Payroll Management Offers Variety of Opportunities

In the field of Payroll Management the goal is to administer the financial record of employees’ salaries, wages, bonuses, net pay and deductions. Within the field are various positions that come with their own responsibilities and tasks. For example, a Payroll Accountant ensures that the payroll and accounting department operate in a cohesive manner, maintains accounts relating to payroll and handles the reconciliation of these accounts via the accounting system; decides whether new accounts are needed and makes necessary revisions to existing accounts; and more. Meanwhile, a Payroll Clerk/Officer compiles payroll data, and enters it; reviews wages computed and corrects errors to ensure accuracy of payroll; records data concerning transfer of employees between department; keeps records of leave pay and nontaxable wages; prepares and issue paychecks; and more. There are also other positions in Payroll Management such as: payroll and benefits clerks/ administrators, human resource and payroll generalists, general accounting coordinator, and small business bookkeepers/accountants.

At Centennial College’s Payroll Management program students who have already completed a college diploma or university degree may obtain the training they need to enter this field in just two semesters. As an added bonus, because the Payroll Management program is a collaboration with the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), which supplies 50 per cent of the courses, qualified students are eligible to earn the Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) professional designation granted by the Association. Registration in this will incur costs in addition to tuition. 

Through case studies, simulations and project-based learning, with a focus on developing project management, teamwork, report writing and presentation skills, students obtain all the skills and know-how they need. Among topics covered in Payroll Management are: managerial accounting, strategic compensation, pensions and benefits, payroll compliance, payroll systems, human resources management in Canada, management accounting for human resources, and more. An emphasis is also placed on emerging trends and issues in payroll management such as the use of promising technologies and changing legislative requirements. As such, payroll system training is taught using an SAP application.

Payroll Management students who wish to enroll in the Introduction to Payroll Management (formerly Payroll Management Processes) and Applied Payroll Management (formerly Payroll Management Practices) Canadian Payroll Association CPM level payroll courses “must meet a payroll experience prerequisite to register”. To satisfy this prerequisite, students must have “at least two years of experience being responsible for an organization’s payroll function, which includes being accountable to management for the accuracy of employees’ pay and all government statutory remittances, or equivalent experience, obtained in the past five years.”

Payroll Management applicants must have a college diploma or university degree in any discipline or a partial post-secondary education and relevant work experience. They may also be asked to partake in a Payroll Management interview process, during which a transcript and resume review may be requested. English proficiency will also be considered.