Teryl @ Work

Human error is one of the 3 major risks in payroll management.   Some fairly simple processes can help to reduce the risk.   And put them in writing, for easy referral. Setting deadlines that are both realistic and practical is one of the first formal processes that should be in place.  It is crucial to have open discussions with all the role players when setting deadlines, so that everybody understands what the implications of not meeting the deadlines are, as well as being committed to the process.  A key success factor is that the contributors are aware that they need to inform the payroll department timeously if the can't hit a deadline, so that alternative arrangements can be made. It is amazing how many people think that its OK if they miss a deadline once, not being aware that if there are 20 deadline contributors who do that once each year, well, you can do the math.... Standard formats  both reduce risk, and make processing easier. ...

What are the risks in a payroll department?   There are many variations of the three below, but it all comes down to them. Fraud Error Confidentiality Good processes and governance go a long way to preventing all of them, and, of course, the positive effect of getting it right the first time, is so much better than having to constantly correct problems.   Payroll errors have a very negative impact on morale. Fraud    From ghost employees to duplicate bank accounts, payroll fraud is wide ranging and yet we are frequently told that payroll administrators manage the full process from data entry to EFT without anybody else checking the output.   While it is clearly not good governance, it is also quite simply putting temptation on the table. Another concern is that there are many repeat offenders out there, protected by the employer who chooses to not take action, and by the companies who do not insist on full background checks when hiring into such a s...