International Assignments Best Practice - Collecting Global Compensation Data Monthly

When managing global assignments, SIRVA recommends that global compensation data collection be performed at least monthly. This frequency allows your mobility team to stay in sync with local payroll cycles and be timely in capturing any non-payroll payments being made via expense reimbursement or through local finance teams.  Upon collection, the payroll results are returned and the reconciliation is performed for the instructed items - any differences are reviewed, validated and queried.  Non-payroll data is verified when collected as well to ensure there are no missed or duplicate payments made for the relocating employee.  Not to mention, there are a number of countries that require monthly shadow payroll reporting in order to stay in compliance.

The monthly compensation data collection feeds into the, shadow reporting created to summarize all payments made in both the home and host country.  The information is provided to the non-paying country payroll department (either home or host) or to the tax provider to calculate the appropriate taxes due to the local tax authorities. 

The monthly collection process can be simple and easy to administer with the appropriate information and tools. 

1. Define assignees eligible for compensation collection and duration of collection period
2. Collect contact names and email addresses for all local payroll contacts and finance contacts
3. Define and document process and schedule for collection
4. Create collection workbook template to gather all data paid to the assignee; use Letter of Assignment and/or policy to gather details about expected allowances, benefits and taxes
5. Create checklist and tracking tools to confirm deliverables
6. Collect and gather all workbooks in a centralized location
7. Review, reconcile, and import all compensation data to a collection depository
8. Run reports to review all items paid to the assignee for payroll, expense reporting, and host country payments. This review checks for variances and missing payments on a month-to-month basis.

By gathering and collecting all compensation elements on a monthly basis from home, host and other sources, this allows administrators frequent opportunities to go through the verification process and reinforces consistency.  Reviewing compensation ongoing throughout the year will ensure your employees’ information is accurate and complete when providing the annual statement of earnings to your tax provider.

An additional benefit is the transparency for employees and management reporting.  This gives you the ability to create cost analysis and budget to actual reporting for the business which can be used for planning and overall strategy.

If you would like to learn how SIRVA can help you set up your compensation collection program, contact us here.