DECA Missed Test Questions

When the U.S. federal government owes money to a contracted employee or business, the government must pay the employee or business according to the A. Early Bird Act. B. Prompt Payment Act. C. Secure Contracting Act. D. Government Guidelines Act.

B. Prompt Payment Act.

Which of the following quality management approaches is often used in the finance industry to sustain regulatory compliance: A. Just-in-Time B. Six Sigma C. Reassurance D. Crisis management

B. Six Sigma

Which type of business is known for often being the most innovative? A. Old businesses B. Small businesses C. New businesses D. Large businesses

B. Small businesses

What virtual-auditor reasoning technique is most likely to detect segregation of duties violations? A. Incremental B. Symbolic C. Temporal D. Cross-source

B. Symbolic

Under which of the following circumstances is it appropriate for applicants to prepare interview follow-up letters: A. Before they agree to pre-employment testing B. When they are no longer interested in the job C. After they have submitted application forms D. In order to send information with résumés

B. When they are no longer interested in the job

The essence of time management is to A. eliminate the need to prioritize activities. B. control events in order to accomplish priorities. C. focus on spreading work over a period of time. D. set a fixed schedule and follow it.

B. control events in order to accomplish priorities.

An economic trend that typically precedes an upturn in commodity prices is the __________ for at least a year. A. stock market in decline B. dollar increasing in value C. growth of the money supply declining D. yield curve leveling out

B. dollar increasing in value

"Big Q" focuses on A. improving factory conditions. B. exceeding customer expectations. C. conforming to specifications. D. designing and developing products.

B. exceeding customer expectations.

Group orientation sessions for new employees are very important because they A. explain the duties of each job. B. help to motivate employees. C. encourage organizational input. D. provide in-depth training.

B. help to motivate employees.

One of the reasons that has caused government's role in business to expand is that A. products have become very technical. B. people's attitudes have changed. C. costs of production have continued to increase. D. competition in the marketplace has increased.

B. people's attitudes have changed.

Before you make a decision, you consider how your actions will affect your family, friends, classmates, or community. You are showing __________ responsibility. A. personal B. social C. legal D. ethical

B. social

Every pay period, Amanda places $100 from her paycheck into a savings account that earns 4.5 percent interest. In this situation, money functions as a A. medium of exchange. B. store of value. C. form of barter. D. measure of income.

B. store of value.

Ethan is developing common-size financial statements so that he can compare financial performance across several different companies. Ethan is conducting __________ analysis. A. horizontal B. vertical C. ratio D. trend

B. vertical

Which of the following statements regarding the security of most financial institutions' data is true: A. Data in transit are more at risk than data at rest or data in process. B. Firewalls completely eliminate all external threats to the data. C. More data attacks come from inside the organizations than outside them. D. Investments in financial-information security have decreased in recent years.

C. More data attacks come from inside the organizations than outside them.

Which of the following is a formatting characteristic of a full-block business letter: A. Indented first paragraph B. Double-spacing within the paragraph C. No paragraph indents D. All paragraphs use right justification.

C. No paragraph indents

Brandon is developing a financial plan, and one of his goals is to save enough money to buy a new car in two years. Has Brandon set a SMART goal? A. Yes, his goal is time-bounded and measurable. B. No, his goal is not attainable or results-oriented. C. No, his goal is not specific or measurable. D. Yes, his goal is attainable and specific.

C. No, his goal is not specific or measurable.

What does Pedro need to do before he includes someone else's journal article about portfolio diversification in the e-newsletter that he sends to his clients? A. Request the trademark registration code from the originator B. Acknowledge the author in the republished article C. Obtain written permission from the copyright owner D. Inform the patent agency that he wants to publish the article.

C. Obtain written permission from the copyright owner

Which of the following sources of financial data might a manager use to analyze expense variances: A. Cash receipts B. Customer invoices C. Payroll reports D. Productivity reports

C. Payroll reports

What type of economic indicator are nominal interest rates? A. Procyclic and laggin B. Countercyclic and lagging C. Procyclic and coincident D. Countercyclic and coincident

C. Procyclic and coincident

Which of the following statements is true about professional writing standards and manuals: A. Employers aren't concerned about which writing style their employees use to prepare documents, as long as the reports are accurate. B. Most businesses use a different citation method for each type of report they develop. C. Some employers use a different style manual than the one that the experts suggest. D. The most widely-used writing style manuals format their bibliographies the same way.

C. Some employers use a different style manual than the one that the experts suggest.

What type of control is typically used to help company executives understand the impact of external risks on the organization and its long-range plans? A. Process B. Management C. Strategic D. Variable

C. Strategic

Which of the following is a way to demonstrate empathy: A. Give advice to people in need. B. Develop a good imagination. C. Use tact when speaking. D. Ignore a coworker who is different.

C. Use tact when speaking.

Which of the following is a well-regarded source of information about stocks: A. Mediaweek B. Security Deale C. Value Liner D. Financial Executive

C. Value Liner

The managerial accounting system emphasizes A. previous sales transactions. B. the current financial situation C. a future orientation. D. ongoing tax obligations.

C. a future orientation.

One of the major functions of business maintenance is to A. prevent fraudulent behavior. B. motivate employees. C. create a favorable impression. D. guarantee the business's success.

C. create a favorable impression.

While researching information for a business report, Tara reads the following statement in an online newspaper article: "Although unemployment has dropped slightly over the past few months, many politicians have indicated that they believe the government has done enough to get our country out of this recession." This is an example of information that contains A. statistics. B. historical facts. C. criticism. D. poll data.

C. criticism.

One way to build professional relationships in the finance industry is to A. encourage others to discuss their finances. B. read about industry trends. C. implement a referral system. D. print new business cards for distribution.

C. implement a referral system.

If you wanted to pursue a career that specializes in helping corporations and governments issue securities, you would work in A. a brokerage house. B. a stock exchange. C. investment banking. D. financial planning.

C. investment banking.

Stock market returns are a(n) ___________ economic indicator A. coincident B. lagging C. leading D. acyclic

C. leading

The Sarta Company's risk management information system (RMIS) contains a master list of all claims; data detailing the status of individual claims; and information regarding exposure bases such as payroll, number of employees, number of company vehicles, etc. These data are likely to be housed within the __________ section of the RMIS database. A. risk map B. property exposure C. liability D. catastrophe modeling

C. liability

Bobbi, who works for an insurance company, is responsible for calculating the risk of loss, establishing premium rates, and designing insurance policies to cover risk. Bobbi works as a(n) A. accountant. B. agent. C. underwriter. D. financial analyst.

C. underwriter.

Exactly one year ago, Kim's dad gave her a $10 bill. Kim saved the money "for a rainy day." Now, her $10 bill has less buying power than it did a year ago. What caused the decline in the value of Kim's money? A. Unemployment B. Taxes C. Globalization D. Inflation

D. Inflation

A human-resources manager is working with the company's payroll-processing service to have a new employee's paycheck directly deposited into the employee's checking account. What human-resources activity is the manager carrying out? A. Interviewing B. Recruiting C. Organizing D. Onboarding

D. Onboarding

Shelley's business uses financial analysis software to align its operational and long-term plans, as well as develop key performance indicators to monitor the organization's overall performance. The business is using its financial analysis software to support which of the following business activities: A. Cost and profitability management B. Payment behavior analysis C. Financial and management reporting D. Strategic management and scorecards

D. Strategic management and scorecards

To be most effective, continuous-inspection compliance technology should have access to transactional information A. liquidity ratios. B. biweekly. C. samples D. at its source.

D. at its source.

The New York Stock Exchange is a(n) __________ market. A. spot B. over-the-counter C. commodities D. auction

D. auction

Corporate stocks, long-term government securities, state and local government bonds, and bank commercial loans are traded on the __________ market. A. spot B. money C. debt D. capital

D. capital

Managers are more likely to be able to persuade employees to follow new procedures if the managers have A. self-motivation. B. organizational skills. C. enthusiasm. D. credibility.

D. credibility.

The IHF Company is experiencing a temporary cash shortage and doesn't have enough cash available to cover its payroll for this pay period. Since the company expects to receive a large payment from a customer in the next four weeks, though, management has decided to obtain a short-term loan to pay company employees. By analyzing financial data, company management was able to identify A. ways to reduce the cost of credit. B. methods to reduce expenses. C. possible investment opportunities. D. financial risks and deficiencies.

D. financial risks and deficiencies.

To evaluate the effectiveness of their compliance programs, many businesses conduct A. direct trading. B. training sessions. C. marketing research. D. internal audits.

D. internal audits.

A Chilean businessperson wants to greet a British client in English. Instead of saying, "Good afternoon Ms. Winchester. It is a pleasure to meet you," the Chilean says, "Hello, Mr. Winchester. I'm happy to see your feet." This is an example of a cultural issue related to A. spatial differences. B. offensive gestures C. inappropriate gift-giving. D. language translation.

D. language translation.

Coaching is mostly about A. talking. B. organizing. C. instructing. D. listening.

D. listening.

Assessing your personal strengths and weaknesses in an objective way involves A. working to improve most of your weaknesses at one time. B. basing a strength or weakness on one isolated incident. C. comparing your attributes with others' skills and talents. D. looking for behavior patterns that occur regularly over time.

D. looking for behavior patterns that occur regularly over time.

Financial planning can be described as a way to A. retire with a substantial amount of money in the bank. B. stop all impulsive purchases. C. achieve your professional goals. D. realize what it takes to get the things you really want.

D. realize what it takes to get the things you really want.

When making a plan for improvement, the coachee's job is to A. give constructive criticism. B. use questioning skills. C. provide motivation. D. take personal responsibility for making the changes.

D. take personal responsibility for making the changes.

Colleen will vote next week on the new contract that her union has negotiated with management. Union and management are in the __________ stage of the collective-bargaining process. A. contract settlement B. ratification of contract C. preparation and research D. tentative agreement

D. tentative agreement

Jill needs to find several records with similar, but not identical, information in her company database. To do so, Jill should use a(n) __________ query. A. action B. crosstab C. sum function in her D. wildcard in her

D. wildcard in her

A primary difference between groups and teams is that team members _________, while group members __________. A. are personally accountable, share accountability B. function independently, function interdependently C. follow authority, assume leadership roles D. work collaboratively, work separately

D. work collaboratively, work separately

When determining if a personal vision is realistic, a person must determine if the vision will have A. permanent results. B. limited resources. C. few setbacks. D. measurable goals.

A. permanent results.

A manufacturer has more workers on hand to perform production activities than it does production equipment. What economic principle does this exemplify? A. Law of minimal utility B. Law of diminishing returns C. Economies of scale D. Economies of scoring

B. Law of diminishing returns

Which of the following is a common cause of disparate data structures within many large corporations' financial-information management systems? A. Channels of distribution B. Mergers and acquisitions C. Capital structure D. Accounting method

B. Mergers and acquisitions

Which of the following are examples of deposit-taking financial institutions: A. Commercial banks, corporations, and mutual savings banks B. Credit unions, savings and loan associations, and commercial banks C. Savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, and insurance firms D. Commercial banks, credit unions, and brokerages

B. Credit unions, savings and loan associations, and commercial banks

Although Terri, Adele, and Jeff work in different departments, they all use the same computer program— one that is outdated and inefficient. During their breaks and lunch hours, they have been discussing ways in which they can convince management to upgrade the system. Terri, Adele, and Jeff have formed a A. political coalition. B. public-relations board C. departmental project team. D. workplace grievance committee.

A. political coalition.

Which of the following statements is true about determining your personal vision for the future: A. It involves following a step-by-step plan. B. It depends more on emotion than logic. C. It requires facts and concrete goals. D. It is risk free and time bound.

B. It depends more on emotion than logic.

A small-business owner set up his budgeting software so that it connects directly to his business's bank accounts and loans. That way, he doesn't have to record each business expense individually. Instead, he just has to compare his receipts to the numbers that the software downloads from the bank. This budgeting-application feature is commonly known as automatic A. tracking. B. back up. C. alerts. D. affirmation.

A. tracking.

What is the most important aspect of a company's brand promise? A. Profit maximization B. Consistent follow-through C. Ongoing promotion D. Long-term planning

B. Consistent follow-through

Which of the following questions would be the least difficult to answer using data mining techniques: A. What makes some customers a better credit risk than others? B. When will this customer place his/her next order? C. Why did this customer move her/his checking account to another bank? D. What product will a particular customer order next?

A. What makes some customers a better credit risk than others?

To endorse a check, the payee must sign his/her name on the A. back of the check. B. signature block of the check C. check's memo line D. check's "Pay to the order of" section.

A. back of the check.

Insecure people are often afraid to become assertive because they think they will A. damage their relationships. B. have to please others. C. be considered childish. D. lose their independence.

A. damage their relationships.

The general economic growth of a country is supported by its A. level of productivity. B. standard of living. C. gross domestic product. D. wealth of goods and services.

A. level of productivity.

Risk retention groups are typically only allowed to offer __________ insurance coverage. A. liability B. life C. homeowners D. health

A. liability

Which of the following mutual funds is most likely to be tax inefficient: A. A fund with a high portfolio turnover rate B. A fund with a low portfolio turnover rate C. A fund that concentrates on a specialized sector D. A fund that attempts to match a broad market index

A. A fund with a high portfolio turnover rate

Which of the following potential compliance issues would temporal reasoning detect: A. A travel-expense account has a credit balance at the end of an accounting period rather than a debit balance. B. Purchase orders 2870 from Bryan Industries and 2870a from Bryant Industries are very similar. C. A new customer recently placed an order that is three times larger than the average order. D. Jack temporarily changed a vendor file so funds destined for the vendor would instead be diverted to his personal checking account.

A. A travel-expense account has a credit balance at the end of an accounting period rather than a debit balance.

Which of the following is the first step in a business's accounting cycle: A. Collecting the source documents B. Journalizing transactions C. Balancing the books D. Preparing financial statements

A. Collecting the source documents

Determine if the following statement is true or false: Employers are more concerned with their employees' job skills than with the employees' personal appearance. A. False, an employee's appearance can influence the customers' perceptions about the company. B. False, employers are most concerned with an employee's ability to work well with others. C. True, employees must have skills because most employers do not have resources to train them. D. True, an employee's clothing and hygiene are not as important as her/his efficiency levels.

A. False, an employee's appearance can influence the customers' perceptions about the company.

When a business has too much inventory on hand for an extended period of time, what type of business cost increases? A. Holding B. Maintenance C. Production D. Stockout

A. Holding

Mary is accused of understating the tax due on her federal tax returns for the last five years. The understatement has nothing to do with a tax shelter. Mary is very concerned that she will be fined or sent to jail if she is convicted of understating her tax. Which of the following statements regarding Mary's situation is true? A. If a Certified Public Accountant prepared Mary's return, she can probably avoid government penalties for the understatement of tax. B. Mary is likely to be sent to jail for understating her tax due because she didn't use a federally approved tax shelter. C. The federal tax-collection agency should recognize the understatement as a tax shelter because Mary is 45 years old. D. Mary should take her brother's advice and store her assets in an offshore bank account.

A. If a Certified Public Accountant prepared Mary's return, she can probably avoid government penalties for the understatement of tax.

Ingrid must analyze various aspects of the completed project by comparing the results with the objectives. What process is Ingrid likely to use to obtain all of the information for analysis? A. Internal audit B. Administrative appraisal C. Team review D. Productivity evaluation

A. Internal audit

Why is the choice of a risk measure for internal and external risk of great practical importance? A. It determines the minimum reserve requirements in financial trading. B. It determines the maximum number of clients that can be served effectively by a financial institution. C. It identifies the types of risks that the financial institution will encounter. D. It designates the audience that will receive the resulting financial reports.

A. It determines the minimum reserve requirements in financial trading.

Which of the following is often cited as the most significant stumbling block in achieving compliance goals within large financial organizations: A. Poor data quality B. Lack of training C. Inadequate funding D. Improper accounting system

A. Poor data quality

What do you need to identify if there are complicated jobs that members of the group are unable to perform? A. Support services B. Alternative tasks C. Technical equipment D. Replacement items

A. Support services

Which compliance reasoning process detects unbalanced journal entries? A. Symbolic reasoning B. Contextual reasoning C. Temporal reasoning D. Cross-source reasoning

A. Symbolic reasoning

Which of the following is a characteristic of a product trade-name franchise: A. The franchisee can choose the name of the business. B. It is not open to the public. C. The franchisee has unlimited liability. D. It is owned by shareholders.

A. The franchisee can choose the name of the business.

If a small-business owner wants to identify the customers who owe money to the business, what type of report should s/he review? A. Accounts-payable B. Aging-accounts C. Asset-depreciation D. Asset-allocation

B. Aging-accounts

A business owner is concerned that some of his employees may be using their company credit cards to make personal purchases. Which data mining technique should the owner use to review the employees' credit card transactions each month to identify questionable transactions? A. Nearest-neighbor method B. Decision trees C. Artificial neural networks D. Dashboards

C. Artificial neural networks

An individual calls your company and asks to speak with your coworker, Rhonda Hoffman. What should you do if Rhonda is not available to take the call? A. Tell the caller that you would be glad to take his/her order. B. Advise the caller to call again in a few minutes. C. Ask the caller if s/he would like to leave a message. D. Put the caller on hold while you track down Rhonda.

C. Ask the caller if s/he would like to leave a message.

A small business records transactions when it receives or spends money. What type of accounting system is the business using? A. Positional B. Accrual C. Cash D. Static

C. Cash

Annette works for an insurance company. Her primary responsibilities involve establishing premium rates and designing insurance policies to cover risk. Annette is most likely to have certification as a A. Certified Financial Planner (CFP). B. Certified Financial Analyst (CFA). C. Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU). D. Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC).

C. Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU).

Beverly, the new office manager, just completed a review of the last two years of accounts receivable data. In doing so, she discovered that there are erroneous duplicate entries totaling $25,628 in the system. Unfortunately, due to these duplicate entries, collection letters were sent to many customers who had already paid in full—customers who are angry with the company for sending them the letters. What should Beverly do to try to save these customer relationships and ensure that these customers are not bothered in the future? A. Contact each customer by phone and apologize B. Complete an accounting software update C. Complete a data cleansing of the erroneous entries D. Use funds from the accounts payable account to pay the debt

C. Complete a data cleansing of the erroneous entries

Which of the following is an example of how a business or industry has a unique relationship with its environment: A. Social and cultural attitudes change over time. B. An economy in prosperity will eventually experience recession. C. Demand for skilled nursing care rises as the population ages. D. New technology causes new laws to be enacted.

C. Demand for skilled nursing care rises as the population ages.

Which of the following are among the most important resources to access prior to purchasing stock in a company: A. EDGAR and the Statement of Ownership B. ESOP and the company's web site C. EDGAR and the company's web site D. ESOP and the Statement of Ownership

C. EDGAR and the company's web site

At work, Bob is assigned to be on a team of five people that will create a new product. Which action can Bob take to participate in the team in a useful way? A. Keep the group on track by stopping others from offering unusual ideas B. Encourage the team to avoid setting ground rules C. Find out what other people in the group know about the product D. Walk around the room during discussions to keep energy in the group

C. Find out what other people in the group know about the product

What do bond yields typically do during an economic expansion? A. Drop to near zero B. Gradually decrease C. Increase D. Remain unchanged

C. Increase

Which of the following is a drawback of convergence and consolidation in the finance industry: A. Fewer customer loans B. Fewer different products C. Increased customer risk D. Increased liquidity constraints

C. Increased customer risk

Why might group members prefer to use an informal method of consensus building? A. Group members wish to avoid arguing. B. The subject matter is controversial. C. It allows for face-to-face interaction. D. There is more paperwork involved.

C. It allows for face-to-face interaction.

The Buford Company's ability to pay its short-term debts has improved steadily over the past three years. What financial ratio helped the company identify this trend? A. Asset-turnover B. Qualitative C. Liquidity D. Market-value

C. Liquidity

Who should be take continuing education classes to keep up with changes in tax regulations? A. Gwen Colbert, Accounts Receivable Supervisor B. Paul Stanton, Corporate Security Advisor C. Martha Winters, Certified Public Accountant D. Carlos Ramirez, Product Acquisition Manager

C. Martha Winters, Certified Public Accountant

All of your friends are coming over for dinner tonight. Instead of asking what they'd like to eat, you decide to order pizza. What style of decision making are you using? A. Managing B. Moderate C. Minimum D. Maximum

C. Minimum

Which financial statement should an investor use to quickly determine a company's "bottom line"? A. Statement of retained earnings B. Cash flow statement C. Balance sheet D. Income statement

D. Income statement

Franco's manager asked him to develop a report that compares their company's fourth-quarter performance with others in its industry. Which financial-analysis software feature should Franco use to generate information for his report? A. Forecasting B. Ratio analysis C. DuPont modeling D. Benchmarking

D. Benchmarking

Ginny set up two related tables in a database so that when an entry in the primary table is modified, the database application automatically updates all matching entries in the related table. What type of relationship did Ginny create? A. Logical design B. Hyperlinked C. Object-oriented D. Cascading upward

D. Cascading upward

Which of the following forms of technology is most useful in operations: A. Smart phones B. E-readers C. Assistive technology D. Computer-aided design

D. Computer-aided design

What type of accounting involves preparing and reporting financial data to internal users who use the data to plan, direct, and control business operations? A. Tax B. Financial C. Cash D. Cost

D. Cost

What customer-relationship-management analytic would be most suitable for sorting clients based on how likely they are to repurchase a particular product? A. Profitability analysis B. Account personalization C. Event monitoring D. Customer segmentation

D. Customer segmentation

Yvonne is running a query to create, delete, or modify other database objects. What type of query is Yvonne running? A. Pass-through B. Select C. Crosstab D. Data-definition

D. Data-definition

Which of the following contains the steps used to perform data mining in the proper order: A. Choose the data-mining technique; define the objectives; gather data; interpret the data; create models; use the data as specified in the objectives. B. Create models; define the objectives; gather data; interpret the data; choose the data-mining technique; use the data as specified in the objectives. C. Gather data; choose the data-mining technique; create models; interpret the data; define the objectives; use the data as specified in the objectives. D. Define the objectives; gather data; choose the data-mining technique; create models; interpret the data; use the data as specified in the objectives.

D. Define the objectives; gather data; choose the data-mining technique; create models; interpret the data; use the data as specified in the objectives.

What is a primary responsibility of a company's controller? A. Evaluating property values B. Designing risk policies to minimize business losses C. Calculating the risk of loss D. Directing the preparation of financial reports

D. Directing the preparation of financial reports

When preparing a statement of equity, what does a business deduct from its total net income to obtain its retained earnings? A. Bad debt B. Depreciation of assets C. Sales tax payable D. Dividends paid

D. Dividends paid

According to most analysts, the three economic indicators that stock market investors and traders should pay the closest attention to are A. inflation, unemployment, and bonds rates. B. interest rates, overhead expenses, and inflation. C. Gross Domestic Product, overhead expenses, and unemployment. D. Gross Domestic Product, unemployment, and inflation.

D. Gross Domestic Product, unemployment, and inflation.

Which of the following is a limitation that businesses face with their internal risk-control activities: A. Economic conditions B. Market dynamics C. Trade agreements D. Human judgment

D. Human judgment