Credit control and payroll
Credit and payroll management are increasingly being recognised as professions in their own right. Not only have their roles changed but also the way they are perceived within and outside the finance department.
When undergraduates are advised to go into the accountancy profession, it is generally chartered qualifications that careers counsellors have in mind. "Payroll is not seen as a career that people aspire to," says Brenda Clarke, consultancy manager at the Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP).
"It's our job to raise the profile of payroll so that people look at it in a different light." The same is applicable to those employees who opt to study for the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) qualifications.
Excellent qualifications
Both the ICM and IPP are striving to raise the profile of their members. Employers are increasingly sending their credit control and payroll staff through training, reflecting the growing stature of the qualifications.
The IPP diploma is highly respected within the payroll profession - it is obtained by distance learning, the graduate will in most cases have had to hold down a full-time job as well as studying. The IPP also launched an MSc in Payroll and Business Management [in conjunction with the University of Derby] back in 2003, referring to it as 'the ultimate qualification in the payroll profession'.
Both institutes are proactive in keeping their respective syllabuses pertinent to today's business environment, in terms of both changing legislative, regulatory and fiscal requirements, as well as the evolving role of credit controllers and payrollers in the finance department.
Training benefits
The benefits of training staff are numerous and can impact organisational efficiency. Not only will the employer be regarded as a developer of its employees but staff morale is increased leading to improved retention rates. Some employees go as far as financing their studies themselves, with the promise of recompense by their employer on completion.
Another more tangible benefit - particularly payroll - is the diminishing of the potential for incurring regulatory penalties. Audits by the Inland Revenue result in millions of pounds worth of fines non-compliance with legislation related to the treatment of expenses and benefits.
Late payments and data protection legislation are just some of the concerns for the ICM. Members are kept abreast of relevant technical updates as well as a host of conferences and seminars on specific and topical issues.
The IPP's policy and research committee looks at government legislation and consultation documents. Many companies are moving towards self-service payroll procedures, where line managers or employees input information such as change of address or bank details via a company intranet.
Customer care
Payrollers need to:
- be adaptable and knowledgeable about regulatory and compliance issues
- think strategically and be forward-thinking
- show tenaciousness and self-motivation
- be customer aware and commercially-focused
- persevere and be patient
Payroll was traditionally a finance function but it is now being aligned more with human resources, largely due to the development of integrated HR software. The finance director or HR director may have ultimate responsibility for payroll but will not have an in-depth knowledge of all the payroll issues. HR feeds into payroll, which ultimately feeds out to finance, so payroll managers have to have a wide overview.
Credit control and payroll are increasingly recognised at finance director level as impacting on business. Reducing debtor days makes a big difference to the finances, far more than just chasing invoices, and that development of a credit strategy and policy is crucial to the bottom line.
The knowledge that is held in payroll departments is vast and provides an invaluable source of information for the business.
For more information, visit www.icm.org.uk and www.ippm.org.
