Deck 9: Human Resources and Payroll Processes

Question 1

Human resources are one of the most important

A) outputs from a business.
B) inputs into a business.
C) collection processes in a business.
D) conversion processes in a business.

Answer 1

inputs into a business.

Question 2

The human resources department activities are part of the

A) acquisition and payment processes.
B) conversion processes.
C) marketing, sales, and collection processes.
D) information processes.

Answer 2

acquisition and payment processes.

Question 3

The human resources (HR) business function is responsible for all employees and employee-related operations, including

A) recruiting and hiring employees.
B) training and developing employees.
C) transitioning employees.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Answer 3

All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 4

Which of the following activities would be a responsibility of the human resources business function?

A) Processing payroll
B) Accounting for benefit withholdings
C) Financing of inputs
D) Performance evaluations

Question 5

What kind of human resource (HR) model allows for certain administrative tasks to be performed by a third party?

A) Outsourced benefits administration
B) Insourced benefits administration
C) HR service sharing
D) HR benefits accounting

Question 6

Along with raw materials, which of the following is also considered an input to a business?

A) Customers
B) Employees
C) Sales
D) Operations

Question 7

Which of the following would not be considered an input to a business?

A) Financial resources
B) Human resources
C) Equipment
D) Design

Question 8

The Human Resources (HR) department is responsible for determining salaries and benefits. Which of these activities is related to that function?

A) Determining paid time off
B) Training and development
C) Determining promotions
D) Updating employee data

Question 9

Mario works in the human resources (HR) department of the Jimmy Sub Corporation. Mario's focus in HR involves employee hiring and transition. Which of the following employee activities will require Mario's involvement for the HR department?

A) April attends company orientation.
B) May undergoes an annual performance review.
C) June receives a promotion and a raise.
D) July gets married and needs to update her W4.

Question 10

Viktoria suggests that the Well Market human resources (HR) department needs to become more innovative in retaining employees. They suggest that remote work or rotations might entice employees to maintain their status at Well Market and reduce the costs associated with hiring and training new staff. To administer either program, Well Market's HR department needs to either hire more staff or find a way to manage more work with the same sized team. Choose the best option for Viktoria and the Well Market HR team?

A) The HR team could work more hours and hope that no one gets burned out.
B) The HR team could hire new people and try the new programs once the new team members are trained, which could take months.
C) The HR team could outsource some administrative tasks and focus on the retention programs themselves.
D) The HR team could not change anything and hope that things work out.

Question 11

Which of the following human resources activities is frequently outsourced?

A) Benefits administration
B) Annual performance reviews
C) Involuntary termination
D) Maintaining employee master data

Question 12

Which relationship between human resources (HR) and payroll is best for business?

A) HR and payroll both deal with employees and should be one department.
B) HR and payroll have distinctive functions and should be separate.
C) Payroll deals with paychecks. HR deals with employee benefits.
D) Payroll is processed by the HR department.

Question 13

Payroll departments perform which activities?

A) Wage calculation
B) Commission earnings
C) Employee pay
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 14

Payroll for a business should be processed in which department?

A) Accounting
B) Human resources
C) Sales
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 15

Which department owns the data used for payroll processing?

A) Accounting
B) Human resources
C) Sales
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 16

If the accounting department handles payroll, why would a company need a human resources (HR) department?

A) HR personnel know and understand labor laws.
B) HR personnel are trained to handle sensitive issues.
C) HR personnel are trained to deal with and reduce the likelihood of HR legal issues.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 17

Employee compensation involves

A) the HR department.
B) tax regulations.
C) pre-tax expense accounts.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of a deduction from an employee's payroll check?

A) Federal and state taxes
B) Insurance premiums
C) Retirement contributions
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 19

Which department should an employee consult to ask questions about withholdings on a paycheck?

A) Accounting
B) Human resources
C) Payroll
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 20

Compensating employees is a business process that results in

A) an economic exchange of resources.
B) no change in the accounting information system.
C) changes to the HR database not the information system.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 21

Payroll accounting includes contributions to pre-tax accounts that can be spent on specific expenses. Which of the following is an example of a use for pre-tax account?

A) Child care
B) Meals
C) Entertainment
D) PTO

Question 22

Jonah Brothers Entertainment received a notice of legal action related to a job applicant that was not hired based on his thought that the interviewer asked illegal questions during the interview that caused the interviewer to discriminate against the applicant. What HR activity area should be responsible for making sure this issue does not occur again?

A) Updating and maintaining employee data
B) Monitoring and evaluation
C) Recruiting and hiring employees
D) Training and developing employees

Question 23

JIT Technologies promoted Jorge during his last performance evaluation. The promotion also included a raise. What HR related activity is involved with Jorge's good news?

A) Monitoring and evaluation
B) Transitioning employees
C) Payroll processing
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 24

Which term is accurately described as the process of establishing new employees in the company's systems and helping them quickly adapt to their positions and the company?

A) Employee acquisition
B) Employee onboarding
C) Employee conversion
D) Employee hiring

Question 25

At what point does employee onboarding begin?

A) First day on the job
B) At the interview
C) When a job offer is extended
D) When a position is advertised

Question 26

Which statement concerning employee onboarding is FALSE?

A) Employee onboarding is the process of establishing new employees in the company's systems and helping them quickly adapt to their positions and the company.
B) Employee onboarding includes the administrative process of establishing the new employee in the payroll and benefits systems.
C) Employee onboarding includes ensuring new hires are comfortable, facilitating socialization, and following up with the new-hire.
D) Employee onboarding starts on the employee's first day on the job and continues through the new-hire's first few weeks or months.

Question 27

A successful employee onboarding program reduces what risks for a company?

A) Decreased productivity
B) Training expenses
C) Diminished company reputation
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 28

Poor employee onboarding leads to high employee turnover. What risks are associated with high employee turnover?

A) Expenses of training an ever-changing workforce
B) Challenges associated with negative reputation from employees and past employees
C) Decreased productivity from employees who are not integrated in the company
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 29

What department is responsible for the employee onboarding process?

A) Human resources
B) Department manager
C) Payroll
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 30

Many large accounting firms onboard groups of new hires together. The onboarding process includes several weeks of training together. In what way can this type of onboarding be beneficial to the firm?

A) New hires create relationships with one another that can support them throughout their career.
B) New hires learn about the corporate culture during the training process.
C) New hires become comfortable and establish relationships, thus increasing retention.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 31

Which statement concerning the evaluation of employee onboarding processes is FALSE?

A) To evaluate an onboarding process, you need to understand how responsibilities are divided among responsible parties.
B) An onboarding process flowchart is all that must be reviewed as it denotes the order of the steps in the process and who is responsible.
C) A thorough evaluation includes talking to employees to find out if the process flowchart is a true reflection of operations.
D) The evaluation of an employee onboarding process includes a review of process documentation and employee interviews.

Question 32

As a risk advisory consultant, you are asked to review a company's employee onboarding process. What should you ask for to begin your evaluation?

A) Process flowchart
B) Onboarding documentation
C) Appointments to meet with employees
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 33

Companies mitigate risks associated with employee onboarding by implementing and enforcing

A) external payroll administration.
B) control activities.
C) background checks.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 34

Which of the following statements about control activities related to employee onboarding is FALSE?

A) The cost of employee onboarding control activities should not exceed the benefit.
B) Business processes like HR, payroll, and onboarding do not have a master list of controls.
C) Companies should establish and document policies and procedures for hiring.
D) Control activities focus on fraud prevention to prevent financial loss for the company.

Question 35

As a risk advisory consultant, you are asked to evaluate and recommend improvements for the employee onboarding process for Swiftly Tech. During your evaluation you discover that Swiftly Tech's employee data was part of a data breach from a third-party background check provider. What action do you recommend that Swiftly Tech take?

A) Swiftly Tech should forgo background checks to avoid sharing confidential employee data with other companies.
B) Swiftly Tech should require background check providers to have their own internal controls to ensure confidentiality and security of data.
C) Swiftly Tech should require employees to acquire and provide their own background check data.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 36

As a risk advisory consultant, you are asked to evaluate and recommend improvements for the employee onboarding process for Swiftly Tech. During your evaluation you discover that Swiftly Tech's new hires often fail to understand company policies. What action do you recommend that Swiftly Tech take?

A) Swiftly Tech should include an employment agreement in the new hire package that requires that the employee sign that the job description and employee's responsibilities are understood.
B) Swiftly Tech should require that new hires attend an employee orientation that includes a review of the employee handbook before beginning their job duties.
C) Swiftly Tech should have new hires acknowledge receipt and understanding of company policies.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 37

As a risk advisory consultant, you are asked to evaluate and recommend improvements for the employee onboarding process for Swiftly Tech. During your evaluation you discover that Swiftly Tech's payroll department adds employees based on an email from the HR department. The lack of controls could result in payroll fraud. What do you recommend that Swiftly Tech do to avoid potential payroll fraud?

A) Swiftly Tech could require completed new hire documentation paperwork prior to employee record creation in the payroll system.
B) Swiftly Tech could require that all employee data be secured and changes are only made by authorized individuals.
C) Swiftly Tech could schedule frequent independent reviews of new hire data in the system to ensure validity and accuracy.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 38

What role in a company should be responsible for ensuring that employee onboarding processes are efficient and effective?

A) Payroll manager
B) Hiring department manager
C) Employee relations manger
D) Human resources manager

Question 39

Which employee onboarding action may prevent high employee turnover?

A) Individual online training for employees
B) Onboard training and engagement with employees after their onboarding
C) Emails including policies and procedures
D) A first day on the job that gets the employee started in their assigned role

Question 40

What kind of risk might employee social events prevent?

A) High employee turnover
B) Employee policy violations
C) Payroll fraud
D) Low productivity

Question 41

A violation of employment laws for hiring could result in lawsuits, fines, or reputational damage. What kind of control activity might a company initiate to prevent such a risk?

A) Establish a policy that employees complete a new hire package prior to their first day.
B) Establish a policy that provides for a comprehensive onboarding week for new hires.
C) Establish a policy that only the HR department extend offer letters for employment.
D) Establish and maintain a comprehensive employee agreement for all employees.

Question 42

Which statement concerning employee onboarding analytics is TRUE?

A) Employee onboarding analytics focuses on providing context to the mass of historical data generated in the employee onboarding process.
B) Employee onboarding analytics includes reports on the number of new hires and number of hiring violations detected.
C) Employee onboarding analytics focuses on providing a dashboard of data for HR management to review daily.
D) Employee onboarding analytics includes reports on internal control exception reports, hiring issues, and compliance fines and penalties.

Question 43

What type of employee onboarding analytics may identify issues in the onboarding process?

A) Analysis of employee master data
B) Analysis of post-onboarding surveys completed by hiring managers
C) Analysis of post-onboarding surveys completed by new hires
D) Analysis of the percentage of tenured employees versus new hires in each department

Question 44

Which of the following is an example of employee onboarding analytics?

A) Third-party background checks on new hires
B) Employee policy receipt acknowledgement and understanding certification
C) Ongoing training and engagement with employees
D) Comparison of new hire compensation to departmental budgets to identify variances

Question 45

What type of employee onboarding analytics may identify fictitious employees?

A) Analysis of employee master data for nonmatching information
B) Analysis of post-onboarding surveys completed by hiring managers
C) Analysis of post-onboarding surveys completed by new hires
D) Analysis of the percentage of tenured employees versus new hires in each department

Question 46

What type of employee onboarding analytics may yield identification of skillset gaps among new hires?

A) Analysis of employee master data for nonmatching information
B) Analysis of post-onboarding surveys completed by hiring managers
C) Analysis of post-onboarding surveys completed by new hires
D) Analysis of the percentage of tenured employees versus new hires in each department

Question 47

Which business process manages the removal of an employee from active employment status?

A) Employee onboarding
B) Employee violation
C) Employee termination
D) Employee offboarding

Question 48

Which of the following is the responsibility of HR during the employee termination process?

A) HR answers questions from the departing employee.
B) HR answers questions from the departing employee's managers.
C) HR minimizes potential damage during the termination process.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 49

For which of the following reasons should HR be involved with the process of firing an employee?

A) HR is involved to ensure that the situation is handled properly, doesn't escalate, and to mitigate the risk of a retaliatory ex-employee filing a lawsuit.
B) HR is involved to prevent the employee manager from having to face the ex-employee and answer questions about why the firing occurred.
C) HR is involved to ensure that the ex-employee leaves immediately and has no access to speak with employees about any issues.
D) HR is involved to prevent the ex-employee not having access to sabotage the company or steal company property or information.

Question 50

Public accounting firms often require terminated employees to exit on the same day as a resignation is submitted, even in the event of a voluntary termination. Why is the same-day exit necessary?

A) Public accounting firms are required by accounting regulations to not allow employees to work after submitting a resignation.
B) Public accounting firms must prevent conflicts of interest if the employee has already accepted a job offer from a direct competitor.
C) Public accounting firms are required by HR standards to interview and escort ex-employees from the building and immediately terminate electronic access.
D) Public accounting firms must prevent ex-employees from discussing any company matters with others at the company after termination.

Question 51

Which of the following events constitutes an employee termination?

A) Retirement
B) Death
C) Layoff
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 52

What department is involved in employee termination administrative processes?

A) Human resources
B) Ex-employee's department
C) Information technology
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 53

Which of the following is the best definition of severance?

A) Severance is the process followed by HR when an employee resigns from a position.
B) Severance is the policy that managers follow regarding employee resignations.
C) Severance is the process of handling corporate layoffs.
D) Severance is the pay package for employees involved in layoffs not related to employee performance.

Question 54

What occurs during an exit interview?

A) Employees meet with HR to apply and interview for a different position within the company.
B) Employees meet with their former manager to go over details of current projects.
C) Employees meet with HR to discuss reasons for leaving and post-termination benefits.
D) Employees meet with their former manager to share details about retained employees' conduct.

Question 55

At what point in the employee termination process is data collected from the exiting employee?

A) Submission of resignation letter
B) HR notification
C) HR exit interview
D) No data is collected.

Question 56

For what reasons do employee terminations present risks to a company?

A) Employee onboarding is time-consuming and expensive.
B) Changing employees decreases productivity.
C) Ex-employees could retaliate with legal or defamatory actions.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 57

What type of control activity is implemented to prevent a terminated employee from using proprietary company information elsewhere?

A) All employee issued technology, including storage devices, are collected at the exit interview.
B) Company credit cards are collected from the employee, paid, and closed at the end of the billing cycle.
C) Employee access to the system is disabled immediately upon termination.
D) Terminated employees sign a noncompete agreement during the exit interview.

Question 58

What type of control activity is implemented to prevent unauthorized expenses related to terminated employees?

A) All employee issued technology, including storage devices, are collected at the exit interview.
B) Company credit cards are collected from the employee, paid, and closed at the end of the billing cycle.
C) Employee access to the system is disabled immediately upon termination.
D) Terminated employees sign a noncompete agreement during the exit interview.

Question 59

What type of HR control activity is implemented to prevent a wrongful termination lawsuit?

A) Managers must complete an HR-authorized employee termination checklist and submit to HR.
B) Company credit cards are collected from the employee, paid, and closed at the end of the billing cycle.
C) Employee access to the system is disabled immediately upon termination.
D) Terminated employees sign a noncompete agreement during the exit interview.

Question 60

What type of control activity is implemented to prevent malicious actions against company systems and data?

A) All employee issued technology, including storage devices, are collected at the exit interview.
B) Company credit cards are collected from the employee, paid, and closed at the end of the billing cycle.
C) Employee access to the system is disabled immediately upon termination.
D) Terminated employees sign a noncompete agreement during the exit interview.

Question 61

What type of control activity is implemented to prevent financial losses related to fraudulent payments to terminated employees?

A) All employee issued technology, including storage devices, are collected at the exit interview.
B) Company credit cards are collected from the employee, paid, and closed at the end of the billing cycle.
C) Employee access to the system is disabled immediately upon termination.
D) HR conducts an independent review of the payroll administrator's employee records status to validate it is no longer active.

Question 62

Highly valuable data is collected during the exit interview. What types of employee termination reports might be valuable for review?

A) Number of completed employee terminations
B) Number of each type of employee terminations
C) Turnover rate
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 63

Henri joined a public accounting firm as an intern for the summer. Henri's final project involved evaluating the firm's employee termination control activities with a goal of developing additional control activities to prevent unnecessary reputation damages for the firm. Which of the following control activities might Henri suggest?

A) Complete an HR-authorized employee termination checklist and submit to HR.
B) Require HR presence at firings to ensure proper procedures and mitigate risks.
C) Remove employee's authority to act on behalf of the firm and conduct firm business.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 64

Employee termination analytics may lead to improvements in business processes and departmental operations. What type of analytics may identify ongoing corporate issues?

A) Trend analysis of reasons provided during exit interviews for voluntary terminations
B) Comparison of length of employment to feedback from onboarding activities
C) Time series analysis of seasonal trends in voluntary terminations
D) Drilling into employee termination reports by department and supervisor

Question 65

Employee termination analytics may lead to improvements in business processes and departmental operations. What type of analytics may identify potential issues with specific managers?

A) Trend analysis of reasons provided during exit interviews for voluntary terminations
B) Comparison of the length of employment to feedback from onboarding activities
C) Time series analysis of seasonal trends in voluntary terminations
D) Drilling into employee termination reports by department and supervisors

Question 66

Employee termination analytics may lead to improvements in business processes and departmental operations. What type of analytics may identify issues between the onboarding experience and retention?

A) Trend analysis of reasons provided during exit interviews for voluntary terminations
B) Comparison of length of employment to feedback from onboarding activities
C) Time series analysis of season trends in voluntary terminations
D) Drilling into employee termination reports by department and supervisors

Question 67

Employee termination analytics may lead to improvements in business processes and departmental operations. What type of analytics may identify issues related to employees leaving after annual reviews, promotions, or bonuses?

A) Trend analysis of reasons provided during exit interviews for voluntary terminations
B) Comparison of length of employment to feedback from onboarding activities
C) Time series analysis of seasonal trends in voluntary terminations
D) Drilling into employee termination reports by department and supervisors

Question 68

Machiko joined the HR department at Takano Accounting. Takano has asked Machiko to evaluate the well-documented employee termination process for Takano. Machiko has identified that despite Takano being a public accounting firm, the company often sets exit interviews and final employment dates several days employees voluntarily resign. Takano may be at risk of

A) employee retaliation based on wrongful termination.
B) the employee acting on a conflict of interest in favor of their new employer.
C) increased turnover rates by high-performing employees.
D) employee records remaining in the payroll system after termination.

Question 69

Josephine joined a Big 4 accounting firm as an intern for the summer. Josephine's final project involved evaluating the firm's employee termination control activities with a goal of developing additional control activities to prevent unnecessary financial losses for the firm. Which of the following control activities might Josephine suggest that will prevent financial loss?

A) Clear all advances and employee receivables prior to the employee's final paycheck.
B) Company credit cards are collected from the employee, paid, and closed at the end of the billing cycle.
C) Remove employee's authority to act on behalf of the firm and conduct firm business.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 70

The primary purpose of a company is to

A) create products.
B) pay their employees.
C) please shareholders.
D) maximize profits.

Question 71

What is the primary determinate of the balance between the amount of time an employee spends earning a salary and the satisfaction received during leisure time?

A) Salary amount
B) Time off
C) Job satisfaction
D) Personal fulfillment

Question 72

What is at the heart of a company's payroll business process?

A) Payroll accounting
B) Employees and their time worked
C) Human resources
D) Accounting system

Question 73

What business process calculates wages to compensate employees with their entitled pay?

A) Human resources
B) Accounting
C) Payroll
D) Enterprise resource planning

Question 74

At what phase of maturity would a company be that has implemented a HR and payroll module in a fully integrated enterprise resource planning system?

A) Phase 1 - Limited
B) Phase 2 - Informal
C) Phase 3 - Defined
D) Phase 4 - Optimized

Question 75

Which of the following is NOT a factor to determine a company's degree of integration in HR and payroll systems?

A) Cost of an enterprise-wide system
B) Size of business
C) Reduction of data redundancy
D) Ability to generate user buy-in

Question 76

Which off the following is a factor to consider when determining a company's degree of integration in HR and payroll systems?

A) Support from management
B) Size of the business
C) Ability to generate user buy-in
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 77

Which of the following is an advantage to integrating the information system for HR and payroll processing?

A) Reducing data redundancies
B) Improving data quality
C) Quick access to data
D) All of these answer choices are correct.

Question 78

Which of the following is NOT an advantage to integrating the information system for HR and payroll processing?

A) Creating a single source for HR and payroll data
B) Minimizing efforts for data collection
C) Ability to generate user buy-in
D) Providing streamlined access to data

Question 79

Which of the following statements concerning payroll is TRUE?

A) Payroll is a straightforward process of distributing wages to employees.
B) Payroll processing occurs at third-party vendors so it is not under control of the company.
C) Payroll and HR data remain separate to allow for data control via duplication.
D) Payroll is not as straightforward as simply distributing the hourly rate or annual salary to employees.

Question 80

Payroll includes

A) distributing annual salary and hourly wages to employees.
B) several financial accounting journal entries.
C) calculation and payment of payroll taxes.
D) All of these answer choices are correct.