Avoiding Payroll Fraud

Payroll regulation changes each year can be a challenging component of managing employee payroll. In the last year, the new furlough scheme and multiple changes during the year have created new complications for payroll teams. One problem that companies can’t ignore is payroll fraud. How can you ensure your payroll process is secure and prevent fraud?

Secure Technology
The first step to avoiding payroll fraud is reducing manual processes and spreadsheets. Employee payroll data should be housed in a secure, cloud-based system and the payroll process should be automated. Using reporting tools within your payroll software, you should be able to view payroll in real-time, run reports to verify the numbers, and ensure each employee is paid accurately in each pay run.

Teamwork
Using a payroll team, not just one person, to manage payroll is another proven way to avoid payroll fraud. Most payroll fraud is committed by a single employee in the organisation that has complete control and access to the payroll system. Using a team for payroll can provide the checks and balances needed to avoid fraud. When more than one person is looking at payroll data and verifying accuracy each pay run, your company can avoid potential fraudulent transactions.

Leadership
Payroll is considered a task-oriented process and not a strategic part of the business – even though payroll is one of the largest costs for every company. It can often be overlooked by the leadership team. It is important for leadership to view payroll costs and trends each month so they are involved in the day-to-day operations and can spot irregularities. Providing monthly reporting to the leadership team can also reduce the risk of fraud for the organisation.

Payroll doesn’t need to be complicated. Payescape has created cloud-based technology to easily manage employee payroll. With customised reporting you have real-time access to your payroll, and our CIPP-certified team is here to help when questions come up. Talk to us today about simplifying your payroll and avoiding payroll fraud.