Financial year-end can be a headache for any person working in finance. There is so much to have prepared and ready for when the time comes.
Regardless of when it is, thinking about Do’s and Don’ts is imperative to a smooth financial year-end. We’ve found some of the best do’s and don’ts that should help you out and make this time less stressful!
The Do’s
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Training
Training is always a good place to start. Financial year-end training is a good way to refresh yourself on the process and get up to date with any legislative changes that need to be incorporated. It’s also important for new team members to understand the preparation plan in place so that the team can hit the ground running and complete all requirements before the cut-off time.
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Communication
Financial year-end is a team effort, and this extends outside of your HR and Payroll teams. Let your leaders and support teams know what your plan is ahead of time so that they can assist you where needed.
For outsourced payroll, teams should start communicating with their customers early on, in order to ensure that all involved know what to do well ahead of time. With everyone briefed in with plenty of time, any misunderstandings or issues can be dealt with early on, whilst also allowing ample time to gather payroll data.
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Review Everything
End of the financial year means going through 12 (sometimes 13) months of payroll data, so it’s crucial that any of the information being handled doesn’t get missed. Go through your payroll calendar to ensure all payments required to be reported within the current financial year are processed on time. Review overpayments, pay codes, tax numbers, and employee information so that the payment summaries and files are correct.
The Don’ts
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Don’t Procrastinate
Reporting needs to be done at the same time as your organisation’s regular pay run, so it’s vital that you stay on top of competing priorities for this time of year.
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Take Note of Legislative Updates
Ensure that you and your team are remaining compliant with legislative requirements. It’s important to check if there is any new legislation that might impact your end of financial year payroll and HR reporting.
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Team’s Leave
Every person in the team needs to work together to get through the end of the financial year successfully, so it’s important to be aware of everyone’s schedule. It’s best not to have any key payroll people on leave at this time, but things can still happen or get in the way, so don’t forget to have a contingency plan in place as a backup.
By keeping these tips in mind, you can have a smooth and successful financial year-end with a 100% chance of fewer headaches or mistakes. Financial year-end is a tough time for anyone, just take a breath, make sure you have all the data you need and everything should be fine.
For any payroll assistance or software, check out Quick Payroll to see how EasyBiz can make your financial year-end that much smoother.