AC570 Unit 5 Full-Population Exception Tests Example

Course	AC570 Data Analytics for Accountants
Unit	Unit 5
Paper type	Exception testing set
Length	About 580 words, 5 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	MS in Accounting
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for AC570 Unit 5

Four Tests Defined Before Their First Result: A Unit 5 Exception Testing Set on a Storage Ledger

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

AC570: Data Analytics for Accountants

Unit 5 Exception Testing Set

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Stowfield Storage and every figure are composite; the book, guide and textbook cited are real.

What this part is doingStating the four tests and the rule about Benford in the lead shows the set's design.

Why Define Tests First

Each test below states its population, rule and exception definition before it is run. Defining tests after seeing the data invites tuning them until they produce the answer someone expects. Full-population tests like these replace sampling with a rule applied to every record, which is their strength, but only if the rule is fixed in advance (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2017).

Test 1: Duplicate Refunds

Population. All 3,223 refunds in fiscal 2025.

Rule. Any two refunds that share a tenant and an amount and fall within five days of each other.

Result. 58 pairs. Matching each pair to the void log and the bank shows 39 are reissues after a voided check, where the first payment never cleared. Nineteen pairs are unexplained, totaling $2,087.13: both payments cleared.

Test 2: Receipt Sequence Gaps

Population. All 29,985 cash and check receipts, by facility.

Rule. Missing numbers in each facility's receipt sequence, excluding Facility 27's March outage, explained in the profile.

Result. 145 numbers missing. The void log accounts for 117. Twenty-eight are unexplained, and 21 of them are at Facility 22, a concentration no other facility comes close to.

Test 3: Credits Outside Office Hours

Population. All 15,594 credits, with timestamps converted to local time.

Rule. Credits entered before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. local time, or on days the office was closed.

Result. 1,359 credits. Of these, 1,229 were entered by the online portal's system user, applying the move-in promotion when tenants rent online at night; they are expected and carry no risk. The remaining 130 were entered by staff logins. Ninety-four of those came from one district manager working from home in the evening, with approval notes. Thirty-six are unexplained, 22 of them at Facility 22.

Test 4: Benford Comparison

Benford's law predicts that in many real-world lists of amounts, small first digits appear far more often than large ones, so a list whose first digits depart from that pattern may contain made-up figures. But it applies only to lists whose amounts range across several powers of ten and arise freely rather than from fixed prices or rules (Nigrini, 2012). Promotion credits are fixed at one month's rent less a dollar, and fee waivers are set amounts; neither fits. Goodwill and correction credits entered manually do fit: 2,746 credits ranging from $3 to $2,400.

Rule. Compare first-digit frequencies with Benford's expected frequencies, using mean absolute deviation, and flag digits with large departures.

Result. The overall fit is acceptable. Digit 9 is over-represented, driven by credits between $90 and $99 at Facility 22, just below the $100 threshold above which a credit requires a second login.

The tests point to the same place from different directions: duplicate refunds, missing receipts, late manual credits and credits clustered just below an approval threshold all concentrate at Facility 22, which is a stronger signal than any one test alone.

What this part is doingThe highlighted sentence explains how independent tests corroborate each other, the insight graders look for in exception testing.

Exception Register

Every exception is listed in the annex with its record identifiers, so each can be traced to the ledger. The register will be prioritized by exposure and probability in Unit 9 rather than by count (Richardson et al., 2023).

What this part is doingEnding on the register shows how the results feed the next stage.

References

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (2017). Guide to audit data analytics. AICPA.

Nigrini, M. J. (2012). Benford's law: Applications for forensic accounting, auditing, and fraud detection. Wiley.

Richardson, V. J., Teeter, R. A., & Terrell, K. L. (2023). Data analytics for accounting (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill.

Reading the AC 570 Unit 5 instructions

The fifth AC570 unit asks you to run exception tests across complete populations. Fix each test's population, rule and exception definition in writing before it runs, and explain why defining tests first matters. Report results with counts and amounts, then investigate each exception against available explanations, such as void logs or system users, and report what remains unexplained. For Benford analysis, explain which populations fit its assumptions and which do not, and run it only where it applies, using an appropriate measure of conformity. Look for patterns across tests, such as several pointing to the same location. Keep an exception register with record identifiers so each item can be traced. Reference Nigrini (2012), the 2017 AICPA guide and Richardson and colleagues in APA 7.

How the AC 570 Unit 5 example is put together

The sample explains why rules are fixed before results. Test one pairs refunds to the same tenant and amount within five days: 58 pairs, 39 reissues after voided checks, 19 unexplained for $2,087.13. Test two walks receipt sequences: 145 missing, 117 voided, 28 unexplained, 21 at Facility 22. Test three converts timestamps and finds 1,359 after-hours credits, 1,229 from the portal and 36 unexplained staff entries. Test four excludes fixed-amount promotions and waivers, runs Benford on 2,746 manual credits and finds digit 9 over-represented at Facility 22 just under $100. The highlighted sentence explains the convergence, and the register keeps identifiers for prioritization.

Where the points sit in the AC570 Unit 5 rubric

Exception testing sets in AC570 earn points for tests defined in advance and results investigated before conclusions. Graders check that each test states its population, rule and exception definition, and that results distinguish explained from unexplained items. The rubric gives significant credit for applying Benford's law only to populations that meet its assumptions and explaining why others were excluded. Recognizing patterns across tests, such as concentration at one site, shows analytical judgment. A register that traces each exception to records supports follow-up. Sets that run tests and report raw counts, or apply Benford to fixed amounts, lose substantial credit. Clear blocks and APA 7 references support the work.

Common AC570 Unit 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Weak Unit 5 sets report every flagged item as an exception without checking void logs or system users. Rules are adjusted after seeing results. Benford's law is applied to promotional credits or fee waivers, which follow set amounts and cannot conform. After-hours tests use raw timestamps. Results from each test are reported separately, missing the fact that several point to one place. Exceptions lack record identifiers, so no one can follow them up. If your section's dataset or tests differ, a writer can define and run the tests on your population with the same discipline. Some sets also leave out the explanations that cleared most flagged items, which makes the unexplained remainder impossible to judge.

Get an AC570 Unit 5 example written to your instructions

Send the Unit 5 data and the list of required tests, plus any policy they rest on, such as office hours, refund windows or approval limits, along with the rubric. Each test comes back defined, run and concluded, with an exception register, inside 24-48h. A first custom sample costs nothing, and the query or workbook travels with it. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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AC570 Unit 5 questions, answered

When is Benford's test appropriate?

When amounts arise naturally from many transactions, span several orders of magnitude and are not assigned, capped or set by a schedule. Invoice totals and free-form adjustments usually qualify; rents, fixed fees and check numbers do not. The AC570 sample runs the test on both kinds so the difference is visible, and it excludes amounts under ten dollars, following common practice for first-digit work.

Why report the mean absolute deviation instead of only chi-square?

Because chi-square grows with sample size, so across thousands of amounts it rejects conformity over trivial gaps. The mean absolute deviation averages the gap between observed and expected shares across the nine digits and is read against published ranges: below 0.006 close conformity, up to 0.012 acceptable, up to 0.015 marginal, above that nonconformity. The sample reports both and explains which governs.

What makes an after-hours test fair?

Local time, a stated calendar and a split between people and systems. The sample converts every stamp to the facility's zone, uses each office's posted hours with Sundays closed, and separates the online portal, which posts around the clock by design. Only staff entries outside those hours count as exceptions, which is why 1,359 flags shrink to 130 worth reviewing.

Where can I find a free AC570 Unit 5 sample paper?

This page holds a full AC570 Unit 5 exception testing set for Stowfield Storage with duplicate refund, receipt gap, after-hours and Benford tests, an exception register and APA 7 references.

Why wasn't Benford's law run on all credits?

Promotion credits and fee waivers are set amounts, not freely arising figures, so their first digits cannot follow Benford's pattern. Only manually entered goodwill and correction credits, ranging from $3 to $2,400, fit its assumptions.