form

Tokenization is a control that mitigates the risk of ______.

a. Inaccurate or invalid master data

b. Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data

c. Unauthorized changes to payroll master data

d. Inaccurate time and attendance data

e. Theft of fraudulent distribution of paychecks

c. unauthorized changes to payroll master data

Which of the following controls reduce the risk of issuing paychecks to a “phantom” or “ghost” employee?

a. Restrict physical access to blank paychecks

b. Prenumber all payroll checks

c. Use an imprest account to clear payroll checks

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

To implement proper segregation of duties, who should have the ability to create new records in the employee master file used for processing payroll?

a. A payroll clerk

b. Someone in HR

c. The new employee’s supervisor

d. Any of the three people listed above could perform this task

e. None of the three people listed above should perform this task

An application control that compares the amount of an employee’s raise to that employee’s existing salary is called a(n) ______.

a. limit check

b. range test

c. reasonableness test

d. check digit verification

e. size check

The purpose of issuing earnings statements to employees is to mitigate the risk of ______.

a. Unauthorized changes to payroll master data

b. Errors in processing payroll

c. Theft or fraudulent distribution of paychecks

d. Untimely payments

b. Errors in processing payroll

The use of biometrics as part of employee authentication is designed primarily to reduce the risk of which threat?

a. Inaccurate updating of the master payroll file

b. Inaccurate time and attendance data

c. Failure to make required payroll tax payments

d. Errors in processing payroll

b. Inaccurate time and attendance data

Which of the following control procedures is designed to reduce the risk of theft of paychecks or fraudulent distribution of paychecks?

a. Restriction of access to blank payroll checks

b. Prenumbering and periodically accounting for all paychecks

c. Redepositing all unclaimed paychecks and investigating the reasons why the paychecks were not claimed

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

Use of a separate checking account for payroll is designed to reduce the risk of the threat of _______.

a. unauthorized changes to the payroll master file

b. errors in processing payroll

c. theft or fraudulent disbursement of paychecks

d. failure to make required payments to government tax agencies

e. loss or destruction of payroll data

c. theft or fraudulent disbursement of paychecks

Which of the following is not a general threat to the HRM payroll cycle?

2. Which of the following is not a general threat to the HRM/payroll cycle? d. poor product design (Correct.

How can employee morale attitudes affect an organization?

Employee morale is directly correlated to your organization's overall productivity, competitiveness in the market, and, in turn, your profitability. Employees who have a higher level of employee morale tend to be more productive, more satisfied with their jobs, and more engaged at work.

Which document is sent to a supplier when an organization wants to buy something?

Purchase orders This document is then sent to the vendor of the goods or services. Once approved by both buying and selling parties, the purchase order becomes a legal financial contract.

Which type of payroll report lists the voluntary deductions for each employee?

The payroll register is a report that lists each employee's gross pay, payroll deductions, and net pay for each pay period. The deduction register lists the voluntary deductions for each employee.