Payroll services
Payroll audits and payroll risk reviews
A payroll audit answers one question: can you prove that what was paid, deducted and declared is correct? Patuza reviews payroll data, calculations, controls and statutory submissions, then reports findings with a practical remediation plan.
What a Patuza payroll audit covers
- Employee master data: duplicates, ghost employees, invalid identity or tax numbers, banking anomalies
- Calculation accuracy: PAYE, UIF, SDL, overtime, leave pay, terminations and retrospective adjustments
- Statutory accuracy: EMP201 declarations, payments and tax certificate values
- Controls: segregation of duties, change authorisation, access rights, payment release
- Payroll to general ledger agreement and unexplained balances in payroll control accounts
Where payroll errors usually hide
Errors cluster where processes are manual or exceptional: mid-cycle terminations, back-pay, allowance changes, bargaining council rate updates and benefit changes. An audit samples deliberately in those areas rather than testing routine cases that rarely fail.
Payroll fraud and control risk
The classic exposures are unauthorised master data changes, banking detail redirection, inflated overtime and employees who remain on payroll after termination. Each is preventable with authorisation and reconciliation controls that cost nothing to operate once designed.
Findings and remediation
You receive a findings report rated by risk and financial exposure, with the correction required, the control that would prevent recurrence, and where relevant the impact on your payroll compliance position. Patuza can implement the remediation or hand it to your team.
Frequently asked questions
When should an employer do a payroll audit?
Common triggers are a change of payroll staff or provider, a system migration, a SARS verification, suspected payroll fraud, a qualified audit finding, or simply an annual assurance review on a payroll that has never been independently checked.
How long does a payroll audit take?
It depends on headcount, the number of pay points and how well the data is documented. A single-entity payroll of moderate size is typically reviewed and reported on within a few weeks of receiving complete data.
Will an audit disrupt our pay runs?
No. The audit works from extracted data and system access, so pay cycles continue normally while the review is performed.
What happens if the audit finds under-declared PAYE?
The exposure is quantified per period, corrected in payroll, and disclosed to SARS through the appropriate declaration or reconciliation. Correcting proactively is generally cheaper than the penalties that follow a SARS-initiated finding.
Patuza audits payroll data, calculations and controls, then gives you a rated findings report and a fix list.
Book a consultationRelated services
- Payroll compliance →
PAYE, UIF, SDL, EMP201, EMP501 and IRP5 compliance managed end to end for SARS.
- EMP201 & EMP501 reconciliation →
Monthly EMP201 declarations reconciled to bi-annual EMP501 submissions and IRP5 certificates.
- Payroll advisory →
Payroll consulting on process, controls, systems, compliance risk and payroll optimisation.
Related topics
Related insights
- Preparing for a payroll audit →
The documents, reconciliations and controls auditors and SARS ask for first.
- Payroll reconciliation explained →
What payroll reconciliation means, what it proves and how to run it every month.