Why the Global Payroll Industry Needed to Change

By Sarah Townsend | Updated July 16, 2019

Global Payroll Services

Technology is transforming many aspects of modern-day life with capabilities that didn’t exist even a few years ago such as smartphones, GPS and self-driving cars. However, global payroll has escaped any significant technological advances for decades.

For more than 20 years, reliance on disparate, disconnected in-country providers (ICPs) held back the advancement of global payroll. Technology enhancements were an easy go-to for companies looking to ‘innovate,’ but was ultimately like placing duct tape on a leaky faucet and calling it fixed.

Data would be outsourced to multiple vendors and returned in inconsistent formats. This required many checks and balances which placed a time burden on the entire process. If you’re a global payroll professional, you’re likely too familiar with this problem.

Recent surveys on global payroll indicate that many companies are realizing that globalization of their payroll is critical to their success, and yet they struggle to get there. There are new demands, a push for improved efficiency, and a gap in technology.

The Global Payroll Management Institute (GPMI) found in their recent webinar survey that 44 percent of participants know that they need to consider global payroll in order to centralize and harmonize their payroll process. Another 24 percent responded that they know there is a need for improved visibility and that their compliance risks need to be addressed. These are serious issues for an organization that have been out there for years.

GPMI Survey Question

iiPay realized this need for the current model to be changed and, in 2012, acquired a technology that has processed gross-to-net payroll in 21 countries. We’ve integrated that technology into our global payroll solution, combining our best-in-class aggregator technology with an innovative enhancement to minimize the use of ICPs and deliver accurate, timely and compliant payrolls in every region of the world.

Eliminating this technology gap required a platform that can replicate the functions of the ICP and ultimately reduce the reliance on third-party vendors. The problem was: that technology didn’t exist.

This technology had to efficiently deliver

  • One Centralized Process
  • Integrated Data Eliminating Manual Input
  • Visibility to Data
  • Accuracy and Compliance
  • Extensive Reporting Capabilities
  • Views of Individual Employee Pay Histories
  • Business Analysis
  • Financial Statement Integration
  • Rapid Implementation
  • Single Sign-On (Federated Identity)

At the same time, global payroll works best when couple with fully managed services. iiPay has innovated a best-in-class technology and combined it with best-in-class services through our experienced payroll specialists. Through a dedicated single point of contact, our centralized process empowers our clients to minimize operational impact, channel employee queries, and monitor communications to ensure prompt resolutions.

“iiPay’s approach to payroll management is distinct in that it’s focused on improving both business operations and employee experience. We believe this provides a strong opportunity to achieve leadership in the market and is a key factor in our investment decision with iiPay.”

– Shawn Kelly, Managing Director, Teakwood Capital

Our services are as much a part of our solution as our technology. Through a single master service agreement, we take on the liability to ensure compliance within every jurisdiction included within the scope of a project. We define the scope of payroll services at the payroll level to ensure that all local payroll requirements are met and in compliance with legislative requirements, eliminating that risk for our clients.

With clients in more than 150 countries, iiPay is uniquely positioned to understand the payroll challenges faced by modern global organizations.

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