Career Path

Payroll Professional

Overview

In this career, your responsibilities may include:

Calculating and recording employee payroll data, including: hours worked, wages, production, deductions, and commission.
Preparing paychecks.

Job Titles

In your job search, you may find listings for this career under different titles. You can find some examples of these, as well as more information about this career, at Career One Stop.

Academic Requirements

Typically requires an associate degree, although some employers may prefer a bachelor’s degree, and others may only require a high school diploma. Obtaining a bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting would allow you to work as an Accountant or Auditor, if you do not already have the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Your associate degree might give you advanced standing or transfer credit toward a higher degree, reducing the time it would take you to graduate.

Certification

Certification is not required, but could make employers more likely to hire you or offer you a higher salary.

You may be eligible for the following certifications:

Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) or Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), from the American Payroll Association.

Payroll Certification, from the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers.
Licensure

No licensure is required to work as a Payroll Professional.
Mutual Recognition Agreement

A Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) is an agreement between two or more countries to accept the educational or professional credentials granted in each other’s countries. This means that if you graduated with a specific degree or earned certain professional qualifications in a country covered under an MRA, your credentials may be automatically recognized here in the US. Several professions in the US participate in MRAs, including accounting, architecture, and engineering. MRAs are not legally binding, and some states may choose not to recognize credentials covered under an MRA.

The NASBA/AICPA International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) currently has MRAs with eight international jurisdictions. Under these MRAs, accountants who are licensed in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, or South Africa may be eligible to take the International Qualification Examination (IQEX) as an alternative path to CPA licensure. The IQEX is a much shorter and simpler exam than the full CPA exam, and is based on Regulation (REG) section of the CPA exam.

If your credential may be covered under an MRA, always check with your state licensing board to be sure that they accept the agreement.