The Oxford English Dictionary defines payroll as a noun: a list of a company's employees and the amount of money they are to be paid. Beyond that, payroll is an important function for an organisation and one that is becoming increasingly affected by a raft of legislative changes – at the last count, there were 174 pieces of legislation affecting UK payrolls.

Despite this rising wave of compliance, there is no formal regulation to govern and guide the payroll practice. This is surely warranted given the importance of the role.

Payroll is an exciting and challenging field in which to work, and at present, those who do have their work cut out.