Deck 13: Data Analytics

Question 1

As consumers have increased their use of and reliance on the internet, data usage has grown exponentially. As consumers use more data, organizations develop ways to gather and retain that information. This big data is divided into structured and unstructured data. Which of the following is an example of a characteristic of unstructured data?

A) Data that exists without definition, like an image.
B) Data that is organized and easy to manipulate.
C) Data that is organized into rows and columns.
D) Data that is ready to be added to a database.

Answer 1

Data that exists without definition, like an image.

Question 2

As a result of people's increased internet usage, companies have an enormous amount of user data. These companies can spend a lot of time and effort trying to determine how to best use this information for themselves. Which of the following represents an appropriate use of data a company collected from its users?

A) A clothing boutique uses recent sales data to determine which type of person is most likely to shoplift so they can ensure they do not leave people fitting that profile alone in the store.
B) A doctor's office runs an analysis on customer accounts to determine which patients lack insurance so they can intentionally give them poor service.
C) A restaurant uses customer credit card information to add gratuities to closed checks.
D) An airline uses data collected to understand customers' preferences and other maintenance-related issues.

Answer 2

An airline uses data collected to understand customers' preferences and other maintenance-related issues.

Question 3

As a result of people's increased internet usage, companies have an enormous amount of user data. These companies can spend a lot of time and effort trying to determine how to best use this information for themselves. Which of the following represents an inappropriate use of data a company collected from its users?

A) A clothing company uses the credit card application data to open additional accounts for their customers as a courtesy.
B) A dental office runs an analysis on their patient ledgers to determine which customers have overdue balances.
C) A restaurant uses the loyalty program sign-up information collected to send customers a free birthday dessert.
D) An airline uses flight check-in information to determine who boarded a flight before taking-off.

Answer 3

A clothing company uses the credit card application data to open additional accounts for their customers as a courtesy.

Question 4

As new aspects of technology work their way into normal business practices, professionals in various fields must adjust. One of the largest adjustments requires learning new terminology in both large and small regards. Which of the following represents the difference between data analytics and big data?

A) Big data is the study of analyzing data and discovering patterns while data analytics represents the kind of data generated from various sources.
B) Big data is the study of analyzing data and discovering patterns while data analytics represents the kind of data generated from a single specific source.
C) Data analytics is the study of analyzing data and discovering patterns while big data refers to the kind of data generated from a variety of sources.
D) Data analytics is the study of analyzing data and discovering patterns while big data represents the kind of data generated from a single specific source.

Question 5

As new aspects of technology work their way into normal business practices, professionals in various fields must adjust. One of the largest adjustments requires learning new terminology in both large and small regards. Which of the following represents an example of big data?

A) Data generated from a single source in volumes too large for traditional technology
B) Data generated from a variety of sources in volumes too large for traditional technology
C) Data generated from a variety of sources in volumes too small for traditional technology
D) The study and art of collecting and analyzing massive amounts of data

Question 6

As data is gathered and collected, organizations must determine how to make the best use of this vast resource. When left in its raw state, this data might remain unusable but would continue to consume storage space at an exponential rate. Within the data, there exists both structured and unstructured data. Which of the following is an example of structured data?

A) A series of digital photographs of a company's newly designed logo
B) A spreadsheet file containing copy-pasted images of products
C) A spreadsheet file containing customer information for recent orders
D) Sound bites obtained from recordings of local online advertisements

Question 7

As data is gathered and collected, organizations must determine how to make the best use of this vast resource. When left in its raw state, this data might remain unusable but would continue to consume storage space at an exponential rate. Within the data, there exists both structured and unstructured data. Which of the following is an example of unstructured data?

A) A digital photograph of the client's customer database
B) A document file exported from a company's database
C) A printable listing of all company vendors with their contact information
D) A spreadsheet file containing recent customers' order history

Question 8

As companies continue to embrace the evolution of data collection and data analytics, they also need to determine what data to collect. After establishing what data to collect, they may want to determine the best way to collect the needed information. Which of the following best represents information a burger restaurant would need to collect?

A) A forecast of customer demand for their new milkshake flavor
B) Customer satisfaction ratings for drive-thru times across franchise locations
C) Customer satisfaction ratings for the intersection nearest to each franchise location.
D) The temperatures of their fryers after the store has closed

Question 9

As companies continue to embrace the evolution of data collection and data analytics, they also need to determine what data to collect. After establishing what data to collect, they may want to determine the best way to collect the needed information. Which of the following best represents information a lawn care business would need to collect for data analytics?

A) Forecasted weekly customer demand by service offered
B) The contact information of sales team members for the bio section on the company's website
C) The names of each customer who has currently signed up for services
D) The price per pound of grass seed from various suppliers

Question 10

Using data analytics in cost accounting is proving to be a big opportunity to improve operations for various businesses. While data analytics have come a long way, there are still challenges and opportunities to consider. Which of the following is a challenge for an accountant that uses data analytics?

A) Being comfortable working with diverse teams which is not something accountants normally do
B) Convincing others in the organization that data analytics is not a worthwhile endeavor
C) Finding a way to add value through insights generated from data analytics
D) Helping coworkers learn the technical terms associated with data analytics

Question 11

Using data analytics in cost accounting is proving to be a big opportunity to improve operations for various businesses. While data analytics have come a long way, there are still challenges and opportunities to consider. Which of the following is an opportunity for an accountant that uses data analytics?

A) Helping coworkers learn the technical terms associated with data analytics
B) Training other employees and managers with the technical skills necessary to perform effective data analytics
C) Using data analytics to select data relevant to an identified business problem the company would like to address
D) Using good oral and written communication skills to help others see how decisions impact various financial aspects of the business

Question 12

A public university has been evaluating its admissions policies and procedures. The university has recently seen a downturn in enrollment, and the university's leadership does not entirely understand why this happened. The university has not changed or updated their admissions decision-making processes in years. The current process uses an algorithm based on data available years ago to do enrollment modeling. What change or changes could they make to try and increase in the number of enrollments?

A) The university may need to dig deep and update its data analytical practice to stay competitive.
B) The university may want to lower their stated target number of enrollments during analyses so the downturn in the enrollment is not highlighted.
C) The university may want to attract new professors since they recently launched a new faculty recruitment campaign.
D) The university may want to maintain the status quo and collect more input from their various funding streams.

Question 13

A public university has been evaluating its admissions policies and procedures. The university has recently seen a downturn in enrollment, and university leadership does not entirely understand why this happened. The university has not changed or updated their admissions decision-making processes in years. The current process uses an algorithm based on data available years ago to do enrollment modeling. Which of the following could be a disadvantage of not updating the process?

A) The algorithm is probably outdated, and that could result in the university missing out on quality applicants.
B) The algorithm might be outdated, and that could lead to results that build a robust and diverse applicant pool.
C) The university will have a better chance of maintaining their current standards even with a smaller applicant pool by not examining changes in the available data.
D) The university will save much-needed funds that it can spend on more pressing needs.

Question 14

Marco Corp. is a medium-sized textile factory that supplies local boutiques in their area. In the past few years, they have experienced a lot of growth and would like to continue to grow at a manageable rate. Marco knows that to do so, they will need to become more data-informed in their decision-making processes. To make the best use of their available resources, which of the following should Marco Corp. consider?

A) Hire a Chief Data Analyst to handle all data analytics for the company
B) Train multiple employees in the basics of data analytics techniques so they can form a team and consolidate the knowledge
C) Train multiple employees in the basics of data analytics techniques so they can be dispersed throughout the organization in multiple departments
D) Train upper management on data analytics so they have something to discuss at weekly strategy meetings

Question 15

Marco Corp. is a medium-sized textile factory that supplies local boutiques in their area. In the past few years, they have experienced a lot of growth and would like to continue to grow at a manageable rate. Marco knows that to do so, they will need to become more data-informed in their decision-making processes. To make best use of their resources, which of the following represents the most effective way to integrate data analytics into the company?

A) Create a silo, much like accounting or human resources, to consolidate those with the skillset in a single area of the company.
B) Do the analyses with a team sport mentality where everyone shares knowledge and works collaboratively.
C) Train all employees to use data analytics, and make it a priority over any of their other tasks.
D) Treat the analyses like a team sport where there is often a single star and many supporting players.

Question 16

Companies doing business in the modern era often look for ways to maximize the resources they have at their disposal. This can vary in the way it is executed and will look different from company to company. Which of the following represents an effective way for individual employees to add to their personal data analytics skillset?

A) Alexis, who works in human resources, is taking an economics course after work at the local community college.
B) David, who works in accounting, is pursuing a certification in Microsoft Excel.
C) Jerry, who works in production, is taking a course about improving time management skills in the workplace.
D) Sarah, who works in advertising, is pursuing an online certificate in Microsoft Word.

Question 17

Companies doing business in the modern era often look for ways to maximize the resources they have at their disposal. This can vary in the way it is executed and will look different from company to company. Which of the following represents an ineffective way for employees to add to their data analytics skillset?

A) Christopher is taking a training course about sourcing data to meet a company's needs.
B) Jaclyn has decided to pursue a certification in Tableau to help with her evolving workload at work.
C) Jason decided to take a class at the local community college about Microsoft Access.
D) Roland signed up for a session at the local community center that will give an introduction to hand-illustrating beautiful and effective graphs and posters.

Question 18

Sharon is the marketing manager for Smith Inc., and she has decided to launch a new campaign in the next couple of months. For this to be successful, Sharon will need to accumulate data and determine how to best target her demographic of young working professionals. Which of the following is an example of hard data that may be helpful as she plans her campaign?

A) A dataset about employment trends from the Department of Labor
B) A dataset that contains customer review comments from Google
C) A report commissioned from a website reviewer that writes for the youth section
D) Customer service survey results from existing customers

Question 19

Sharon is the marketing manager for Smith Inc., and she has decided to launch a new campaign in the next couple of months. For this to be successful, Sharon will need to accumulate data and determine how to best target her demographic of young working professionals. Which of the following is an example of soft data that may be helpful as she plans her campaign?

A) A report about average employment ages generated by a state's labor board
B) A report from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that provides data about average earned income by age groups
C) A research paper published by scholars about desired salary ranges of recent college graduates
D) Click ad survey results from the young professionals' section of the company's website

Question 20

The management for Lyra Corp. has decided to work towards streamlining processes across many of their divisions. Each department chair must collect data relevant to their unique functions and operations to assist management with constructing ad hoc reports. If management would like to gain insight into their collections processes, then what information would be best to use for this goal?

A) A sample of purchase orders from the shipping department
B) An accounts receivable aging report from the accounting department
C) Customer credit applications obtained from the company's website
D) Customer feedback from a survey sent out from the customer service department

Question 21

The management for Lyra Corp. has decided to work towards streamlining processes across many of their divisions. Each department chair must collect data relevant to their unique functions and operations to assist management with constructing ad hoc reports. If management would like to gain insight into their customers' satisfaction, then what information would be best to use for this goal?

A) A lead generation report from the sales and marketing department
B) A report with survey scores received from a customer survey sent out by the customer service department
C) A website user summary report generated by the information and technology department
D) An accounts receivable aging report from the accounting department

Question 22

Cynthia has been working at her current job for a little more than two years as a customer service representative. She has expressed interest in obtaining more job responsibilities and is seeking out ways that she could be promoted to a management role. She knows one thing she could do would be to assist with a new marketing campaign. If the campaign targets attracting new customers, then what would her best source of data be?

A) A customer satisfaction survey sent out by the company's sales department
B) A press release from a competitor about their new line of products for toddlers
C) A production summary from the operations department for the most recent year
D) A search engine optimization report that outlines top user queries for different groups of people

Question 23

Cynthia has been working at her current job for a little more than two years as a customer service representative. She has expressed interest in obtaining more job responsibilities and is seeking out ways that she could be promoted to a management role. She knows one thing she could do would be to assist with a new marketing campaign. If the campaign targets attracting customers who like to use dating apps, then what would her best source of data be?

A) A click ad for a stylist service specializing in those looking for after-work apparel
B) A currently trending hashtag about a data breach from a dating app
C) A news article about the stock prices of social media apps
D) A news article with interviews about modern dating

Question 24

Dan is the Chief Information Officer for Humphrey Company, and he is reviewing security-related policies for the organization. Humphrey Company collects a wide array of data from its employees and understands the importance of it. Which of the following is an example of an appropriate policy or practice based on the principles of proper data usage?

A) Employees disclose any security breach to management within five minutes of its initial discovery.
B) Employees keep passwords documented in an easily accessible place in case they are out of the office and someone else needs to access their accounts.
C) Employees submit their social media passwords to management so the organization can protect its online integrity.
D) Employers get access to personal files on each employee from human resources when they suspect malfeasance.

Question 25

Dan is the Chief Information Officer for Humphrey Company, and he is reviewing security-related policies for the organization. Humphrey Company collects a wide array of data from its customers and understands the importance of it. Which of the following is an example of an inappropriate policy or practice in the context of the three principles of proper data usage?

A) Allowing customers to create their own unique login where they can access their account information including their past orders and sensitive personal and credit card information
B) Selling a customer list from the company database for customers that signed a waiver when they came aboard
C) Selling an email distribution list to an outside company for a fair price without users' prior permission
D) Sharing customer spending trends from the current year with company shareholders

Question 26

Corbin Inc. is a small factory, and they are in the process of evaluating their data storage system. The biggest question management needs to answer is whether their current setup is enough for their needs or if they should invest in a more robust and comprehensive system. Which of the following types of information would be found in the customers module of a data storage system?

A) Credit Status, Method of Payment, Name, and Notes from personnel files
B) Current Employee Pay Rates, Date of Hire, and Credit Status
C) Discounts Redeemed, Name, Address, and Transaction Dates
D) Transaction Dates, Quality Ratings, Percent On-time, and Transportation Arrangements

Question 27

Corbin Inc. is a small factory, and they are in the process of evaluating their data storage system. The biggest question management needs to answer is whether their current setup is enough to meet their needs or if they should invest in a more robust and comprehensive system. Which of the following types of information would be in the human resources module of a company's data storage system?

A) Date of Hire, Current Wage, Birth Date, and Transaction Dates
B) Date of Hire, Notes from Personnel File, Current Employee Pay Rates, and Employee Areas of Expertise
C) Discounts Redeemed, Birthday, Title, and Credit Status
D) Quality Rating, Date of Hire, Birthday, and Credit Status

Question 28

Decision-making involving data analytics includes a five-step process. Which of the following best represents the correct order for these steps?

A) Make Decisions, Gain Insight, Retrieve and Manipulate, Store, Source
B) Source, Store, Gain Insight, Retrieve and Manipulate, Make Decisions
C) Source, Store, Retrieve and Manipulate, Gain Insight, Make Decisions
D) Store, Gain Insight, Source, Make Decisions, Retrieve and Manipulate

Question 29

To protect consumers from undue harm from entities that would use unfair or deceptive trade practices, the United States created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act. Which of the following is an example of a violation over which the FTC has jurisdiction?

A) Failing to maintain reasonable customer data security measures
B) Failing to provide insufficient security for personal data
C) Making accurate privacy and security disclosures to customers
D) Transferring personal information in a manner consistent with written privacy policy

Question 30

To protect consumers from undue harm from entities that would use unfair or deceptive trade practices, the United States created the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act. Which of the following is an example of behavior not permitted under this Act?

A) Buffay Corp. learned hackers recently broke through their security and are working to get this resolved immediately.
B) Le Blanc Company is migrating to a new server and hired additional information technology staff to assist.
C) Sampson Inc. had a data leak and notified affected users right away per their written protocols in the company policy.
D) Sunrize Corp. decided to forego installing additional firewalls despite being told in an audit this would be needed to minimally protect users.

Question 31

As more users engage in online activity, more data circulates and more information is collected by outside entities. In the United States, there are laws that govern the collection of information rather than a single comprehensive policy or agency. Which of the following is an example of a law that governs personal information collection by banks or financial institutions?

A) The Fair Credit Reporting Act
B) The Federal Deposit Insurance Act
C) The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
D) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Question 32

As more users engage in online activity, more data circulates and more information is collected by outside entities. In the United States, there are laws that govern the collection of information rather than a single comprehensive policy or agency. Which of the following is an example of a law that oversees the collection and use of credit information?

A) The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
B) The Consumer Data Protection Act
C) The Fair Credit Reporting Act
D) The General Data Protection Regulation

Question 33

Companies that collect data from their users must do so with great care and consideration before proceeding. Failure to exercise due care can have strongly negative consequences for companies who neglect this responsibility. Which of the following is an example of a company who violated the privacy of its users?

A) Alice's Tapestries had a data leak that exposed customers' email addresses for a brief time.
B) Delicious Deserts sent an email about promotions to all customers rather than only to those who opted-in for email announcements.
C) Java Inc. accidentally made its social media page public, including access to all members who had joined.
D) Purple Plastics' head accountant forgot to close a spreadsheet that listed pay rates of employees on their office computer screen.

Question 34

Companies that collect data from their users must do so with great care and consideration before proceeding. Failure to exercise due care can have very strong consequences for companies who neglect this responsibility. Which of the following is an example of a consideration made to protect the privacy of collected user data?

A) A company must decide on ways to make user data more easily identifiable to minimize costs.
B) A company must decide whether it is prudent to adhere to new privacy laws as they are created.
C) A company must devise a best practices plan for securing and storing user data.
D) A company must devise a best practices plan to help employees secure their belongings while on company premises.

Question 35

Monica has been working with her IT department to capture user data from online profiles potential customers create on the company's website. Monica is working on a project to build internal customer profiles so that they can tailor offers and target emails to unique preferences. After she receives an initial Excel document with data, she notices some of the data appears multiple times. What could cause this?

A) The analyst who collected the data forgot to include columns that Monica needs.
B) The code written for the data collection page had an error.
C) The customer copied and pasted data into the reply form, resulting in multiple entries.
D) The Excel document was saved in the wrong format before being shared with Monica.

Question 36

Monica has been working with her IT department to capture user data from online profiles potential customers create on the company's website. Monica is working on a project to build internal customer profiles so that they can tailor offers and target emails to unique preferences. After she receives an Excel document, she realizes that there appear to be some erroneous records and duplicate entries and that some required fields are blank. What stage of the data cleaning process will correct these errors?

A) The rinse cycle since these appear to be mid-level errors that will take a medium level of effort to correct.
B) The scrub cycle since these appear to be deeper errors that will necessitate a deeper study and one-at-a-time manual corrections.
C) The steam cycle since these appear to be errors of little concern and therefore can be left alone without impact.
D) The wash cycle since these appear to be obvious errors that will require minimum effort to correct.

Question 37

Chelsea's Candles is a medium-sized factory that produces candles that hold a small trinket in the wax. As the candle burns and the wax melts, eventually the trinket reveals itself. As part of their yearly review, they utilize data analytics to determine what changes they may need to implement in the coming year. Which of the following best represents a step in a higher-order type of analytics they may use?

A) Meet with the production department to review their outputs during the most recent quarter.
B) Meet with the sales team to discuss new strategies they would like to implement in the coming year to increase revenues.
C) Meet with the West region sales team to gain insight into why their sales were not as high as the East's.
D) Review order reports, and call a vendor about a delay in recent shipments.

Question 38

Chelsea's Candles is a medium-sized factory that produces candles that hold a small trinket in the wax. As the candle burns and the wax melts, eventually the trinket reveals itself. As part of their yearly review, they use data analytics to determine what changes they might implement in the coming year. Which of the following actions would most likely be part of the "Make Decisions" step in the decision-making process?

A) Chelsea tasked the accounting department with gathering data and generating graphs that support their conclusions.
B) Chelsea tasked the information technology team with explaining how a security breach occurred and outlining their response to the subsequent data leak.
C) Chelsea tasked the management team with using data collected on employees to conduct performance evaluations.
D) Chelsea tasked the marketing department with reviewing ad revenues over the past five years to determine the strongest region for returns on advertising.

Question 39

A company investigates what types of data it wants to gather and how they plan to collect it. They know a variety of methods can be employed, and each company will select the most cost-effective and secure option that meets their specific needs. If a company would like to purchase data from outside vendors, then which of the following best represents a credible external source a company could use?

A) The Center for Data Integrity
B) The Center for Research in Security Prices
C) The EDGAR Personal Filings Repository
D) The Federal Depository Laboratory Program

Question 40

A company investigates what types of data it wants to gather and how they plan to collect it. They know a variety of methods can be employed, and each company will select the most cost-effective and secure option that meets their specific needs. Which of the following best represents an acceptable storage method a company could use to secure their data?

A) Housing data off-site in a designated room where the data farm's other customers can also access the servers
B) Housing data on-site in a designated room that all employees can access
C) Purchasing a cloud storage contract with a new unsecured data provider
D) Purchasing a cloud storage contract with a vetted and secured leading data servicer

Question 41

Decision-making involving data analytics includes a five-step process. Which of the following best outlines what happens in the Gain Insight steps?

A) Accessing information and using tools to expand knowledge
B) Examining data for patterns, trends, and relationships
C) Gathering internal/external data
D) Using insights in decision-making and future planning

Question 42

Decision makers have to establish their needs and discover what data will help them to answer their queries. This data can be attained from a variety of sources, but these sources can be divided into the categories of internal or external. Which of the following best represents an example of a source of internal data?

A) A hashtag on Twitter
B) A market forecast generated by an analyst
C) A trade publication
D) Customer service department

Question 43

As companies expand and work towards better understanding their existing and potential clients, they accumulate virtual profiles of their customers. The information gathered can vary in nature and scope but ultimately creates a snapshot of a typical customer. Which of the following are examples of Activity and History information that could be collected about a customer?

A) Devices used
B) Number of credit card purchases
C) Residential history
D) Status updates/tweets

Question 44

Decision makers have to establish their needs and discover what data will help them to answer their queries. This data can be attained from a variety of sources, but these sources can be divided into the categories of internal or external. Which of the following best represents an example of a source of external data?

A) Click Ads found on Google
B) Human resources
C) Production/operations
D) Sales and Marketing data

Question 45

As companies expand and work towards better understanding their existing and potential clients, they accumulate virtual profiles of their customers. The information gathered can vary in nature and scope but ultimately creates a snapshot of a typical customer. Which of the following are examples of financial information that may be collected about a customer?

A) Frequent walking routes
B) Properties owned/rented
C) Residential information
D) Social media habits

Question 46

Data analytics has four broad categories that range in value and complexity. Each of the four category types strives towards raising questions that assist decision makers in their efforts to gather relevant data. Which of the following is an example of a question answered by descriptive analytics?

A) How would hiring additional staff impact the bonus potential of existing employees?
B) What are the selling price trends of a single product across the United States?
C) Why did the direct material cost increase over the past year?
D) Why have our customers stopped ordering a certain category of products?

Question 47

Benson Company is a retailer that specializes in the e-commerce sale of small office supplies including decorative file folders, personalized desk calendars, and trendy desk accessories. As part of their annual review, management decided to perform some analysis on trends over the past five years. One manager suggested they use data visualization for this purpose. If management would like to analyze how well the company achieved their sales targets over the past five years, then what type of chart would be the best to use to do this?

A) A bar chart that shows total values between the years.
B) A pie chart that shows how much of the total sales target materialized each year.
C) A Tableau or other business intelligence tool chart that shows the data in a trendy and unique way.
D) A time series graph that shows how the performance each year compared to the target values.

Question 48

Data analytics can be broken into four broad categories. Each category serves a unique purpose and will vary by value and complexity. Which of the following correctly identifies the four categories?

A) Defective, Diagnostic, Predictive, Prescriptive
B) Descriptive, Diagnostic, Predatory, Prescriptive
C) Descriptive, Diagnostic, Predictive, Prescriptive
D) Descriptive, Diagonal, Predictive, Prescriptive

Question 49

Benson Company is a retailer that specializes in e-commerce sales of small office supplies including decorative file folders, personalized desk calendars, and trendy desk accessories. As part of their annual review, management decided to perform some analysis on trends over the past five years. One manager suggested they use data visualization for this purpose. Which of the following best represents the correct list and ordering of the data visualization process?

A) Raw Data, Articulated, Sorted, Prepared Visually
B) Raw Data, Sorted, Arranged, Presented Visually
C) Rough Data, Arranged, Sorted, Presented Visually
D) Rough Data, Presented Visually, Sorted, Articulated

Question 50

As companies integrate data analytics and shift their focus towards the future, they will need to utilize predictive analytics. This kind of analytics uses both historical data and statistical models to predict future outcomes. If a company is interested in looking more closely at its sales department, then what is an appropriate question to answer using predictive analytics?

A) How can we correct a budget deficit from last year in the new financial plans?
B) How would the addition of a 5% bonus impact the compensation expenses for last year?
C) How would the addition of a 5% bonus impact the net income for the current year?
D) What is the budget-to-actual comparison for profits for the past two years?

Question 51

As companies integrate data analytics and shift their focus towards the future, they need to utilize predictive analytics. This kind of analytics uses both historical data and statistical models to predict future outcomes. If a company is interested in looking more closely at its shipping department, then which of the following is a challenge this company might face using predictive analytics?

A) All decision makers are numerate, and they will be able to understand the outcomes presented.
B) The data is available in a variety of formats, all of which are usable.
C) The data is free of biases and errors as promised by the vendor they acquired the data from.
D) There is a high level of uncertainty around a potential situation.

Question 52

Sampson Inc. is a producer of plastic products including bottles and sandwich bags. Management decided they need to be pre-informed about the financial performance of the organization and will utilize data analytics. As part of their predictive analytics, they are going to use association rules. Which of the following is a potential outcome of using this method?

A) Building a replenishment plan to decide when to send supply to each vendor to adequately meet their demand
B) Determination of a region's demographics to predict vendor product needs
C) Determination of overtime needed to generate detailed schedules
D) Upselling products from one customer group to another customer group

Question 53

Sampson Inc. is a producer of plastic products including bottles and sandwich bags. Management decided they need to be pre-informed about the financial performance of the organization and will use data analytics. As part of their predictive analytics, they are going to use regression analysis. Which of the following is a potential reason for using this method?

A) Sampson would like to understand if a third quarter decrease in sales is attributable to a one-time decrease in shipping cost.
B) Sampson would like to understand if a third quarter increase in sales is attributable to a newly implemented sales tactic.
C) Sampson would like to understand if an increase in the cost of shipping in the North region is attributable to a one-time reduction in selling price.
D) Sampson would like to understand if an increase in the cost of shipping in the North region is attributable to a newly implemented sales tactic.

Question 54

The management at Gellar Corp. is compiling data for their analytics team. Gellar is a factory that produces candy gummy bears, and they are very interested in what changes in the next few years will reduce costs. Which of the following type of data analytics will be the most useful for this purpose, and why?

A) Descriptive analytics because management wants to look at historical data in precise detail
B) Diagnostic analytics because management wants to look at historical data in precise detail
C) Predictive analytics because management wants to use historical data to make changes in the future
D) Prescriptive analytics because management wants to use historical data to see how changes would impact future performance

Question 55

Tara oversees materials acquisition at an HVAC company, and she raised some concerns about year-to-year increases in direct materials cost, and she would like to use analytics to help determine why this happened. What can Tara do in order to answer this question?

A) She can look at different attributes of her supplier origins, such as by region or supplier.
B) She could chart the price in each region and compare.
C) She could try to obtain bids from new vendors.
D) She could use a pie chart to demonstrate the region with the largest change.

Question 56

Jessica recently compiled a budget for herself. She believes she needs to do a better job planning her finances and knows establishing a budget could be a step in the right direction. Her take home pay is $2,500. The following information is for the month of May: From an overall perspective, by what percent is Jessica over or under budget for the month of May?

A) 9.68% over budget
B) 9.68% under budget
C) 10.72% over budget
D) 10.72% under budget

Question 57

Jessica recently compiled a budget for herself. She believes she needs to do a better job planning her finances and knows this could be a step in the right direction. Her take home pay is $2,500. The following table shows her budgeted and actual values for the month of May: Jessica puts any unallocated funds into her savings account. Assume Jessica's take-home pay increased to $2,750 and use her Actual numbers from May, by what percent would the amount she can put into savings change?

A) 42.30% less into savings
B) 42.30% more into savings
C) 73.31% less into savings
D) 73.31% more into savings

Question 58

Lauren launched her online boutique at the beginning of last year and would like to review her performance so far. She gathered the following information: She would like to use data analytics to evaluate her year. What is the highest net income percentage for the months listed?

A) 8.98%
B) 10.15%
C) 64.10%
D) 100.00%

Question 59

Lauren launched her online boutique at the beginning of last year and would like to review her performance so far. She gathered the following information: Lauren would like to use her data analytics skillset to help with her assessment of the year. Which graph would most accurately depict this data visually in a compelling manner?

A) A bar chart, it compares sales to expenses.
B) A histogram, it groups sales amounts and expenses within preset ranges.
C) A pie chart, it displays the overall amount of sales and expenses allocated to each month.
D) A time series graph, it shows how the sales and expenses change over the course of the year.

Question 60

The management at Gellar Corp. is compiling data for their data analytics team. Gellar is a factory that produces gummy bear candy, and they are very interested in what changes can be made in the next few years to reduce costs. What specific technique could be utilized to evaluate various scenarios that management may envision happening?

A) Association rules, a prescriptive analytics technique
B) Regression analysis, a predictive analytics technique
C) What-if analysis, a predictive analytics technique
D) What-if analysis, a prescriptive analytics technique

Question 61

Jordan is an economics student entering their senior year of college, and they are compiling data about their time in school. Jordan requested their transcript and needs to determine the best way to present their academic data. If Jordan wishes to calculate the number of A-grade they received during their time in college, which formula function would be the most appropriate?

A) The COUNTIF function in Microsoft Excel
B) The MEDIAN function in Microsoft Excel
C) The MODE function in Microsoft Excel
D) The What-If Analysis function in Microsoft Excel

Question 62

Jordan is an economics student entering their senior year of college, and they are compiling some data about their time in school. Jordan requested their transcript and needs to determine the best way to present their academic data. If Jordan wishes to calculate their most frequently occurring course GPA earned during their time in college, then what formula function would be the most appropriate?

A) The MEDIAN function in Microsoft Excel
B) The MEDIAN function in Tableau
C) The MODE function in Microsoft Excel
D) The MODE function in Microsoft Word

Question 63

Trevor is about to enter his third year of a pre-med program and knows the program will continue to become more competitive. He needs to ensure his GPA will be on par with that of his classmates. He has earned the following GPAs in courses to date: 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, and 3. Using Excel, determine the Mode and the Median for his GPAs thus far.

A) GPA Mode is 3, and GPA Median is 4.
B) GPA Mode is 3.2, and GPA Median is 4.
C) GPA Mode is 4, and GPA Median is 3.
D) GPA Mode is 4, and GPA Median is 3.2.

Question 64

Trevor is about to enter his third year of a pre-med program and knows the program will continue to become more competitive. He needs to ensure that his GPA will be on par with that of his classmates. He has earned the following GPAs in his courses to date: 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, and 3. The average GPA for pre-med students is 3.75. Using Excel, determine how close Trevor's GPA is to that average. (Round intermediate calculations to two decimal places.)

A) 14.67% higher than the average
B) 14.67% lower than the average
C) 17.19% higher than the average
D) 17.19% lower than the average

Question 65

Data analytics can be broken into four broad categories. Each category serves a unique purpose and will vary by value and complexity. Which of the following would be a question answered by using diagnostic data analysis?

A) What happened?
B) What is likely to happen?
C) What should we do about it?
D) Why did it happen?

Question 66

Data analytics has four broad categories that range in value and complexity. Each of the four category types strives towards answering questions that assist decision makers in their efforts to gather relevant data. Which of the following is an example of a question answered by diagnostic data analytics?

A) What is the change in the company's profitability across regions?
B) What is the expected volume of production for the next year?
C) What is the number of five-star reviews for the company online?
D) Why did the Western region have a decrease in profits when the East did not?

Question 67

Houz Inc. is a regional furniture manufacturer who specializes in new midcentury replicas at affordable prices. The management and decision makers at Houz gathered data from past years and are performing some analysis. If the company wants to address the change in raw materials costs over the past five years, then what type of data analysis would be most appropriate for that, and why?

A)     Descriptive: they need to know what happened to price over the past five years
B)     Diagnostic: they need to know what caused price changes over the past five years
C)      Predictive: they need to know what is likely going to happen moving forward
D)     Prescriptive: they need to plan what they can do about these changes

Question 68

Houz Inc. is a regional furniture manufacturer who specializes in new midcentury replicas at affordable prices. The management and decision makers at Houz gathered data from past years and are performing some analysis. If the company wants to address why their southern region recently experienced a decrease in customer orders, then what type of data analysis would be most appropriate for this, and why?

A) Descriptive: they need to know what happened to the number of customer orders in the Southern region
B) Diagnostic: they need to know why there was a decrease in customer orders in the Southern region
C) Predictive: they need to know what is most likely to happen to customer orders in the Southern region moving forward
D) Prescriptive: they need to plan what to do about the decrease in customer orders in the Southern region moving forward

Question 69

Data analytics has been increasing in popularity as businesses realized these techniques provide unique insights that they would otherwise be unlikely to see. There are four main categories of data analytics each with its own benefits, complexities, and corresponding levels of insight provided to users. Which of the following is the most likely reason a company would choose to use diagnostic analytics?

A) They need to examine past results and observe trend for a specific outcome.
B) They need to know what they can do about a situation to achieve a desired outcome in the future.
C) They need to look at past data and gain an understanding of why something occurred.
D) They would like to have a better understanding of something that is likely to occur at some point in the future.

Question 70

Data analytics has been increasing in popularity as businesses realized these techniques provide unique insights that they would otherwise be unlikely to see. There are four main categories of data analytics each with its own benefits, complexities, and corresponding levels of insight provided to users. Which of the following is the most likely reason a company would choose to use predictive analytics?

A) A butcher wants to know why the cost of his products has been increasing lately.
B) A dog groomer wants to know what steps to take to grow their sales over the next two years.
C) A law firm wants to know how giving a year-end bonus would impact their profit.
D) A lawn care business wants to know how many likes their recent social media post received.

Question 71

Carson is the marketing manager at a local travel publication. He is working with department heads to get some data to help him in his efforts to attract new clients and investigate aspects of their existing clientele. Why would Carson choose to use descriptive analytics?

A) Management would like Carson to analyze the change in revenue per existing customer over the past two years.
B) Management would like Carson to analyze what steps to take to reduce the time it takes to fully onboard a client.
C) Management would like Carson to analyze what the expected increase in new clients will be over the next year.
D) Management would like Carson to analyze why the south end of town has higher sales than other areas.

Question 72

Carson is the marketing manager at a local travel publication. He is working with department heads to get some data to help him in his efforts to attract new clients while also investigating aspects of their existing clientele. Why would Carson choose to use prescriptive analytics?

A) Carson wants to know how to increase sales to new customers over the next three years.
B) Carson wants to know what market uncertainties may exist in the next year that might impact the acquisition of new customers
C) Carson wants to know why the business had an easier time attracting a younger demographic last year than it did in the three years before that one.
D) Carson wants to understand what caused customers to leave the company in the past two years

Question 73

Tara oversees materials acquisition for an HVAC company, and she has raised concerns about their year-to-year increases in direct materials cost, and they would like to use analytics to help determine why this happened. What question could Tara ask first to help her start the analysis?

A) Was there a difference in costs between the different vendors we have used?
B) What can we do to prevent this from happening moving forward?
C) What do we expect the vendors we use to charge next year?
D) What was the overall difference in prices year-to-year?

Question 74

Data analytics has become an increasingly in-demand skill across business world since its inception. As employers focus on what they are looking for in potential employees, data analytics has become a desirable skill for accountants. Which of the following is an example of a skill that entry-level accountants should hone?

A) Being an ineffective communicator.
B) Being curious and improving critical thinking skills.
C) Being uncomfortable with failure.
D) Focusing on developing accounting skills only with no regard for technical skills.

Question 75

As practitioners increase their knowledge in data analytics, some companies have moved towards collecting information in new and different ways. Additionally, decision makers have taken their newly collected data and devised ways that it can benefit the organization the most. Which of the following is an example of a way that organizations use data analytics in cost accounting decisions?

A) Addressing Supply Chain Problems
B) Eliminating Value-Added Activities
C) Performance Evaluation
D) Strategy Deformation

Question 76

As more practitioners acquire data analytics skills, organizations have made a concerted effort to collect more data and find new ways to make use of that data. A positive byproduct of this is that decision making has improved, and organizations have used these techniques to improve insights gleaned from the data. According to a 2019 survey from the Society of Actuaries, what types of analytics experienced major growth?

A) Descriptive and Diagnostic
B) Descriptive and Prescriptive
C) Diagnostic and Predictive
D) Predictive and Prescriptive

Question 77

As practitioners increase their knowledge in data analytics, some companies have moved towards collecting information in new and different ways. Additionally, decision makers have taken their newly collected data and devised ways that it can benefit the organization the most. Which of the following is an example of a way that organizations use data analytics in performance evaluation?

A) Providing near real-time feedback to an employee after a sales pitch with a client.
B) Providing real-time feedback about shipping times to communicate with suppliers.
C) Using algorithms to predict how likely a customer is to default on an invoice.
D) Using customer survey responses to improve dining experiences at a restaurant.

Question 78

As more practitioners acquire data analytics skills, organizations have made a concerted effort to collect data to analyze and to find new ways to use that analysis. A positive byproduct of this is that decision-making options have improved, and organizations have used these techniques to improve the insights arrived at. Which of the following is a way that a healthcare organization could use data analytics to eliminate non-value-added activities?

A)To determine   the most cost-efficient way to check-in patients when they arrive
B) To determine what employees arrived late and caused delays in seeing patients
C) To determine what patients are at greatest risk for needing readmission
D) To distribute and collect a patient survey to determine what departments are not performing well

Question 79

An area of business that uses data analytics to improve operations is supply chain management. Managers are constantly looking for ways to make their operations more efficient and cost-effective. Which of the following represents an area of supply chain management that could be improved using data analytics?

A) The check-in system for patients at a local dentist's office
B) The inventory management of the tennis ball division of a sporting goods company
C) The order approval system for a construction company
D) The performance evaluation of the production team at a trucking company

Question 80

An area of business that uses data analytics to improve operations is supply chain management. Managers are constantly looking for ways to make their operations more efficient and cost-effective. Which of the following is a way that a light bulb manufacturer could use data analytics to improve its supply chain management?

A) Use the data collected on production wages to determine why the LED division went over budget
B) Use the data collected to create a demand forecast for a new LED bulb
C) Use the data collected to determine what the change in glass costs were year-to-year
D) Use the data collected to determine why the costs of copper from their copper supplier increased