In business, a poorly-run and inefficient payroll division is a serious risk to a company
but a highly trained payroll administrator means a legally compliant business as well as
happy
and motivated staff.

The payroll landscape in South Africa and the rest of Africa is changing rapidly. There
are many factors contributing to this new and exciting, technology driven payroll
environment and they are all important. Companies therefore need to invest in HR and
payroll software that fits their unique business environment.

The South African Payroll Association (SAPA) has confirmed that this year?s annual National Conference will take place under the theme Payroll on Broadway. This year?s theme is based on the inclusion of an Awards ceremony to recognise and reward achievers in the industry.

The South African payroll administration industry has matured. With the offer of more technology, access to skills sets and improved levels of control, decision makers in business have several options available to them in terms of how they want to manage mission critical business disciplines including payroll.

Continuous research into- and development of access control solutions means businesses can take advantage of a wider selection of low-cost technology. This technology is designed to offer complete security and empower decision makers with control over the environment.

Accsys has confirmed the rollout of Accsys Peopleware Time and Attendance system at the SOS Children?s Village. A non-governmental organisation based in Johannesburg.

As people become desperate to make ends meet more workers are turning to
employee fraud as a means of supplementing their income. A recent survey revealed
that fraud committed by employees in the UK alone went up by over 40% last year.

Experts in Human Resource and payroll administration infrastructure management believe South Africa?s public and private sector has to work closely with government in order to ensure the success of job creation initiatives and austerity measures outlined within the Budget Overview of 2013.

The potential behind HR and payroll management technology should be utilised to manage labour disputes and to generally improve business relations. The following article discusses how this could be done and the impact it would have.

VIP People has developed forward thinking, world class software to ensure that
companies are legislatively compliant, while keeping focus on business efficiency and
value.

Third party payroll reconciliations are set to become more complicated as legislation
will be passed to provide a provident fund for domestic and farm workers. The labour
department is also considering a medical aid scheme for the private security sector.

HR and access control services in the cloud is an area of major significance to
decision makers within businesses of all sizes. The company offers the Accsys
PeopleCloud solution via Software as a Service to clients wanting to leverage off
virtual payroll, HR, Time and Attendance and access control.

The South African Reward Association strives to ensure that its members acquire and develop the skills, confidence and passion required for reward management. It recently held it's annual conference in October. Concluding the conference by hosting a Reward Awards Banquet recognising reward industry achievers.

Planning for retirement is an important step in ensuring individual financial well-being. Often important decisions are left to companies or financial advisors which could lead to maladministration. Individuals should take it upon themselves to safeguard their financial future.

Qualification and employment equity have been identified as critical issues affecting the payroll administration industry across Africa. This was communicated to delegates attending the 2012 South African Payroll Association national Conference. Pay equity was identified as an obstacle to payroll administration.

The payroll industry is becoming all the more significant with more than 40% of payroll in Africa being conducted through South Africa and $173 billion of business being conducted per day globally. The ability to adapt to new working environments and deal with change is considered a must in the modern workplace.

The accrual principle is expected to be relaxed for variable remuneration items. This change to employee tax requirements will significantly simplify payroll administration over the tax period for employers.

Too much of a responsibility is being placed on payroll managers and financial advisors to ensure that pension and provident funds are managed correctly. Many people rely on their company to provide them with a choice to suit their needs which increases the risk of malidministration.

To remind the market that payroll administrators bring structure to the payroll environment which is a critical facet of business management within any sized operation, the industry regulation body SAPA will host its national conference in September.

The recognition of payroll practitioners and their role in business remains a core objective of the national payroll conference initiated by SAPA. This year the agenda will focus on driving excellence in payroll practices.

The introduction of skilled labour as well as the need to further regulate HR and payroll departments are issues that industry regulatory bodies are aware of and progress has been made in this area according to HR company Accsys.

Job seekers who are thinking about pursuing a career in the Human Resources sector can now review the latest salary offerings for 2011 through the Career Junction Index which provides salary trends based on the 25,000 job advertisements placed every month.

The Careerjunction Index provides the salary trends for various industries by drawing from the 800 subscribing advertisers who place over 25,000 job advertisements monthly.