Condor: Ensuring the Integrity of Payroll Accounting

For Angela Gerau, Quality Manager Payroll at Condor Flugdienst GmbH, the matter is clear:

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“Checking payroll data is an immediate form of quality assurance. Without it, irregularities in payroll accounting can too easily go unnoticed. The consequences can range from dissatisfied employees to financial and reputational damage.”

In a company like Condor with more than 5,000 employees, manually checking where irregularities occur would be extremely time-consuming for payroll accounting. Such errors or irregularities can be varied. Sometimes a new system configuration is all it takes to have unforeseen effects on payroll accounting. Incorrect payments, however, quickly get around. Trust erodes, and the credibility of payroll accounting is damaged.

Comprehensive quality assurance

To prevent this from happening, Condor relies on the Centric audit tools PLK, PLX, INF and VBT2. They form the basis for comprehensive quality assurance in payroll accounting. Thanks to comprehensive documentation, all relevant information is available compactly in one place.

Each tool has a specific function and, in combination, creates a robust audit environment. PLK, the audit logic component, and PLX for evaluation work hand in hand. PLK performs the actual checks of payroll accounting and master data and transfers the results to PLX, where payroll colleagues process them. The audit tools allow thresholds to be defined that warn of unusual retroactive payroll accounting or payments that are too high or too low before they are made. This makes it possible to take a closer look and make corrections if required, before payroll is run.

“The use of PLK/PLX has proven itself over the years and makes a significant contribution to security and calm in the payroll process,”

explains Angela Gerau.

INF and VBT2 for detailed checks

For even more complex audit tasks, Condor uses the specialised tools INF and VBT2. INF evaluates infotypes, fields and field contents in Personnel Administration and enables individual and mass data changes to employee master data either through direct changes or by creating batch inputs. It functions like an extended filter. For example, users can identify employees in partial retirement who also have children, which could be relevant for specific checks in the context of long-term care insurance.

The VBT2 comparison and calculation tool supports Condor in searching for missing infotypes. While missing basic infotypes such as social security or tax immediately lead to payroll errors, there are other important or customer-specific infotypes whose absence could go unnoticed. At Condor, VBT2 uncovers such forgotten setup processes.

Clear communication and usability

There are several providers of audit tools. What Condor values about Centric is its particular closeness to SAP. In other words, the provider knows the ERP system, the data supplied and the updates delivered by SAP in detail and takes them into account in the checks. This ensures that the audit tools are always up to date and compatible with SAP systems.

“Unlike SAP’s often technical language, Centric provides understandable descriptions of the notes that are designed specifically for employees in payroll accounting. The user-friendly wording and the additional information provided, which explains what is being checked and why, make the tools particularly accessible and efficient,”

says Angela Gerau, Quality Manager Payroll

Another decisive advantage for the roughly ten employees in the payroll department is the clear wording of the notes. Angela Gerau emphasises that the tools translate technical language often used by SAP into descriptions that payroll employees can work with efficiently.

Individual adjustment of audit rules

Centric’s audit tools are delivered with standard rules that can then be adapted individually. Condor has made extensive use of this option. Notes that are not relevant to the company, such as child benefit because Condor is not a public authority, are hidden. Duplications of checks already covered by other tools (AAG, EEL, ÜV procedures) are also avoided.

In addition, Condor and the Centric project team have established custom notes, including checks for excessively high payments for certain wage types and the identification of employees who are exempt from social security. Angela Gerau:

“Our specific requirements were also taken into account in the area of the Midijob rules. This shows Centric’s responsiveness and customer focus.”

The quality manager is familiar with the frequent problem that IT and business departments speak different languages. Centric has closed this gap, acting as a translator and resolving customer issues quickly and effectively. The automated checks save the payroll department considerable time and resources. It is also well prepared for regular audits by external auditors, as the tracking and correction of errors are fully documented. This creates trust and confirms the high quality of the payroll accounting processes.