Public Sector Payroll Management

Abstract

This chapter discusses the strategic and operational issues that surround the management of public sector payrolls. Expenditure on salaries and allowances paid to public sector employees will be an entirely familiar concept to most readers. In this chapter, however, comparisons are presented between the different management approaches adopted in various countries, with a view to identifying both the shortcomings in some of the more traditional methods and the evolution of good and best practices. The chapter considers the overall financial and fiscal impact of payrolls and suggests how payroll operations need to be conducted in terms of their accuracy, timeliness and compliance with other requirements, irrespective of the stage of development of public financial management (PFM) systems and procedures.