Is your annual audit enough?
Most payroll audits test a sample of employees, over a set period, once or twice a year. Here’s how that compares with real-time, independent assurance, question by question.
WHAT WE SEE IN THE DATA
$4B
of payroll data analysed by WageSafe
1M+
Pay runs tested in full. Not sampled.
4.5M
Timesheets reviewed.
How does a payroll audit compare with payroll assurance?
A typical audit
Real-time, independent assurance
Scope
How many employees does it actually check?Full population or sample? Across all departments or one focus?
Every employee, every pay runNo sample, no blind spots. The full population, tested every time.
Period
How many pay runs, and over what period?Weeks or months?
Every pay cycle, all year roundNothing in the gaps between checks goes unexamined.
Who and duration
Who checks it, and for how long?Internal checkers? External?
Independent of payroll, running continuouslyNot a person marking their own work, and not confined to short annual bursts.
Method
What methodology checks the numbers?Manual comparison? AI?
Every rule, tested systematicallyEach award and agreement clause applied against every payslip, the same way, every time.
Frequency
How often would you conduct these audits?Once a year? Twice yearly?
Ongoing, by designNot tied to a calendar date, a sales process, or an external event.
“Assurance that exists only periodically is not assurance. It is a snapshot, often taken just before reality changes.”
Tracy Angwin, The Australian Payroll Association