There are many important steps when it comes to global payroll, but it’s fair to say that one of the most important is reporting accurate data.

Fidelma McGuirk, founder and CEO of Payslip, and Sharon Tayfield, MCIPP, Client Service Director of BDO LLC UK, shared their expertise on global payroll reporting at today’s 2024 Payroll Congress workshop “Global Payroll Reporting Required for the Changing Workforce.”

Attendees shared the size of their global reporting and, by a show of hands, agreed to many common issues highlighted by McGuirk and Tayfield, who shared expert knowledge on how to navigate, prevent, and confront with these challenges.

“Be prepared to report the data out,” said Tayfield, referring to not only the different levels of reporting but how global reporting is needed for so many reasons from stakeholders—for in-country compliance, corporate reporting, and more.

Tayfield revealed the consequences of poor reporting and how costly mistakes can be. The San Francisco 49ers lost four NFL draft picks due to incorrect reporting; football fans know just how much that hurt the organization. Comparably, Facebook had to pay $255 million for EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) data protection infringements.

While covering some of the complexities and challenges the workforce faces, McGuirk gave the audience some food for thought, saying, “Payroll is always local, even on a global scale.”

Her insights into standardizing data and processes across diverse systems underlining the importance of harmonizing data comparability and report production ring true to all those in global payroll reporting.

As Former USA Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said, “If you think compliance is expensive, try non-compliance.”