GPC study plan
GPC · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Global Payroll Strategy, Governance and Compliance & International Employment Law and Statutory Requirements
Map the end-to-end global payroll operating model (strategy, policy, governance, delivery) and write a one-page diagram from memory
Define payroll governance roles (process owner, control owner, approver) and draft a RACI for a multi-country payroll cycle
Summarize how statutory, contractual, and collective-agreement requirements layer on top of each other in at least three jurisdictions
List the compliance obligations that recur every pay cycle versus annually, and tag each to an owner
Your checkpoint
A two-page governance and compliance map covering roles, RACI, and a recurring-vs-annual obligation checklist
International Employment Law and Statutory Requirements & Compensation, Benefits and Gross-to-Net Processing
Compare employment-law concepts (worker classification, notice, working time, leave, termination) across at least four countries in a matrix
Trace a gross-to-net calculation step by step for two contrasting jurisdictions, naming each deduction and employer contribution
Distinguish taxable versus non-taxable pay elements and explain how benefits in kind enter the payroll
Explain how statutory rate changes and retroactive adjustments are handled mid-year
Your checkpoint
A gross-to-net worked example for two countries with every statutory line item labeled and sourced
Compensation, Benefits and Gross-to-Net Processing & Expatriate, Mobility and Shadow Payroll
Build a compensation-element dictionary (earnings, deductions, employer costs, imputed income) usable across countries
Explain shadow payroll mechanics: when it is needed, what is reported, and how it reconciles to the home payroll
Describe common mobility pay approaches (home-based, host-based, balance sheet) and their payroll consequences
Identify expatriate tax and social-security triggers (economic employer, totalization agreements, tax equalization) and where they hit the pay run
Your checkpoint
A one-page shadow-payroll process flow plus a mobility pay-approach comparison table
Payroll Accounting, Controls and Reconciliation & Risk, Audit and Business Continuity
Design a payroll control set (input validation, variance analysis, four-eyes approval, segregation of duties) and map each control to a risk
Explain payroll reconciliation across gross-to-net, bank file, and general ledger, including typical break categories
Draft a business-continuity and disaster-recovery outline for a payroll cycle, including manual fallback and cut-off timing
Describe how internal and external audit requests are prepared for and evidenced
Your checkpoint
A control matrix with at least ten controls, each linked to a risk, an owner, and an evidence artifact
Payroll Data Management, Technology and Reporting & Vendor Selection, Implementation and Service Delivery
Define payroll data domains, ownership, retention, and privacy handling for employee master and pay data
Evaluate payroll technology options (in-house, aggregator, single global platform) against a weighted criteria set
Write vendor selection questions covering data security, statutory update cadence, service levels, and exit/transition terms
Outline an implementation plan with parallel runs, cutover, and hypercare phases
Your checkpoint
A vendor scorecard with weighted criteria and at least eight due-diligence questions
Vendor Selection, Implementation and Service Delivery & Global Payroll Operations, Team Management and Change
Define service-level metrics for payroll delivery (accuracy, timeliness, ticket resolution) and how they are measured
Describe how a global payroll operating model is staffed and how a transition from incumbent provider is governed
Draft a change-management approach for a payroll system or process change, including stakeholder and training plans
Explain how a payroll team is structured for scale and how performance is managed
Your checkpoint
An operating-model and service-level one-pager covering team structure, metrics, and transition governance
Global Payroll Strategy, Governance and Compliance & Payroll Accounting, Controls and Reconciliation & Risk, Audit and Business Continuity
Integrate strategy, controls, and risk into a single narrative for a mock audit scenario
Practice applying controls and reconciliation logic to a worked payroll error case
Rehearse explaining a governance failure and its remediation in writing
Review weak areas from earlier weeks and close the top three gaps
Your checkpoint
A written response to a mock audit/risk scenario with identified root cause, control gap, and remediation
Global Payroll Strategy, Governance and Compliance & International Employment Law and Statutory Requirements & Compensation, Benefits and Gross-to-Net Processing & Expatriate, Mobility and Shadow Payroll & Payroll Accounting, Controls and Reconciliation & Payroll Data Management, Technology and Reporting & Vendor Selection, Implementation and Service Delivery & Global Payroll Operations, Team Management and Change & Risk, Audit and Business Continuity
Complete a timed full-length practice set and score by domain
Re-study the two lowest-scoring domains using condensed notes
Recite the core frameworks (gross-to-net, shadow payroll, control matrix, operating model) from memory
Finalize a one-page formula and terminology sheet for last-minute review
Your checkpoint
A scored practice result with a domain-by-domain gap list and a finalized one-page review sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain a full gross-to-net for two countries without notes and name each statutory line
Week 4: Can present a ten-control matrix linking each control to a risk and evidence
Week 6: Can describe a global payroll operating model, vendor selection criteria, and transition governance from memory
Week 8: Practice score shows no domain below a self-set threshold and the gap list has been reviewed