Finally, a “go-to” resource for Payroll Auditing.

Written by Phil Vivirito
Bond Beebe   
P: 301.272.6090  E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

If the employer is running you an electronic report from their payroll, ensure you ask the following few, but very important, questions:

Is this the entire payroll?  The employer may be producing a query just for your audit and exclude certain job classes or only include employees that they are reporting.  The employer may forget about terminated employees and only include currently active ones.

Are all pay types or pay codes included?  The employer may believe that certain hours do not have to be reported and take them out of the report.  Or, the employer may inadvertently leave a code out.  You should ask for W-2’s to test for these problems.

What are the pay periods?  Make sure you know what week ending dates are being used for the report.  Do these periods match the contribution week ending periods?

How will the report be provided and in what format?  Will it be emailed to you or copied to a CD?  Will it be in Excel, a text file, or a PDF?  If you can, you should request the format and mode that will work best for you.

Written By Phil Vivirito
Bond Beebe
P: 301.272.6090 E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

You have called an employer to schedule a payroll audit and the employer states ‘I’ll save you the trip; I can easily send you the payroll in an electronic format.’ Thinking about the travel expense savings you happily say yes. So now you await the records arrival and make your plan for doing the audit in your office. When the records do arrive they are usually in one of the following formats: PDF, a custom report run by the employer, or a report directly from the employer’s payroll processor such as ADP.

But is it really that simple? Did you ask the employer the right questions about these records? Did you know what format the records will be in? And was the whole process really worth it?

Over the next few blogs we will look at the possible answers to these questions by discussing the following:
1. What questions should you ask the employer?
2. How to use PDF records.
3. How to use the custom report.
4. How to use the payroll processor report.
5. Was it worthwhile to have the records sent?

Written By Larry Beebe
Bond Beebe
P: 301.272.6025 E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Unsafe Conditions

In very rare instances, the payroll auditor may be faced with one of the following:

1. Unsafe physical environment in the area inside the employer’s premises.
2. Unsafe physical environment in the area surrounding the employer’s premises.
3. Sexual suggestions or threats.
4. Threats of physical violence.
5. Display of weapon by the employer.

In any instance where the auditor feels threatened, he/she should immediately remove himself/herself from the employer’s premises.  The conditions encountered by the auditor should be provided to the plans attorney.  Often, the payroll audit can be rescheduled to a safe location such as the employer’s attorney or accountant’s office.

The auditor can help insure his/her safety if the home office always knows where you are and by insuring that adequate transportation is available to leave if necessary.

I once did a payroll audit in a very unsafe area of the Bronx.  A cab took me there.  When I got done with the audit, I did not have the phone number of a car service to pick me up, and no cab would come to that location.  The employer refused assistance.  I might still be there if one of the employees working there hearing of my dilemma said he would take me to LaGuardia on his way home.  Ultimately, it was my own fault.  I did not take preventative action to insure my own safety.