Understanding Government Compensation and Payroll

Many finance officers have responsibility for payroll.  With that comes responsibility for managing a process that accounts for approximately 85% of an organization’s operating budget, requires compliance with an ever changing set of state and federal legislative and regulatory requirements, is further complicated by unique collective bargaining requirements, and is critically important to each and every employee in the organization. And while just about every organization is able to manage these tasks routinely, there are often opportunities for significant improvements. This session will explore best practices in managing payroll, how to incorporate internal controls, use of technology, recommendations on dealing with an every changing set of compliance requirements.

The course will be taught as a mixture of presentation and open discussion. Panelists will include several consultants and service providers who work to drive efficiencies in payroll processing and can discuss common challenges that governments face, tools and techniques that can be applied, and innovative and new solutions that may be available from your technology partners.

Those who successfully complete this seminar should be able to:

• Learn the basic steps involved in the payroll process
• Understand different methods for time entry and different purposes for tracking time
• Differentiate between compensation models
• Learn best practices related to budgeting for personnel
• Understand the overlapping network of regulations related to payroll and how to keep up with changes
• Discuss challenges related to hiring and retaining employees and strategies to address these challenges

Government professionals responsible for or interested in payroll management.

This course is taught by finance officers and other industry experts.