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While participants at today’s lunchtime International Guest Panel agreed that the United States sets the gold standard for complexity in payroll, they’re experiencing their own complications, most of them in the form of forthcoming compliance requirements.

Most notable is the U.K.'s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect May 25 and constitutes a significant overhaul of data protection regulation with extensive updates to what can be considered identifiable information.

Sitting on the panel this afternoon were (from left) Jason Low, C.P.S., Head of TAPS, The Association of Payroll Specialists; Lavinthra Haripersad, Chair at the South African Payroll Association; Frank Lilley, CPA, CGA, Chair at the Canadian Payroll Association; and Eira Hammond, FCIPPdip, Board Chair at the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals. APA Executive Director Dan Maddux moderated the panel.

According to Hammond, complying with the new regulations will be especially difficult for smaller employers.

“Many of them transmit their payroll via email,” Hammond said. “When GDPR takes effect, their data must be sent in an encrypted format, and they may not have the funds for the technology necessary to comply.”

Payroll professionals in Australia may face similar challenges this summer when the Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting framework goes into effect July 1 for employers of 20 or more people.

“This is a massive change for the payroll industry,” Low said. “We’re in education mode right now, sponsoring training for our members throughout the country.”

Attendees at the APA’s 36th Annual Congress can learn more about GDPR, STP, and other challenges when they visit the Global Payroll Pavilion, where they will have an opportunity to network with experts on country-specific compliance issues, technology, and overall strategy.