Payroll review and risk check

Payroll is one of the highest-risk areas in a business — and even small configuration issues can flow through to super, leave, tax, and employee entitlements.

Many business owners feel confident that payroll is “working”… but still have a sense that something may not be quite right, such as:

“The wages are being paid, but I’m not sure everything is set up correctly,” or
“We’ve always processed it this way — but I’m not confident it would stand up to review.”
 

The Payroll Review & Risk Check is a structured review of your payroll environment, configuration and historical processing behaviour — with targeted pay-run sampling to help identify risks, inconsistencies or areas that may require further attention.

This service is designed to provide clarity, visibility and risk awareness, not judgement — so you can understand where your payroll appears to be set up correctly, and where changes or specialist advice may be needed.

 Rather than re-processing every historical pay run, this review assesses whether your payroll configuration and processing practices are functioning as intended and supporting compliant outcomes.

During the review, I assess areas such as:

• payroll settings and employee profile configuration
• pay items, superannuation settings and earning classifications
• leave categories, accrual behaviours and balances
• Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting position
• mapping and posting of payroll to the general ledger
• onboarding, termination and change-of-role behaviour
   

I also complete sample-based historical pay-run checks to understand:

• how payroll has been processed in practice
• whether outcomes align with the intended configuration
• where inconsistencies or risk indicators appear
   

The goal is to provide a practical snapshot of your current payroll environment — including strengths, concerns, and areas that may require further action or specialist advice.

 You’ll receive a structured Snapshot Findings & Risk Summary, including:

• key observations from configuration and sampling
• areas that appear consistent and operating as expected
• potential risks, gaps or exposure areas
• practical recommendations and suggested next steps
   

If remediation or configuration correction is required, this can be completed by me under a separately scoped engagement, with specialist HR referral only where legal or award-interpretation advice is necessary.

This approach ensures that any follow-up action is deliberate, clearly scoped and appropriate to the level of risk identified.

  To ensure the review remains ethical, accurate and appropriately scoped:

This service does not include:

• making corrections to historical payroll
• recalculating entitlements or back-pay
• implementing configuration changes
• legal or industrial relations advice
• full forensic audit or full-history reconstruction
   

The Payroll Review & Risk Check is a diagnostic configuration and risk assessment, supported by targeted sampling — not a remediation engagement.

If risks, errors or inconsistencies are identified, I will outline:

• what needs to be corrected
• the likely scope of remediation
• recommended sequencing of work
   

Where appropriate, I can complete the corrective and remediation work as a separately scoped engagement.

Referral to a HR or employment-relations specialist will only be recommended where:

• award interpretation
• employment law advice, or
• complex back-pay determination
   

is required beyond the scope of bookkeeping and payroll processing.

  This review is ideal for:

• businesses that have grown or changed and want confidence their payroll has kept pace
• owners or managers who have inherited an existing payroll environment
• businesses preparing for external review, transition or system change
• situations where “nothing looks obviously wrong” — but certainty is important
   

It is particularly valuable where payroll has been managed across multiple people, systems or processes over time.

To complete this review meaningfully, I will require temporary access to your accounting and payroll software, including visibility over:

• employee setup
• pay items and configuration
• historical pay runs (for sampling)
   

Access is arranged securely after engagement approval and can be removed at any time once the review is complete.

 Pricing for this service is tailored based on factors such as:

• number of employees
• payroll complexity and award environment
• changes in roles or employment arrangements over time
• and the level of historical sampling required
   

Because every payroll environment is different, the Payroll Review & Risk Check is quoted on a case-by-case basis following an initial discovery discussion and preliminary scoping.

After we’ve gathered the information needed to understand the likely scope, I’ll provide:

• a clear outline of the recommended review approach
• what is included (and not included)
• and a fixed professional fee for the work
   

This is provided by email for your review before proceeding, and no work begins until scope and pricing have been agreed.

 When you’re ready to move ahead, you can book your Payroll Review & Risk Check session using the link below.

If you haven’t already spoken with me about your payroll environment, employee numbers or what you’re hoping to gain from the review, I’ll get in touch prior to the session so we can confirm the scope and ensure the review is tailored appropriately.

This service provides a structured snapshot of your current payroll setup, key risks and practical recommendations. No payroll corrections or adjustments are completed as part of this session — if remedial work is required, we can discuss suitable next steps separately.