Payroll Coordinator, Finance, Finance

JOB PURPOSE:

The Payroll Coordinator supports the administration of the payroll function. This includes the processing of the employee, member parental leave assistance program, and bencher payrolls, along with related source deductions and remittances, preparation of pension and benefits remittances, processing of payroll related journal entries, General Ledger account reconciliations, support the T4, T4A, EHT and WSIB reporting processes managed by the Payroll Specialist, and maintenance of payroll and related files and information. In addition to payroll support, the Payroll Coordinator is responsible for the review and processing of bencher expense claims. The position is responsible for the updating of the bencher attendance tracking database used to support reporting to the Audit & Finance Committee. The Payroll Coordinator is also responsible for ongoing correspondence with benchers on expense claim matters as well as communicating with external stakeholders such as the payroll service provider, benefits carriers, auditors, etc. to inquire or resolve issues. The role assists in the preparation of required reporting for benchers and the Audit & Finance Committee, and ad hoc reporting requests for Senior Management and other Committees.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

• A college diploma or university degree in business or accounting.
• Near completion of the Canadian Payroll Association's Payroll Manager Certificate program, or equivalent.
• Minimum 4 years previous related experience in a computerized payroll and benefits administration environment, with solid understanding of general accounting functions.
• Solid understanding of payroll processes and relevant legislation, benefits administration, source deduction and government remittance procedures.
• General understanding of general accounting functions, including GAAP / CICA guidelines, accounts payable and financial reporting.
• Solid understanding of Law Society by-laws and policies as they apply to bencher remuneration, expense reimbursement, payroll and related internal controls.
• Professional communication skills with the ability to speak and write in a clear, articulate manner when communicating with benchers, adjudicators, and staff.
• Reason through moderately complex spoken and written information in order to communicate bylaw, policy, process and standards of reasonableness information in an audience appropriate format.
• Thorough knowledge of automated payroll systems and absence management applications.
• Thorough knowledge of personal computers and software applications related to a computerized accounting environment, particularly the use of spreadsheet analyses in support of the finance function and report writing applications.
• Knowledge of reporting tools such as Crystal reports.

Client / Customer Service Delivery

• Contributes to the development and implementation of integrated payroll processes in support of Law Society client departments and divisions, benchers, and related organizations.
• Works closely with client departments and others to communicate appropriate payroll processes, reviews and verifies payroll information, and contributes to the exchange of information.
• Provides detailed information and reports as required, responds to client inquiries, and follows up to ensure resolution of complaints.
• Remains abreast of Law Society by-laws and policies as well as Canada Revenue Agency statutes, legislation and regulations pertaining to employee payroll, bencher remuneration and expense reimbursement, and communicates the application of same to employees and benchers, (e.g. expense claims allowed, adjusted and disallowed).
• Prepares written communication to benchers and adjudicators related to sensitive expense and remuneration matters.

Client / Customer Service Planning

• Acts as a subject-matter expert within the Payroll team as well as other departments across the organization on payroll systems, bencher expense reimbursement, and associated guidelines and processes.
• Identifies opportunities for improvements within the payroll function, and develops approaches to address these opportunities.
• Monitors and assists in improving and implementing new payroll processes and systems through analysis, research and recommendations.

Financial Responsibility

• Processes and validates parental leave, employee and bencher payroll and benefits information, in accordance with Canada Revenue Agency statutes, relevant legislation and regulations, and Law Society policies and procedures.
• Assists the Payroll Specialist in the processing of Law Society payrolls, including the extraction of needed information from the time and attendance application, analyzing and questioning information, following up to gain clarification.
• Processes a full range of transactions and exchanges information with service providers, financial institutions, Law Society client departments, employees, members and benchers to ensure the timely and accurate flow of payrolls (employees, members and benchers).
• Administers retirements, terminations and individual record changes, prepares journal entries, and assists with the reconciliation and issuance of T4 slips.
• Reviews bencher expense claims for authorization and reasonableness, allocates to appropriate expense category and processes for payment.
• Ensures that details of expense claims are accurate and complete, following up with benchers to confirm information, and reconciles approved claims and remuneration payments.
• Processes approved bencher activity sheets for remuneration purposes, calculating appropriate statutory deductions and processing in payroll system.
• Generates canned and develops custom reports using applicable reporting tools in support of informational needs of management and the Audit & Finance Committee, as required, from information residing in the payroll system, time and attendance application or the bencher tracking database.
• For Law Society employee payroll, prepares journals for posting to sub-ledger and general ledgers and uploads the information into the Law Society's financial system.

Team Membership

• Actively participates with other members of the department, contributing to department-wide projects.
• Collaborates with the Payroll Specialist to complete the daily operation of the department, and takes direction from Specialist with respect to Payroll policies, processes and best practices.
• Works cooperatively with client department staff to clarify information and provide assistance regarding payroll procedures, and provide accurate and timely service to benchers, employees, clients and customers.
• Demonstrates flexibility and commitment to the team to maximize resources and support co-workers during peak periods.

The Law Society has introduced a Distributed Workforce Model to leverage flexibility and agility, and to maximize employee productivity and engagement. Work arrangements will be determined by role and departmental requirements. The working arrangement for this position has been classified as hybrid, where the employee will regularly flex their work location between home and office. The specific application of this will be communicated to applicants contacted during the recruitment process.