04:05 INTERVIEW
GPA: What are some of the common things you notice about clients that maybe they don’t notice about themselves? Eric Liaw: When people are getting paid without complaint, everything is fine, right? Isn’t that a general attitude we see? But once I look under the hood of an operation in my engagements, the common theme is the lack of governance in payroll. For example, the technology nowadays changes so much. People are buying new payroll systems. People move to new roles. Organizations restructure, or they acquire a new business. Over time, the ownership of key functions becomes blurred. Documentation, often prepared years before, has become outdated because of the changes. HR, finance, and payroll frequently become disconnected. Payroll still continues to operate as normal. People get paid. But under the hood, the risk is accumulating. Many discount the accumulating risks of not having good governance, but they become real. Here in Australia, we’ve got so many underpayments, and now payroll people could see jail time. Once you have an underpayment
What I apply to that assurance aspect is all those disciplines I learned and also my experience in payroll to develop a structure or framework I can use for those engagements and deliver that best outcome to my clients. GPA: What do you see are aspects that make a successful payroll consultant? Eric Liaw: The first thing you’ve got to learn to be is curious. Learn new skills. In my case, risk and project management are important in addition to knowing payroll. Overall, though, because payroll is quite technical and very data-driven, most people don’t understand that the ability to communicate in plain language is so important. Once you get the message across, this prompts people to take action. It helps people to change. And, with regard to being curious, I’m always eager to learn something new. I like to challenge myself. I guess I make an effort to learn more. I like to vary even the simple things in life, such as going to work a different way on occasion. That gets my mind thinking differently.
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GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE ISSUE 27
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