Compliance has become such a priority at multinational companies that most large organizations operate with an individual compliance department. It has become a complex and layered subject and there has been an increasing need to employ experienced professionals to handle the changing regulatory landscape, and nuanced nature of international compliance.
It should come as little surprise, given the amount of data moving between human resource and global payroll teams, that global payroll compliance is also becoming a leading priority at major companies. These days, there is a legal and regulatory obligation to meet local country as well as global compliance when it comes to international payroll.
There are a number of challenges when it comes to achieving global payroll compliance, and it is far from easy to make it happen. In this article, we will look at some of these challenges and what can be done to make compliance easier for those who are interested in placing additional priority on global payroll compliance to ensure that they meet their international obligations and also safeguard this crucial data.
Compliance is not negotiable
International regulators, governments and local authorities are just some of the bodies that create rules and regulations that multinational companies need to adhere to in order to be compliant. These rules are usually very strict with little scope for maneuvering or flexibility. These compliance requirements are designed to safeguard data, protect businesses and individuals and ensure that business practices are fair and transparent.
They are also non-negotiable and tend to be accompanied by a range of strict financial penalties for those who fail to meet the high standards. This is old news at this point and multinational companies around the world have little excuse for not prioritizing their compliance efforts. Many would consider implementing global payroll compliance to be even more important given the sensitive nature of global payroll data which contains personally identifiable information and also information of a very confidential nature.
In this instance, every reasonable step should be taken to ensure that such data is processed and transferred in a fully compliant, legal and secure manner. This is particularly important right now, as the world moves increasingly towards a hybrid work culture and global employees who will soon have the option of working remotely from a country of their choice. The result of this will likely be even more data shared across more countries and regions as local payroll providers need data to pay an increasingly geo dispersed international workforce. The more data that needs to be managed and the more people with access to and ability to share this data, means a greater need for even tighter control and payroll compliance measures.
Removing compliance risk
Compliance is also about managing, limiting and removing risk where possible. Too many people with access to data and the ability to change or interact with this data, represents a risk that needs to be managed.
Global payroll is complex by nature and a basic risk assessment will reveal that it involves several moving parts-multiple payroll systems and data flows, multiple payroll professionals spread across different countries interacting with the data, and legacy technology not capable of providing the necessary layers of visibility and transparency make the whole issue of global payroll compliance a difficult one to manage in a timely manner. This means that it tends to be considered high risk in the world of compliance and compliance managers at multinational companies are examining procedures in place and seeking reassurance around risk management and mitigation.
One way of removing such risk is to leverage digital technology to help manage global payroll compliance. Cloud platforms or global payroll control platforms can be very useful tools in the fight against risk. They come with built in data security, data privacy and information protection features, as well as access restrictions that enable global employers to better manage and control global payroll processing and workflows, and by default, global payroll compliance. When you can clearly see where the data is going and who is interacting with it, and you also have the ability to generate detailed and accurate reporting, then you will find yourself in a much stronger position when it comes to global payroll compliance requirements.
Start with visibility
So, what are the major blockers to global payroll compliance in evidence today? There are a number of them:
- legacy technology which is outdated and no longer fit for purpose
- lack of digital reporting tools
- lack of integrations-too many disparate systems-no clarity on the data
- lack of standardization-different processes and methodologies across countries
- lack of automation-risk of human error and duplication error
These are just a few of the issues but there is an argument that they all contribute to one major problem- a lack of visibility around what is happening. This is often the first thing to fix when it comes to any form of compliance. You simply cannot control what you cannot see.
Moving to a global payroll control platform immediately increases visibility for global payroll managers and compliance managers. You immediately begin working with standardized digital processes that incorporate automation for greater accuracy and visibility. Global payroll professionals can generate digital reports and audit trails that prove compliance on a local and international level. Integrations with HR and HCM systems enable transparent two-way data flows in a secure cloud environment.
All of this means greater visibility which results in greater control and when you have visibility and control over a payroll process, with a digitized technology platform capable of producing digital audit trails and reporting, then you are in a far stronger position to be able to adhere to local and international compliance regulations
Manage global payroll compliance on Payslip
Payslip is a global payroll control platform that is specifically designed to solve a range of global payroll challenges while ensuring that global payroll managers have full visibility and control over their payroll data and processes.
It offers end to end data integrations with HR and financial software systems for greater visibility and control over payroll data. It comes with digital audit trails that prove compliance and also features digital compliance calendars to help global payroll professionals spread across multiple countries track and monitor their compliance related activity.
The reporting functionality allows a range of different professionals to generate and run reports which can provide transparent data and insight into compliance activity. It also enables the global payroll department to provide consistent and ongoing high-level reporting on a macro to micro basis to leadership teams.
Payslip provides the level of data transparency and process visibility needed by organizations today to adhere the local country and global compliance regulations. The platform is underpinned by a unified, global-first approach to payroll data to unlock and standardize global payroll data to empower payroll analysis and prove compliance. Payroll managers benefit from data driven observability into all payroll elements including compliance, enabling them to state with confidence and support with reporting, conclusions on local country and global level payroll compliance.
For information on the Payslip Platform contact us today.