Payroll Audits

Payroll assurance and risk review

Know where your payroll risks are—and what to do next

Payroll errors can remain hidden across thousands of transactions before they are identified by an employee, auditor or regulator.

An independent payroll audit from addWorth Partners helps you understand whether payroll settings, employee data, calculations and processes are operating as intended. We identify exceptions, explain their potential impact and provide a prioritised pathway for remediation.

Request a Payroll Audit

Independent payroll assurance

Turn payroll uncertainty into a clear action plan

Payroll risk rarely comes from one isolated setting. It can develop through outdated pay rates, incorrect classifications, misunderstood employment conditions, manual adjustments or insufficient review controls.

Our payroll audits examine the areas agreed in scope and test how payroll decisions flow through to employee outcomes. The result is a practical, evidence-based review designed to help management understand the issues, address immediate risks and strengthen payroll processes for the future.

When should you review your payroll?

  • Before or after implementing a new payroll platform
  • Following changes to an Award or Enterprise Agreement
  • When employees raise concerns about their pay
  • After rapid growth, restructuring or an acquisition
  • When payroll relies heavily on manual calculations
  • Before a Fair Work, financial or regulatory review
  • When inherited payroll settings have not been independently tested
  • When management wants greater confidence in payroll governance
  • Before moving to an outsourced payroll arrangement

What we can review

A payroll audit tailored to your risk profile

Employee setup and classification

Review employee classifications, employment types, rates, hours, work patterns and other key payroll fields against the information supplied.

Pay conditions and calculations

Test agreed payroll scenarios involving ordinary hours, overtime, penalty rates, allowances, minimum engagements, shift conditions and other relevant pay outcomes.

Award and Enterprise Agreement rules

Review how applicable industrial instrument requirements have been translated into payroll settings and pay condition rules.

Leave and entitlements

Review the configuration and application of leave categories, accrual methods, balances and selected entitlement calculations.

Superannuation and payroll obligations

Review selected superannuation settings and other payroll-related obligations included within the agreed scope.

Payroll data and transaction testing

Select and test representative employees, pay periods or transaction types to identify anomalies, inconsistencies and potential systemic issues.

System access and approval controls

Assess user access, payroll approval processes, segregation of responsibilities, change controls and the availability of supporting audit trails.

Reconciliations and reporting

Review key payroll reconciliation processes, exception reporting and the connection between payroll outputs and financial reporting.

What you receive

Findings you can act on

An executive summary of the key findings

  • A description of the testing completed
  • Identified exceptions and control gaps
  • Risk ratings to support prioritisation
  • Examples of affected calculations or employee records
  • Recommendations for remediation
  • Suggested improvements to systems, processes and approvals
  • Areas requiring further workplace relations, tax or legal advice
  • A management debrief to discuss the findings and next steps

A clear pathway to go-live

Our payroll audit process

  1. Scope — Define the concerns, review period, groups, industrial instruments, systems and records to be examined.
  2. Gather — Securely collect the agreed payroll reports, employee information, documents, policies and system configuration data.
  3. Test — Review selected records and calculation scenarios, investigate exceptions and identify patterns that may indicate broader risk.
  4. Report — Document findings in clear language, with risk levels and practical recommendations.
  5. Remediate — If requested, help correct payroll configuration, quantify adjustments, improve controls or implement a more sustainable payroll model.

Specialist payroll expertise, not a generic checklist

Our audits are informed by hands-on experience in payroll processing, payroll system implementation and complex workforce environments.

This means we look beyond surface-level totals. We consider how employee setup, rostering data, pay rules, approvals and system configuration interact—and whether those interactions are producing consistent and supportable payroll outcomes.

Our Australian-based team has particular experience working with healthcare, disability and NDIS organisations operating under complex Awards and workforce arrangements.

IMPORTANT SCOPE NOTE

A payroll audit is completed using the records made available and the procedures agreed in the engagement scope. It is not legal advice or a guarantee that every historical error will be identified. Where specialist legal, workplace relations or tax advice is required, we will clearly identify that need.

 

Frequently asked questions

The audit approach depends on the agreed scope. Reviews may involve targeted sampling, full-population data analysis or detailed testing of particular employee groups and pay conditions.

Yes. Historical payroll reviews and back-pay reconciliations can be separately scoped where reliable payroll, time and employment records are available.

Yes. We can review Employment Hero configuration, employee settings, pay categories and rule sets, as well as selected payroll outcomes.

We explain the nature and potential impact of the finding and recommend next steps. We can also separately assist with system corrections, payroll recalculations, process redesign and ongoing payroll support.