Overview

Experience: 8–12 Years

Department: Finance & Accounts

Industry: Information Technology (IT)

Shift timings: 2pm to 11pm

Location: Chennai

We are seeking a highly motivated Manager – EMEA & Europe Payroll and Payroll Accounting to oversee payroll operations, payroll accounting, statutory compliance coordination, financial controls, and payroll governance across Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions. The role will be responsible for ensuring accurate and timely payroll delivery through payroll vendors and internal teams while maintaining strong accounting controls, financial reporting, and compliance standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Payroll Operations Management
  • Manage end-to-end payroll operations across multiple EMEA and APAC countries through outsourced payroll providers and internal stakeholders.
  • Oversee payroll processing activities including new hires, terminations, salary revisions, bonuses, commissions, equity-related payments, expatriate transactions, and employee benefits.
  • Review payroll outputs, variance reports, funding requirements, and payroll reconciliations before payroll approval.
  • Ensure timely processing of regular payrolls, off-cycle payments, and year-end payroll activities.
  • Establish and maintain payroll governance, operational controls, and service-level agreements (SLAs).
  • Act as the primary escalation point for complex payroll issues and country-specific payroll matters.
• Payroll Accounting & Financial Close
  • Lead payroll accounting activities including payroll journal entries, accruals, provisions, and reconciliations.
  • Ensure accurate accounting of salaries, bonuses, commissions, employer taxes, pension contributions, social security obligations, and employee benefits.
  • Review and approve General Ledger reconciliations and payroll balance sheet accounts.
  • Support month-end, quarter-end, and year-end financial close activities.
  • Ensure payroll costs are accurately allocated across legal entities, departments, projects, and cost centers.
  • Partner with Controllership and Finance teams to support financial reporting requirements.
  • Provide payroll-related analytics, headcount reporting, and employee cost insights to leadership.
• Compliance & Risk Management
  • Ensure payroll operations comply with country-specific employment regulations, payroll taxes, social security, pension, and statutory reporting requirements.
  • Coordinate with payroll vendors and local advisors to stay updated on regulatory changes across EMEA and APAC countries.
  • Ensure compliance with internal controls, company policies, and audit requirements.
  • Support SOX controls, statutory audits, internal audits, and external financial audits.
  • Maintain payroll documentation and audit-ready records.
• Vendor & Stakeholder Management
  • Manage relationships with global and regional payroll providers.
  • Conduct payroll vendor performance reviews and drive service improvements.
  • Partner with HR, Compensation & Benefits, Tax, Treasury, Legal, and Finance teams.
  • Collaborate with regional stakeholders to ensure seamless payroll delivery across multiple countries.
  • Drive issue resolution and continuous improvement initiatives with vendors and internal teams.
• Process Improvement & Transformation
  • Identify opportunities to standardize and automate payroll processes across regions.
  • Lead payroll transformation projects, payroll migrations, and system implementations.
  • Develop and monitor payroll KPIs, dashboards, and operational metrics.
  • Support mergers, acquisitions, entity setup, and payroll transition activities.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 8–12 years of payroll and payroll accounting experience.
• Experience managing multi-country payroll operations across EMEA and APAC regions.
• Strong understanding of payroll accounting, reconciliations, accruals, provisions, and financial controls.
• Experience working in multinational organizations, shared services, or global business services environments.
• Strong knowledge of payroll vendor management and global payroll governance models.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and ERP systems.

Required Skills

• Multi-Country Payroll Management
• EMEA Payroll Operations
• Europe Payroll Operations
• Payroll Accounting
• General Ledger Reconciliations
• Financial Close Management
• Payroll Accruals & Provisions
• Payroll Compliance & Governance
• Payroll Vendor Management
• Audit & Internal Controls
• Financial Reporting
• ERP Systems (SAP, Oracle, Workday, NetSuite)
• Process Improvement & Automation