CFOs: Do you have the technology to collect and report on payroll data?

May 3, 2023 | 5 Mins David Daly

CFOs are required to have a lot of data at their disposal. Some key departments such as human resources and finance may be able to supply this person with data that is related to their specific department.

Increasingly, in a changed work environment where hybrid and remote working has become the norm, there is a need for CFOs to have a better understanding of global payroll costs across all of the countries an organization is based in.

But do CFOs have the right technology to collect and report on payroll data?

This is a key metric in any organization. CFOs need digital technology to extract payroll data which can reveal a lot about the financial health of an organization.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the tools they need in place for data and reporting, the macro view of payroll, and how to drill down into the payroll data. We’ll also explore how global payroll reporting and metrics are essential for informed decision-making in the office of the chief financial officer in 2023.

The tools in place for data and reporting

For a variety of reporting requirements, there are a number of software programs available that can help with the collection and reporting of key company data. These programs typically offer a variety of features, such as the ability to generate customized reports or export data to other software applications.

There are a few things CFOs and finance teams need to keep in mind when choosing the right technology for collecting and reporting on payroll data. First, it should be able to integrate with your existing accounting and financial systems. Second, it should be easy to use and generate reports that are easy to understand. Third, it should be able to handle large volumes of data and be scalable so that it can grow with your company.

There are a number of different digital tools available to CFOs that can help them collect and report on payroll data. One such option is global payroll control platform. This type of digital, cloud-based platform can provide CFOs with real-time access to global payroll information such as labor cost split by country, entity and region. These costs need to be comparative so that the CFO can understand how they differ across countries.

Without this type of digital platform, which is fully integrated with human resources systems and finance software applications, a CFO will struggle to extract and analyze the financial data needed to truly understand bottom line labor costs inside the organization. The reporting on global payroll needs to be detailed, consolidated across countries and comprehensive. It is also important that the reporting is in real time and can be accessed on a self-serve basis-all of this is achievable with a global payroll control platform.

The macro view of payroll

As the chief financial officer of a company, one of their most important responsibilities is to analyze and understand payroll data, which tends to be one of the company’s largest expenses. This data can provide invaluable insights into the financial health of the organization.

The macro view is a list of high-level labor costs that can be consolidated by region, for example, Eastern Europe or South America. This would give a CFO instant access to exactly how much money is being spent on employee salaries and wages in a specific region. A CFO needs to look at specific countries within this region and compare them. Ideally, they want to compare in a single currency. All of this requires a level of sophisticated reporting technology, which is essentially purpose built for payroll data and global payroll reporting.

The macro view can give a clear oversight so the CFO can get a quick handle on labor costs before they chooses to drill down into the deeper details around pay elements and specific payroll costs such as taxes, bonuses and pension contributions.

The challenge a CFO faces in many global organizations today is that the technology simply does not exist, as an investment has not been made in a global payroll control platform. Sometimes it is the case that the digital transformation has taken place, but it has stopped at the human resources department- this is a common oversight- digitizing the HR department but not continuing with the digital transformation and following up with the digitization of global payroll, something that is intrinsically linked to human resources and financial operations.

Drilling down into the payroll data

One a CFO is satisfied with the macro view and has the bigger picture insights, they will then likely be interested in drilling down into the micro details as these are often the details that can tell the full story behind the global payroll data.

Drilling down into the micro details can give information around which country is the most expensive in which to base employees, what specific pay elements are costing an organization the most, where taxes are higher and what specific contributions and deductions are impacting labor costs the most. This is crucial information that cannot be received in a basic or generic high-level report, generated by a third-party payroll provider using dated software to run reporting.

For this level of detailed and nuanced reporting, a purpose-built cloud-based payroll platform is required-one equipped with innovative digital reporting tools with multiple filtering options to drill down into the details of each individual country payroll. The hard data contained in these detailed reports can be far more revealing than the initial high-level overview. It is all about the detail, and when it comes to cost management initiatives, the details have to be accurate, and up-to-the-minute-CFOs are risk averse personalities by nature, and they don’t want to have to make any decisions without detailed and comprehensive data to support their rationale.

By tracking key micros metrics, CFOs can get a better understanding of their organization’s labor costs and make more informed decisions about where to allocate resources. The right technology can make it easier to collect and report on this data, giving CFOs the insights they need to make sound financial decisions.

Informed decision-making in 2023

Informed decision-making in 2023 will require CFOs to have access to technology that can collect and report on payroll data. This data is a key metric in any organization, and by tracking it, CFOs can get a better understanding of their organization’s labor costs. With this information at their disposal, CFOs and the finance department will be able to make more informed decisions about budgeting, forecasting and where to allocate or optimize resources.

Recent media reports indicate many global countries could face recession-based challenges in 2023-therefore, accurate and up-to-the-minute reporting that is detailed and comprehensive can really help with informed decision making when it comes to cost management initiatives. CFOs are likely to demand detailed global payroll reporting data at various points in 2023 so organizations need to take steps to make sure they are in a position to provide this essential reporting up the chain to the office of the CFO and the c-suite.

Things can change quickly with global economies and the business world, so it may not be very long before a CFO requires detailed payroll reporting for a different and more positive reason-that is returning to growth initiatives and looking at company expansion. Again, global payroll data and reporting can point to financially advantageous locations in which to hire, while also helping with forecasting labor costs.

The need for detailed global payroll reporting is not going to go away, it is only going to increase in demand. Companies who have not chosen to invest in a global payroll control platform which can provide the level of reporting needed, may find themselves behind the curve in the crucial area of accurate reporting, hard data, key metrics and trending information. CFOs at large organizations around the world today will most likely find this to be an unacceptable situation as it limits their strategic planning abilities.

For more information about our Global Payroll Control Platform contact us today.

Payslip has transformed our payroll capabilities and provider management process. We now have a single system of record and can consolidate our payroll data for enhanced reporting. The Payslip platform, process and experienced people are the right mix for our specific payroll goals.

Priti Rughani CPP Associate Director of Global Payroll, King & Spalding LLP

A year ago, our Global Payroll lead presented Payslip to me & the CFO. I now realize why. I see Payslip is taking us forward to be the scalable $billion business we want to be.

Scott Reasoner, CPA, MBA CAO, Cloudera

Using Payslip, we can manage all our payrolls across nine in-country vendors on one platform. When the global Covid-19 pandemic arose, it was not an issue from a payroll perspective, and critically getting everyone paid. The Payslip platform enabled continuity for our international payroll service including the fast and seamless implementation of the Payslip Employment Self Service during this time.

Colin Smith Payroll Manager, GoTo

Payslip as a technology platform has added a missing piece in our payroll set-up. As an international company with offices in 16 countries, it’s important to us that every employee at GetYourGuide has the same great experience when accessing their pay data.

At the same time, we work well with smaller local payroll providers, supporting us with direct local expertise in their countries. We were able to combine those two elements by placing the Payslip platform in the middle, to simplify reporting and communication with local providers, and to have one simple employee-facing solution across all locations.

Julian Fichter Head of HR, GetYourGuide

Payslip positions your team for success, and allows you to onboard hundreds of people when you need them very quickly and efficiently, in the same way for each country. The uniformed approach empowered our payroll teams to keep pace with our business.

Payslip also made our payroll process entirely transparent, which is invaluable to our payroll teams as we continue to grow and scale at such a rapid pace.

Travis Saville HR Systems Lead, Wave

Payslip is firmly bedded into Kirby's now, and we've seen massive efficiencies in the way we are processing our payrolls across Europe. We hope to bed in Italy & Switzerland now in Q2 so onwards & upwards!

Niall McNally Group Financial Controller, Kirby Group Engineering

With Payslip global reporting you can straight away look at any country and you see the data in the exact same format and the same layout, making it easier to review and analyze. Previously, we were going through several different spreadsheets, if we were looking at a quarter by quarter report, review and analysis, we were looking at six different spreadsheets for one country to get results that we needed. Now with Payslip, we can run a report straight away saving a huge amount of time with our month end process for the reporting capabilities.

David Nugent Director, International Payroll, Cloudera

With business and employee growth rates of above 50%, we rely on our vendors to deliver on time, every time. Payslip’s workflow automation, enables Phorest to manage our payroll provider process – data driven, real time and transparent. Payslip saves us time so we can focus on our business growth.