Payroll Verification

Scope

This policy outlines requirements for payroll transactions, reconciliations and other payroll activities.

Reason for Policy

The purpose of this policy is to ensure payroll is accurately reported in the general ledger and reflects the effort that occurred.

Policy Statement

Transactions should be recorded, authorized and verified in a manner that reflects actual payroll activity in the general ledger. All payroll transactions should be reviewed and evidentiary materials created and retained as support.  Segregation of duties between roles during the payroll process should be followed.  When possible, the individuals entering the time (time keeper), approving the time, and verifying payroll should be different for each role.  The Verifier must not have access to act as an approver unless the review is approved by the department.

The Verifier at each department should review payroll transactions within their ChartFields.  The review should ensure the payroll posted to their ChartFields is appropriate.  Verification of payroll includes but is not limited to review of: hours worked, additional pay amounts, earnings code, rate of pay, includes all employees to be paid, excludes unauthorized employees, and comparison of the prior period amounts to the current pay period and budget.  Any differences should be investigated and resolved as appropriate.  Reviews should be performed on a timely basis.  At a minimum, departments must verify payroll amounts to ensure corrections are made in a timely manner.

Any correction of payroll between ChartFields should be made in a timely manner. Every effort should be made to record corrections in the fiscal year in which the original entry occurred.  The correction must be supported by documentation that fully explains how the error occurred and allowability of the expense on the funding source charged to comply with federal regulations.  Payroll/benefit expense corrections must be made using a Payroll Correcting Entry (PCE).  PCEs that are outside the one year correction period are required to be submitted to the campus accounting office or office of sponsored programs for review and approval.  Corrections impacting sponsored activity funding or federal program codes must be reviewed and approved by the principal investigator, an authorized signer for the ChartField incurring the expense, and the campus office of sponsored programs.  Accounting offices and office of sponsored programs offices may use discretion to temporarily modify or provide an exception to the approval process. 

Definitions

Verifier – one or more individuals within a unit that are responsible for confirming the accuracy of payroll transactions and/or expenses, such as appropriate use of ChartFields and that the transaction or expense was recorded in the appropriate accounting period.

Accountabilities

UM System Controller’s Office:

• Reconcile payroll system to the General Ledger

Campus Accounting:

• Review salaries and wages in the General Ledger at least annually for reasonableness
• Review and approve PCE transactions processed after the one year correction period when no sponsored activity or federal program codes are impacted

Campus Office of Sponsored Programs:

• Review and approve PCE transactions with sponsored activity funding or federal program codes that have been processed after the one year correction period

Departments:

• Verify payroll in a timely manner.
• Process PCE transactions in a timely manner.  If more than one year past the pay end date, submit documentation to Campus Accounting or Sponsored Program office for approval.
• Principal Investigators review and approve PCE transactions with sponsored activity funding that have been processed after the one year correction period as part of the documentation submitted to Office of Sponsored Programs.
• Authorized signers review and approve PCE transactions with non-sponsored activity funding that have been processed after the one year correction period as part of the documentation submitted to Campus Accounting or Office of Sponsored Programs.
• Notify department fiscal staff of department staffing changes to ensure accurate pay rosters.

Additional Details

Forms

Related Information

Reviews could be accomplished by utilizing the following tools/reports:

• Transaction checklist
• Payroll expense distribution reports
• Pay comparison reports
• Payroll summary reports (income statement)
• Cognos Reports (such as Actuals Review 1, 2A & 4)
• Ad-hoc queries

Related policies include:

• HR 106 – Reporting Hours Worked

History

Updated February 18, 2021 to clarify expectations and timing of reviews.  Additional department accountability added for notifying fiscal staff of department staffing changes.

Formerly Accounting Policy Manual 55.60.02 – Entering, Approving and Reconciling Payroll – Time and Labor (revised 7/1/2012)

Procedure