Payroll Analyst-Only Locals

Job Description

Payroll Analyst

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Payroll Analyst with 5 years of expertise in payroll operations, financial analysis, payroll reporting, and system optimization. The ideal candidate will be responsible for analyzing payroll data, ensuring payroll accuracy, identifying discrepancies, supporting payroll audits, and developing reports to improve payroll efficiency.

The Payroll Analyst will collaborate with HR, Finance, Accounting, and IT teams to ensure accurate employee compensation processing, maintain compliance with applicable payroll regulations, and support continuous improvement initiatives across payroll functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze payroll data to identify trends, discrepancies, variances, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Perform payroll audits and reconciliations to ensure accuracy of employee compensation, deductions, benefits, and tax withholdings.
• Prepare and maintain payroll reports, including labor cost analysis, payroll variance reports, headcount reports, and financial summaries.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies and coordinate with HR, Finance, and payroll operations teams for timely resolution.
• Support monthly, quarterly, and annual payroll closing activities.
• Reconcile payroll expenses against general ledger accounts and assist with journal entry preparation.
• Monitor payroll system data integrity and ensure employee information is accurately maintained.
• Develop and maintain payroll dashboards using Excel, Power BI, or other reporting tools.
• Assist in the implementation, testing, and enhancement of payroll systems and related applications.
• Analyze payroll processes and recommend automation opportunities to reduce manual effort and improve accuracy.
• Support internal and external payroll audits by preparing documentation, reports, and supporting records.
• Maintain confidentiality of employee compensation and payroll-related information.
• Ensure payroll activities comply with company policies and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Partner with HR and Finance teams to resolve payroll-related queries and provide analytical support.
• Document payroll procedures, workflows, and reporting standards.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in payroll analysis, payroll operations, or payroll accounting.
• Strong understanding of payroll processing, payroll reconciliation, tax deductions, and compensation administration.
• Experience working with payroll systems such as ADP, Workday, Oracle, SAP, UKG, or similar platforms.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including PivotTables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, formulas, and data analysis.
• Experience preparing payroll reports and conducting financial reconciliations.
• Knowledge of general ledger accounting and payroll expense reporting.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential payroll information.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or other business intelligence tools.
• Familiarity with payroll system integrations and automated payroll workflows.
• Experience supporting payroll audits and compliance reviews.
• Knowledge of multi-state payroll processing.
• Experience with SQL for payroll data extraction and analysis.