top of page
Search

The Road Ahead In Payroll: Analysing the APA 2024 Survey Results

Updated: May 8



The recent 2024 Payroll Survey conducted by the Australian Payroll Association sheds light on the important trends, challenges, and opportunities within the payroll industry, offering valuable insights for businesses across Australia. As we navigate these findings, it’s clear that the landscape of payroll management is evolving, with compliance, technology, and strategic management taking centre stage. This article delves into the survey’s key takeaways and explores how organisations can leverage these insights to enhance their payroll operations.


Navigating Compliance and Audit Readiness

With a notable 44.4% of employers undergoing a payroll process and compliance audit in the past 12 months, the emphasis on regulatory compliance has never been clearer. This trend underscores the necessity for businesses to adopt robust compliance mechanisms. Solutions like WageSafe can assist in simplifying the complexities of compliance, ensuring that organisations remain aligned with the latest payroll legislation and standards, thereby mitigating the risk of penalties and enhancing workforce trust.


The Role of Payroll Support Organisations

The survey highlights a significant gap in specialised payroll support, with nearly half of the respondents not being members of any payroll support organisation. This gap presents an opportunity for businesses to engage with platforms that offer comprehensive payroll support and advisory services. By leveraging external expertise, companies can navigate the technical and legislative aspects of payroll more effectively, ensuring their operations are both compliant and efficient.


The Impact of Payroll Technology

With 41.1% of respondents planning to review their payroll technology in the next 12 months, the survey underscores a shift towards optimising payroll operations through technology. This trend indicates a growing recognition of the benefits that advanced payroll solutions can offer, including improved efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. For businesses, this means looking beyond basic functionality to consider how payroll technology can support strategic objectives, from enhancing employee experience to providing actionable insights through analytics.


Outsourcing: A Strategy for Complexity and Compliance

The survey reveals varied outsourcing trends across different employer sizes, indicating that the decision to outsource payroll functions is influenced by factors such as organisational complexity, resource availability, and compliance concerns. For many businesses, especially those at the smaller end of the spectrum, outsourcing emerges as a viable strategy to navigate the complexities of payroll management. It allows companies to access specialised expertise and technology, ensuring compliance and allowing internal teams to focus on core business activities.


The Untapped Potential of Payroll Analytics

A surprising finding from the survey is the underutilisation of payroll analytics, with 67.2% of respondents not tracking payroll KPIs regularly. This finding points to an untapped potential for organisations to leverage payroll data more strategically. By harnessing the strength of analytics, businesses can gain valuable insights into operational efficiencies, cost trends, and compliance risks, enabling more informed decision-making and strategic planning.

The 2024 Payroll Survey presents a comprehensive overview of the current challenges and opportunities within the payroll industry. For businesses, the key to navigating these trends lies in embracing technology, seeking specialised support, and leveraging data for strategic advantage. As we look to the future, the focus on compliance, efficiency, and strategic insight within payroll management is set to intensify, offering both challenges and opportunities for organisations aiming to optimise their payroll operations.

30 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page