# Accounting Knowledge: Cash, bank reconciliation & internal controls

Questions with answers and explanations, from the Questiva Learning skills tests.
Version 2, authored 2026-08-23.
Take it interactively: https://www.questivalearning.com/qbcu-certification-prep#skills
## Cash, bank reconciliation & internal controls

### Q1. When you reconcile, which of these needs an entry in your books?

- a) Deposits in transit.
- b) Checks that haven't cleared yet.
- **✓ c) Bank service charges.**
- d) An error the bank made.

> The bank already took the service charge, but your books won't show it until you enter it. The other three are already right in your books.

### Q2. A check from a closed period will never be cashed. You should:

- a) Delete it.
- **✓ b) Reverse it in the current period.**
- c) Leave it outstanding.
- d) Void it back in the month it was written.

> Reversing it now clears it without changing the closed period. An uncashed check may also have to be reported to the state as unclaimed property.

### Q3. The same person writes the checks and reconciles the bank account. The owner should start by:

- **✓ a) Reviewing the bank statements before the bookkeeper does.**
- b) Writing a job description for the bookkeeper.
- c) Paying vendors by ACH instead of by check.
- d) Having the bookkeeper reconcile twice a month instead of once.

> Right now nobody else sees what clears the bank. Owner review of the statements, and vacations with someone else covering, are the simplest checks.

### Q4. Customer checks deposited together show as one deposit at the bank. To record them:

- **✓ a) Receive each payment, then group them on one deposit.**
- b) Receive each payment straight into Checking.
- c) Enter one deposit and reduce Accounts Receivable with a journal entry.
- d) Wait for the bank statement.

> Each payment closes its invoice and waits in Undeposited Funds. One deposit then matches the single line on the bank statement.

### Q5. What do you do with a bank feed transaction you already entered as a bill payment?

- a) Add it, then delete your bill payment.
- **✓ b) Match it to the bill payment.**
- c) Add it and let the reconciliation sort out the duplicate.
- d) Exclude it.

> Matching links the bank's line to the payment already in your books, so it's recorded once and marked cleared.

### Q6. A reconciliation's beginning balance can stop matching last month's ending balance when:

- a) Someone adds a new transaction dated last month.
- b) Last month's outstanding checks clear.
- **✓ c) A reconciled transaction is deleted or changed.**
- d) The bank corrects an error on its side.

> The beginning balance is the total of everything already marked reconciled, so it only moves when one of those transactions changes. A new entry dated last month just shows up in this month's list.

### Q7. When a bank reconciliation won't balance, it's best to:

- **✓ a) Find the difference before you finish.**
- b) Finish it if the difference is only a few cents.
- c) Post an adjustment now and reverse it next month.
- d) Change the beginning balance to match the statement.

> Forcing the reconciliation posts the difference to a discrepancy account, and whatever caused it stays in your books.

### Q8. When a card processor keeps its fee from a customer payment, record:

- a) Only the amount deposited.
- b) A surcharge on the invoice.
- **✓ c) The full payment and a fee expense.**
- d) A discount on the invoice.

> The customer paid the full amount. Record the full payment and the fee as an expense, and the deposit nets to what the bank received.

### Q9. A vendor emails you new bank account details. To confirm them:

- a) Reply to their email.
- b) Check that the email address matches their earlier ones.
- **✓ c) Call the number you already have for them.**
- d) Accept it if it came from your usual contact.

> These requests often come from a hacked or look-alike email account. Confirm by phone, using a number from your own records.

### Q10. Card purchases are entered as expenses when they're made. The monthly card payment from checking is:

- a) Another expense, dated on the statement.
- **✓ b) A transfer from checking to the card.**
- c) The point when the charges become deductible.
- d) A reduction in checking only.

> The purchases were expensed when they were charged. Paying the card lowers checking and the card balance, so recording it as an expense counts the spending twice.