TECHNLOGY
We’re delighted to present an interview with Pauline Green ACIPP MBCS FMAAT, head of compliance and programs , at Intuit QuickBooks , in which we discuss what BASDA does, and the challenges currently faced by software developers Exploring the world of payroll software and the role BASDA plays
P auline has been involved with nearly ten years. She held the position of vice chair of the payroll, human resources (HR) and pension special interest group (SIG), until her appointment as chair in May 2018. Through this role, she was involved with the Pension BIB (BIB being software organisations BASDA, Ireen and BCS), and helped develop the PAPDIS Standard. While her current role is payroll, HR and pension focussed, she’s previously worked in various industries as an accountant. For this reason, she’s interested in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) plans for application programming interfaces, including the Business Application Software Developers Association (BASDA) for its making tax digital plans. BASDA has a unique role in representing the voice of industry, particularly with HMRC. Q: Who are BASDA? A: BASDA is an association representing software with UK government, policymakers and industry media. It’s a not-for-profit organisation. Members’ solutions service the majority of core business functions such as finance, payroll / HR, operations and development. Q: What does your role as the chair of BASDA’s payroll, pension and HR SIG involve? A: I’ve been involved with the payroll, pension and HR SIG for nearly ten years. Initially, as vice chair (for four years) and then as the chair for the last six years. During this period, I’ve been involved in several projects and represented BASDA at various HMRC stakeholder groups. One of the major projects was, of course, PAPDIS. This project developed a data standard to take pension data from payroll to
pension providers. This was a great example of how BASDA works with other software developers, as well as other stakeholders. The CIPP is also a key member of this. One of the key HMRC stakeholder groups I represent BASDA on is the employment and payroll group (EPG), which the CIPP is also actively involved in. My role is to ensure that all BASDA members’ voices are heard in these meetings. BASDA is an association representing software with UK government, policymakers and industry media
Desktop or on-premises software require longer lead times to make changes. Typically, a desktop solution not only has to make the changes but also must do regression testing. Regression testing alone can take two to three weeks. The update then needs to be delivered to HMRC’s customers. Some of these updates still involve a customer using a disc! The software developer must also ensure all their customers have updated to the latest software. The spring budget was on 23 March 2022, which was only 11 working days before the start of the tax year. However, we should also consider that if there was a Bacs payment involved on 6 April (which may happen for weekly / fortnightly / four-weekly pay frequencies), then the payroll would have had to be processed, at the latest, on 31 March. This would have given barely a week to turnaround the information. In addition, the exceptionally large payroll employers will need to do extra testing themselves. We must consider that payroll software has become bespoke for some employers. This would require additional work and / or engineers to be on site to make the changes. Q: What processes would you like to see implemented to balance the need for timely action but also to allow sufficient time for development and testing? (E.g., the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) was huge with no turnaround time, whereas the new PT seems like a much smaller job, with a much longer turnaround time.) A: In the past, there’s been an unofficial agreement between software developers and government that any significant change would require around 18 months’ worth of consultation and development. This hasn’t
Q: What are your views on the mid-year change to the primary
threshold (PT) for National Insurance contributions (NICs)? Could it have been implemented more quickly, or does the 6 July date feel appropriate? A: When I consider the mid-year change to the primary threshold for NI with my BASDA hat on, I can understand why the government chose to implement it on 6 July. When the announcement was made, it was clear that some software would need longer. While a lot of our members could have made an earlier implementation date, we must be aware that not all software is in the cloud. Don’t forget HMRC also has to update its BASIC tools software, while also getting the ‘back end’ updated to support any changes. I believe the government considered all this when they made the decision.
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | June 2022 | Issue 81 40
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