Centralizing Multi-Country Payroll? Three Things To Focus On

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1 Centralizing Multi-Country Payroll? Three Things To Focus On Technology Process Local Expertise 89% of senior HR professionals in global organizations feel a complete view of their employees is critical, but only 30% actually have it. 63% of organizations expect the number of employees working outside their home country to increase over the next 1-2 years. 80% of global organizations think they are in full compliance, however one third were fined for non-compliance in the previous year. (Source: ADP Research Institute)

2 1 Technology: Get the Complete Picture From ADP Streamline to Ceridian, technology platforms are getting increasingly sophisticated in aggregating and reporting multi-country payroll data giving you faster, better visibility of your operations. But for all their great work in reality, it s not as simple as turning on a switch. From gathering data from disparate sources/systems, migration and validation to running parallel payroll - have you accounted for the significant time, resource, and training costs? How do you mange flow of data between your Payroll, ERP, HRIS, Timekeeping and Expense Reporting systems to get true visibility and control? What about stock options and expatriates? How do you handle split currencies, gross-ups, tax equalization, shadow payroll, etc.? What about your unique scenarios? For e.g. many overseas employees make payments locally and expense them. If any of these are remuneration (e.g. payments for medical insurance), they must be reported in payroll - do you have the processes and systems to take care of these? 2 Local Expertise: You Need it! It s hard to dedicate yourself to business strategy while preoccupied with multi-country issues. Consider these: What is the correct salary? Many countries have regulations requiring "holiday pay" to be paid as part of monthly salary. For e.g., Peru and Spain are some of the countries that have a 13th and 14th month payment, which must be paid in July and December. What is the correct payday? In Australia, it is whatever the contract specifies, in Brazil, payday frequency cannot be less than 1 month and must be paid on a specific date after the 1 month period. How should the salary be paid? For example, in India it must be paid in cash unless the employee consents to check or direct deposit. Do you have the resources or expertise to proactively monitor local legislation, risks and statutory requirements in multiple countries? Do you have a Global Data Privacy/Protection compliance plan or checklist? Many countries require registration with local Data Protection regulators. Failure to comply can be a criminal offence (e.g. in the UK). What about Banking arrangements and currency requirements? Certain countries requires you have a local account, others only allow employees to be paid in own currency e.g. Czech Republic, which specifies Koruny. If working with multiple in-country partners, how do realize your vision of true centralization? Think about the number of vendors and the time and cost of resources for managing those relationships from creating and maintaining SLAs to audits, legal support, and retainer fees. Is just being a strong local processor enough? Can they align with your global protocols and standards, make payroll work in tandem with other functions like Finance, Accounting, HR?

3 3 Compliance, Policies and Procedures: Clarity Pays Clearly defined procedures, policies and a robust global compliance program can help you achieve maximum timeliness and accuracy. However, What policies and processes are needed for a centralized payroll strategy? Who documents and keeps the policies up-to-date for legislative changes across your local subsidiaries? Who is keeping the audit trails? What processes can you create to ensure your transactional and employee data is being handled with security levels appropriate to the risks represented? What do you need to Report? Is your checklist ready and can your internal teams and technology system handle it? Basic salary, overtime pay, holiday pay, sickness pay, and disability payments all have to be reported worldwide (albeit in different formats) but here are some quirks: For Overtime reporting purposes it s key to be clear which employees are exempt and which are not. This will drive not just the monthly payroll but also the monthly and annual reporting. For e.g. EU has a working week of no more than 48 hours but France lowered the limit to 35 hours. Mexico requires employees be paid a 10% profit share by May 15th of each year. Compliance will involve making sure the profit is correctly calculated, split out correctly to each employee, run through payroll and then correctly reported back to the Tax Authorities. Numerous countries require benefits in kind to be reported in a specific format (e.g. UK, Canada and several others). It is important ensure you have processes in place to have the information readily available year end. Collective Bargaining Agreements Brazil, France, Italy, Spain among others have CBAs. If they apply to your employees (they almost always do), it maybe be mandatory to enroll employees in specific pension funds or provide annual mandatory pay increases. Compliance with these is mandatory.

4 Implementing a Payroll Software? Plan Ahead for Each Stage The contract is signed, and you ve chosen the software partner (ADP Streamline, Ceridian, Safeguard, etc.) but now begins the task of actually implementing your vision of a new efficient, powerful payroll system. Here s a typical process. Companies should plan ahead for each stage to ensure a smooth, stress free implementation. Data Gathering (Multi-Country Data, Vendors, Format, Systems) Go-Live (Continued 24/6 support, Yearly Reviews, Audits, etc.) Validation (HQ/Local Review) Parallel Payroll (Due diligence, Documentation of payroll process in all countries) Migration (Align to new system formats, Create input processes) Fix Gaps (Missing Forms, Banking, ESPP/RSUs, Taxes)

5 Services Overview Legal Entity Incorporation (Non Resident Employer, Rep Office, Branch, Limited Liability Company, Subsidiary) I Registration I Local Registered Offices I Resident Directors I Company Law Compliance Banking In-Country Bank Accounts I International Banking Network I Know Your Customer (KYC) I Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) Payroll/HR Compensation & Benefits (Statutory and Supplemental) I Bonus & Commissions I Stock Options, ESPP, RSUs I Payroll Taxes I Compliance I Hiring I Employment Law I Immigration I Employee Exits Accounting/Tax Record-to-Report (R2R) Accounting Services I Payroll I AP I AR I Fixed Asset I GL I Financial Reporting I Variance Analysis I Recreation of Historical Financial Records I Stock Administration I VAT, GST, HST, Income Taxes Expertise in Virtually Every Enterprise System You Need Client HQ Full Entity Setup, Ongoing Support for Large Public, Private Companies, Start-Ups and NGOs Form Hire Operate Report File Systems Requirements ERP/MRP Time & Attendance Payroll HRIS Expense Global Upside Expertise SAP Oracle NetSuite Great Plains/Microsoft Dynamics Intacct QuickBooks All Versions of ADP Kronos labor and many more

6 About Us Global Upside supports international businesses with world-class HR, Payroll, Accounting, Tax, Legal, and Compliance support when and where Clients need us. We are the trusted partner and favorite problem-solver as there are very few countries or situations we cannot help you with. Impossible is not in our vocabulary. We provide support in 70+ countries with clients including both established multinationals and high growth companies like Zillow, Uber, Rhapsody, SGI, NetGear, Real Networks, 8x8, Drew Marine, Crowley, A10 Networks, Enphase Energy, among several others. or call us at