CPA AUD Internal Control & IT Practice Questions
Internal Control & IT makes up 5 of every 50 questions on a Tigertest CPA AUD practice test. Here are 10 of the 20 questions on it, each with the answer and the reason.
Updated by the Tigertest team. Based on the AICPA's 2026 AUD blueprint. Original multiple-choice questions; simulations not included. Not affiliated with the AICPA, NASBA or the PCAOB.
1. Under the COSO Internal Control - Integrated Framework, which component is the foundation for all the others?
- A.Monitoring activities
- B.Control environment
- C.Risk assessment
- D.Control activities
Answer: B. The control environment sets the tone of the organization: integrity, ethical values, board oversight, structure and accountability. The other four components rest on it.
2. How many principles does the 2013 COSO internal control framework set out across its five components?
- A.12
- B.20
- C.5
- D.17
Answer: D. The 2013 framework has five components supported by 17 principles, all of which must be present and functioning for effective internal control.
3. Which duties should be kept apart for good segregation of duties?
- A.Custody, recording, authorization
- B.Hiring, training, reviewing
- C.Ordering, receiving, storing
- D.Billing, shipping, collecting
Answer: A. Separating authorization of transactions, recording of transactions and custody of assets keeps one person from both committing and concealing an error or fraud.
4. Which is an IT general control rather than an application control?
- A.A limit test on employee pay rates
- B.A batch total of sales invoices
- C.Restricting access to program code
- D.A check digit on account numbers
Answer: C. IT general controls cover access, program change, program development and computer operations. Check digits, limit tests and batch totals operate inside one application.
5. An edit check that rejects an hours-worked entry above 80 in a week is a:
- A.Validity check
- B.Sequence check
- C.Limit test
- D.Hash total
Answer: C. A limit (reasonableness) test flags values outside a set bound. A hash total adds a field with no meaning, such as employee numbers, to check completeness of a batch.
6. Adding up employee ID numbers in a payroll batch to check that no record was lost or added is a:
- A.Hash total
- B.Financial total
- C.Check digit
- D.Record count
Answer: A. A hash total sums a field that has no meaning as a total. A change in the sum shows a record was lost, added or altered.
7. A control that requires the shipping clerk to match goods to an approved sales order before release mainly addresses:
- A.Classification of sales
- B.Valuation of receivables
- C.Completeness of sales
- D.Occurrence of sales
Answer: D. Matching shipments to approved orders helps ensure recorded sales are real transactions, which is the occurrence assertion.
8. Prenumbered shipping documents that are accounted for in sequence mainly address the:
- A.Rights to receivables
- B.Completeness of sales
- C.Occurrence of sales
- D.Valuation of inventory
Answer: B. Accounting for every prenumbered document shows that all shipments were billed and recorded, which supports completeness.
9. In the purchasing cycle, who should approve a vendor invoice for payment?
- A.The vendor's own sales manager
- B.Someone outside purchasing
- C.The purchasing agent who ordered
- D.The clerk who received the goods
Answer: B. Accounts payable approves payment after matching the purchase order, receiving report and invoice. The person who ordered the goods should not approve payment for them.
10. Which payroll control best prevents payments to fictitious employees?
- A.Supervisors hand out checks
- B.Overtime is approved weekly
- C.Payroll prepares the checks
- D.HR adds employees, not payroll
Answer: D. Keeping the authority to add employees to the master file in human resources, separate from payroll processing, prevents a payroll clerk from creating ghost employees.
Practice all 20 internal control & it questions, and the rest of the 200-question bank, in the free CPA AUD training sets. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.
Start practicingFree to start. No account needed.