Forensic payroll modelling uncovers wage discrepancies
KordaMentha was engaged by a national hospitality provider to investigate and quantify employee underpayments. Our forensic data analytics team collaborated with legal advisors and payroll providers to identify discrepancies, refine rostering, and support remediation efforts.
Related Industries
Leisure, Gaming & HospitalityFollowing a competitive tender, KordaMentha’s Forensic Data Analytics team was appointed by a hospitality services provider to investigate potential employee underpayments across multiple functions.
The engagement aimed to identify, prioritise and quantify wage discrepancies, and determine the underlying causes of non-compliance.
Working closely with legal advisors, client stakeholders and third-party payroll providers, we interpreted complex employment instruments and processed extensive payroll data for more than 20,000 employees over a six-year period.
How we helped
Our team developed tailored forensic payroll models to recalculate entitlements, assess superannuation contributions and support remediation submissions to the ATO.
This ongoing engagement continues to deliver insights and recommendations that support compliance, transparency and operational improvement.
We applied forensic data analytics to support the client’s investigation into wage compliance.
Our team:
- Interpreted and aligned EBAs, Awards and payroll structures for modelling purposes
- Extracted, cleansed and processed employee records across Australia
- Developed customised payroll models to recalculate entitlements and assess superannuation
- Conducted better-off assessments based on employee rosters
- Identified and submitted superannuation shortfalls to the ATO
- Delivered findings and recommendations to senior stakeholders
Outcomes acheived
- Wage discrepancies identified: Underpayments and overpayments were quantified across multiple employee groups.
- Superannuation shortfalls remediated: Shortfalls were calculated and submitted to the ATO for resolution.
- Rostering refined: Employee rosters were reviewed and adjusted to support compliance.
- Instrument interpretation clarified: Complex EBAs and Awards were analysed to support accurate entitlements.
- Data integrity improved: Payroll and roster data were cleansed and standardised across systems.
- Root causes identified: Historical remuneration errors were traced to specific structural and process issues.
