FEATURE TOPIC
Payroll, the heart of the business
Jerome Smail, business journalist, speaks to a panel of experts about how payroll professionals can highlight their importance to a business and how technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) can be used effectively
A I and robotics are increasingly relieving payroll professionals of administrative duties. But just how important is AI and automation in payroll, and how can professionals in the industry work with it? What’s more, how can payrollers increase their value to a business in the face of this rising technology? To find out, I spoke to some leading voices in the fields of payroll and technology: ● Ant Brassington, chief product and technology officer at Moorepay ● Pauline Green ACIPP MBCS FMAAT , head of product compliance and programs at Intuit ● Stuart Hall MA PGMdip MCIPPdip, CIPP non-executive director
Ant Brassington: Correct design processes are key, but even more critical than this is the time investment into training the system algorithms. Of course, using an AI provider who has been well-researched to have the right level of security coverage and general data protection regulation (GDPR) terms is also vital. If you have any doubts about your supplier and how they are utilising AI, then ask questions High levels of liaison must exist between the company and the AI provider – it’s a partnership. The algorithms must be trained by payroll teams and a provider jointly, because each company’s processes will have subtle differences. Pauline Green: AI is not a separate system per se, but more part of existing systems whereby AI is a tool that helps
software provide information the customer can use. Ultimately, the payroll records are the employers’ data and payroll software is only the means of delivering the information, whether that is to the employees (via payslips) or Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), via real time information (RTI). All good AI systems should have ethical practice built into their systems. This should include requirements such as not perpetuating social biases or harming end customers. AI should only utilise atomised data. It can then help identify things such as industry trends, or salary benchmarking, which will help payroll professionals. If you have any doubts about your supplier and how they are utilising AI, then ask questions. Ask to see their privacy and security policies. Also, do they have data stewardship principles? Ask to see those as well. Stuart Hall: As payroll professionals take care to protect data, by creating a secure physical environment with limited access, ensuring their choice of software is protected by firewalls and password protection, it becomes even more essential to ensure the ethical treatment of
● Dawn Jackson ACIPP , payroll consultant with Aurore Services
● Jaspal Randhawa ChMCIPPdip, EMEA head of products for OneSource Virtual.
How can companies ensure the ethical treatment of payroll records by an AI system, and what levels of liaison should exist between the company and the AI provider?
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2022 | Issue 77 18
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