Our app requires you to log in to do anything. We've supplied a test account to the review team and they have never once bothered to log in but have approved dozens of updates.
I guess our splash screen meets their quality guidelines? It seems silly that we have to wait 1-2 weeks to push an update if there's no real review going on.
In my experience, the app review process is more meticulous the more you charge for the app. Maybe OP's app is free or fairly cheap while yours is more expensive or has expensive in-app purchases?
You can't register an arbitrary account because it's tied to your employer's payroll system. They'd need to use the account we gave them and never have.