CPP CPP Technology Applications 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which file format is most commonly used for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in payroll transmissions between employers and the SSA?
- CSV
- EFW2 (Correct answer)
- XML
Correct answer: EFW2
The EFW2 format is the SSA's standard electronic file format for submitting W-2 wage reports.
Question 2: A payroll system uses a positive pay file sent to the bank. What is the primary purpose of this file?
- To initiate direct deposit transactions
- To prevent fraudulent check payments by verifying check details (Correct answer)
- To reconcile payroll tax deposits
- To generate year-end W-2 data
Correct answer: To prevent fraudulent check payments by verifying check details
Positive pay files list issued checks so the bank can match and reject any checks not on the authorized list, preventing fraud.
Question 3: When configuring role-based access controls in a payroll system, which principle should guide the assignment of user permissions?
- Maximum access for all payroll staff
- Least privilege — users get only the access needed for their job (Correct answer)
- Shared login credentials for efficiency
- Admin rights for all managers
Correct answer: Least privilege — users get only the access needed for their job
The least privilege principle limits user access to only what is necessary to reduce security risk and data exposure.
Question 4: A company transmits payroll data via SFTP. What does SFTP provide over standard FTP?
- Faster transfer speeds
- Encrypted data transmission for security (Correct answer)
- Larger file size support
- Automatic payroll tax calculations
Correct answer: Encrypted data transmission for security
SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) encrypts both data and credentials during transmission, unlike plain FTP.
Question 5: In a payroll HRIS integration, a 'golden record' concept refers to:
- The highest-paid employee record
- A single authoritative source of employee data shared across systems (Correct answer)
- The most recently updated payroll transaction
- The audit trail for tax filings
Correct answer: A single authoritative source of employee data shared across systems
A golden record is the master, authoritative employee record that serves as the single source of truth across integrated systems.
Question 6: Which technology enables employees to update their own direct deposit information, view pay stubs, and manage tax withholding online?
- Mainframe batch processing
- Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal (Correct answer)
- EDI gateway
- Positive pay system
Correct answer: Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal
Employee Self-Service portals empower employees to manage personal payroll-related information directly, reducing HR administrative burden.
Question 7: A payroll department implements a disaster recovery plan. Which metric defines the maximum tolerable amount of data loss measured in time?
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO) (Correct answer)
- Mean Time to Recover (MTTR)
- Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Correct answer: Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
RPO defines the maximum age of data that must be recovered after an outage — essentially how much data loss is acceptable.
CPP CPP Technology Applications 2
Which file format is most commonly used for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in payroll transmissions between employers and the SSA?