Australian Payroll Governance Toolkit: what it is & how to build one
A strong Australian payroll governance framework reduces compliance risk and improves pay accuracy. Here's what it is and the practical tools you need to build it.
It's more important than ever for the payroll function to demonstrate and develop its controls, structures and practices to ensure accurate pays, adherence to workforce obligations and minimise risks inherent in payroll.
No longer is it acceptable at board level for management to delegate the risk and responsibility of payroll governance to those in the payroll department.
This toolkit contains practical, common sense ideas and tools to help you manage payroll processes, approvals and audit, so you can improve governance.
What is governance?
According to the Governance Institute of Australia:
Governance encompasses the system by which an organisation is controlled and operates, and the mechanisms by which it, and its people, are held to account. Ethics, risk management, compliance and administration are all elements of governance.
Payroll governance is a subset of corporate governance and ties into the overall governance, risk and compliance (GRC) of the organisation.
"I wrote to the boards of Australia's top 100 ASX-listed companies, calling on them to elevate employee pay as a governance and compliance priority, and asking them to ensure they have the appropriate systems, expertise and leadership in their human resources areas, particularly in their payroll function."
Why is payroll governance important?
It allows organisations to manage and minimise risks within payroll. It also enables you to demonstrate and comply with all relevant legislation and workplace requirements, providing oversight, transparency and conformity to the business's overall governance, risk and compliance strategy.
Good payroll governance reduces the risk of:
8 essential items required for payroll governance
Payroll governance is the systems, mechanisms and rituals in place to enforce and define how payroll operates. Using tools and frameworks makes it easier to manage and practice good governance.
Here are 8 items every organisation should consider to practice payroll governance:
Don't forget to download our free Australian Payroll Governance Toolkit to learn the specifics of these essential 8, with use case examples to get you started.
Ready to take control of payroll governance?
By using a dedicated payroll operations software, you'll reduce risk and centralise all your operations without even having to think about it.
Paytools brings together your operational and compliance management into one platform.
See how a purpose-built payroll operations platform can help you improve governance and create a calm payroll team.