Best Practices in the Payroll
Department
By:
Linda Robertson, Payroll Director
Buckeye Elementary School District
&
Tracy McLaughlin, Manager
Heinfeld, Meech & Co., P.C.
Where do we start?
• Communication goes three ways between:
– Payroll
– Human Resources
– Business Office
The New Employee Trail
• Contracts, Work Agreements and New Hire
Checklist
• Personnel Action Request Form (PAR)
• Pay cycle calendar
• Orientation?
Personnel File
Who should maintain what?
What are the minimum requirements?
-Application
-Resume
-Performance Reviews
-Policy Acknowledgement
-Training
-Loyalty Oath
-Pay Decisions
-Background Checks
Payroll File
What is the minimum requirement?
Employee demographic information
Work schedule
Wages
Employee Leaving
-Personnel Action notification
-Calculate
-leave balances
-final pay out
Segregation of Duties
• Human Resources
– New Hire Checklist
– Originals to Payroll
– Changes
• Service oriented
• Enter and forward to Payroll
Segregation of Duties
• Human Resources
– Employee demographics
– Attach deductions and leave plans
– Personnel file
– Create contracts and work agreements
• New hires and returning staff
Segregation of Duties
• Payroll
– Documents that impact the employee’s paycheck
– Changes
• Service oriented
• Enter and file in employee’s payroll file
• Verify if made by Human Resource
Segregation of Duties
• Payroll
– Assign employee to position
– Create new positions and vacancies
– Payroll file
Are you ready to post
payroll?
Balancing Payroll
• Timesheet Verification
• Daily Timesheet Tally
– Balancing payroll docks
• Timesheet Header
– Should balance to Gross Pay for pay period
Balancing Payroll
• Verifying Federal wages calculation
– Social Security Wages
– Social Security
– Medicare
End of Fiscal Year
• Reconciling contracts
• Reconciling stipends, addendums, etc.
End of Calendar Year
• Circular E updates
• Balance W-2’s
– Second set of eyes
Additional Information
Arizona Minimum Wage
―$7.35 Effective January 1, 2011
State of Arizona Labor Law
What would the auditors say?
Records Retention
http://www.lib.az.us/records/school.aspx
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
Additional Information
Who is your back up?
Do you have a back up?
Are your procedures documented?
Opportunities of Discussion
Key Items
Circular E
-Revised each calendar year
Publication 505
-W-4 changes
www.irs.gov
Key Items
Publication 15-b
-Fringe Benefits
FSLG
-Taxable Fringe Benefit Guide
www.irs.gov
Funding Employees
• Has the grant been awarded?
• How are employees funded?
• Are you ready to change
Fund Communication
FY10
FY11
Name of Grant
102
283
224
225
325
102
283
N/A
N/A
325
Title I LEA Improvement Year 1
McKinney-Vento Homeless
IDEA ASA Math Academy Year 2
ARRA IDEA Preschool for 2009
ARRA IDEA Preschool for 2010
Resources
• Internal Revenue Service
Did we overlook
anything?
Thank you for joining us today!