Payroll Management Program Offers Both Accounting and Business Skills

Payroll management professionals are employed in every sector of the Canadian economy in positions such as: Payroll Clerks/ Officers, Payroll and Benefits Clerks/ Administrators/ Payroll Accountants. Their roles within a company are extremely important as they ensure that the day-to-day financial operations that affect employees directly are carried out in an efficient manner. Not only do these payroll management professionals remunerate employees, they also provide data or reports to company heads, distribute other funds such as petty cash, and keep extensive records of hours logged by employees. Let’s take a look at the role of a Payroll Clerk for example. This person records the earnings owed each employee on a computer, calculates deductions from the employee’s payroll, pays the employee either by a company check or by electronic fund transfer, and records commissions and bonuses for the employees. Meanwhile, a Benefits Administrator administers the company’s benefits program. This can include offering workers health, dental or vision insurance, retirement plans and flexible spending accounts. The benefits administrator has to know the ins and outs of all the benefits choices the company is offering, and may be in charge of choosing the benefits the company will offer.

In order to obtain one of these Payroll Management positions, students must attend a post-secondary program such as the one offered at Centennial College. It is a post-graduate program that takes eight months to complete and results in an Ontario College Graduate Certificate. This undertaking is designed to both develop and enhance crucial skills in a number of key areas. This is facilitated through the use of case studies, simulations and project-based learning, with a focus on developing project management, teamwork, report writing and presentation skills. This Payroll Management program also places emphasis on emerging trends and issues in payroll management, such as the use of promising technologies and changing legislative requirements. Therefore, payroll system training is taught using an SAP application.

The in-depth curriculum of the Payroll Management program is delivered in partnership with the Canadian Payroll Association. It includes courses such as Human Resources Management in Canada (presents a survey of the major functional areas of human resources management, highlights key issues, and introduces students to a variety of best practices currently in use in high performance organizations), Strategic Compensation (helps students to develop a solid understanding of the strategies, issues, process, and techniques involved in developing and administering a compensation system), Pensions and Benefits (introduces students to the varied and complex area of pensions and benefits); and more.

Qualified students are eligible to earn the professional designations of Payroll Compliance Practitioner and the Certified Payroll Manager that are granted by the Association (please note that registration in this will incur costs in addition to tuition).

To apply got Payroll Management, students must present an official transcript that demonstrates proof of successful completion of a post-secondary advanced diploma or degree program. In addition, they may have to go through an interview process during which a transcript and resume review may be required. English proficiency will also be considered. Please note that if students are able to present a combination of partial post secondary education and relevant work experience, they may be considered. That is open to all disciplines.