APA FPC-Remote Exam - Topic 4 Question 15 Discussion

Actual exam question for APA's FPC-Remote exam

Question #: 15
Topic #: 4

[All FPC-Remote Questions]

All of the following employees are examples of phantom employees EXCEPT:

AA non-existent employee set up using false information.

BA remote employee that is not required to record their time.

CA terminated, salaried employee whose status was purposely not changed.

DA deceased employee that continues to receive pay due to lost paperwork.

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: B

Phantom employees are fraudulent payroll entries where salaries are paid to non-existent or inactive employees.

Option A, C, and D are examples of phantom employees.

Option B (Remote employees not required to record time) is NOT a phantom employee, as long as they are legitimate workers.

Payroll Fraud Prevention, IRS

Payroll Audit Techniques Guide (IRS Publication)

by Ernie at Nov 20, 2025, 10:51 AM

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Mitsue

1 month ago

Definitely B. It’s about real vs. fake employees.

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Murray

2 months ago

C is tricky, but still not a phantom.

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Vannessa

2 months ago

I feel like A and D are obvious fakes.

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Krystal

2 months ago

Yeah, B is the only one that makes sense.

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Valentine

2 months ago

Agreed, B seems legit. Others are clearly fake.

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Keneth

2 months ago

I think it's B. Remote employees can be real.

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Marylin

2 months ago

A and D are classic examples of phantom employees.

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Simona

3 months ago

I’m not sure about C. Seems like it could still be a phantom situation.

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Skye

3 months ago

Wait, how can a deceased employee still get paid? That's wild!

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Wai

3 months ago

Totally agree, B doesn't fit the phantom employee definition.

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Carmelina

4 months ago

B is the correct answer.

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Melissa

4 months ago

Option A sounds like the classic phantom employee scenario to me. Gotta watch out for those fake employees!

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Aja

4 months ago

Haha, imagine a company still paying a deceased employee. That's some serious ghost payroll going on!

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Torie

4 months ago

I'm going with C. A terminated salaried employee whose status wasn't changed is definitely a phantom employee.

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Penney

4 months ago

I’m a bit confused about C. A terminated employee should be removed from payroll, but if their status wasn’t changed, does that make them a phantom? I’m not sure!

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Jeanice

4 months ago

I think the answer is B too. It seems like the other options clearly involve some sort of fraud or error, while a remote employee might just be following different rules.

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Marshall

5 months ago

I'm not entirely sure about this one. I'll make my best guess, but I might need to come back to it if I have time at the end.

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Bambi

5 months ago

This question is straightforward. I know the definition of a phantom employee, so I can quickly eliminate the options that don't match.

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Marjory

5 months ago

Okay, I've got this. The key is to identify which of these examples does not fit the definition of a phantom employee. I'll think it through step-by-step.

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Rose

5 months ago

I remember discussing phantom employees in class, but I'm not entirely sure about option B. Is a remote employee really considered a phantom if they just don't record time?

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Delmy

5 months ago

I think B is the correct answer. Remote employees don't need to record their time, so they can't be considered phantom employees.

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Fernanda

6 months ago

I feel like I’ve seen a question like this before. I’m leaning towards D being the answer since a deceased employee is definitely not a phantom in the traditional sense, right?

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