Practice Test Geeks(CPS) Certified Payroll Specialist Practice Test
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Financial Analysis & Reporting Flashcards

7 cards from real CPS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Financial Analysis & Reporting flashcards as text

  1. Which financial statement reports a company's payroll liabilities outstanding at the end of an accounting period?

    Answer: Balance sheet

    The balance sheet reports assets, liabilities, and equity as of a specific date, including accrued payroll liabilities.

  2. When reconciling payroll to the general ledger, a payroll specialist discovers a $500 variance. What is the FIRST step to resolve it?

    Answer: Identify which pay period and account caused the discrepancy

    The first step in reconciliation is to locate the source of the discrepancy by isolating the pay period and affected account.

  3. A company's total payroll cost includes gross wages of $200,000 and employer payroll taxes of $18,000. What is the employer payroll tax burden rate?

    Answer: 9%

    Employer payroll tax burden rate = $18,000 / $200,000 = 9%.

  4. Which metric measures the total cost of maintaining the workforce, including wages, benefits, and employer taxes, as a percentage of revenue?

    Answer: Labor cost ratio

    The labor cost ratio expresses total workforce costs as a proportion of revenue, helping management assess workforce efficiency.

  5. For financial reporting purposes, accrued vacation pay that employees have earned but not yet used should be classified as:

    Answer: A current liability

    Accrued vacation pay is a current liability because it represents an obligation the company owes to employees typically within the next operating cycle.

  6. A payroll department is asked to provide a headcount report broken down by department and employment status. What type of report is this?

    Answer: Workforce analytics report

    A workforce analytics report provides demographic and structural breakdowns of employees, such as headcount by department and status.

  7. Under accrual accounting, when should a biweekly payroll that straddles the end of a fiscal quarter be recorded?

    Answer: Split between periods, with wages earned in each quarter recorded in that quarter

    Accrual accounting requires expenses to be recognized when incurred, so wages must be split and recorded in the period they were earned.