Accounting Technician Software & Technology Flashcards
7 cards from real CAT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Accounting Technician Software & Technology flashcards as text
What is the purpose of a data backup schedule in an accounting environment?
Answer: To ensure financial data can be restored if lost due to system failure or error
Regular backups ensure that financial data can be recovered in the event of hardware failure, ransomware, accidental deletion, or corruption.
An accounting technician uses conditional formatting in Excel to highlight cells in red when values are negative. Which condition achieves this?
Answer: Cell value is less than 0
Setting the conditional formatting rule to 'cell value less than 0' will apply the red highlight to all negative values in the selected range.
In accounting software, what does 'posting' a transaction mean?
Answer: Finalizing a transaction so it updates the general ledger and cannot be easily edited
Posting finalizes an entry and records it permanently in the general ledger, updating account balances and making it part of the official financial record.
A business needs accounting software that can handle transactions in USD, EUR, and GBP simultaneously. Which feature is required?
Answer: Multi-currency support
Multi-currency support allows the system to record transactions in foreign currencies and automatically apply exchange rates for reporting in the base currency.
Which statement BEST describes the difference between accounting software and a general-purpose spreadsheet?
Answer: Accounting software enforces double-entry rules and maintains audit trails; spreadsheets rely entirely on the user to maintain accuracy
Purpose-built accounting software enforces the double-entry principle, maintains audit trails, and controls user access, while spreadsheets depend on manual discipline for accuracy.
What does an accounting technician typically use an Application Programming Interface (API) for in a modern accounting workflow?
Answer: Connecting accounting software to external systems (e.g., e-commerce, payroll) to exchange data automatically
APIs allow accounting software to automatically exchange data with other platforms—such as pulling sales orders from an e-commerce site into the accounting system—without manual re-entry.
When reconciling accounts in accounting software, what does it mean when the 'difference' field shows a non-zero value at the end of reconciliation?
Answer: There are unresolved discrepancies between the book balance and the bank statement balance
A non-zero difference at the end of reconciliation means the book balance and bank statement do not match, indicating missing, duplicated, or incorrectly entered transactions.