Our staff spotlight this month is Suzanne Goodeier-Dodson! Suzanne explains her role as Payroll Clerk here at The Accountancy Partnership.

Give an overview of the duties, functions and responsibilities of your job.

I have my own assigned clients so it’s very varied! We are responsible for all aspects of running payroll for our clients, from small director-only companies to those with dozens of people working for them.

We offer support with all stages of the process, from ensuring a smooth setup, getting the employees correctly paid each month, dealing with HMRC, and even the cessation process when necessary.

What is a typical working day like for you?

One of the things I enjoy is that we have such a variety of clients in so many different industries, there’s no such thing as a typical day! I’ll generally be straight on my email inbox, checking for anything urgent first, and then get cracking with queries from my clients on a first-come first-served basis.

This means that I rarely know what the day is going to have in store. It could be making a reclaim from HMRC, explaining tax calculations to the director of a company, or corresponding with the Pensions Regulator.

I also have to check my calendar for any meetings or pro-active work that needs to be completed for my clients to make sure any deadlines are met.

What particular challenges do you regularly encounter?

Covid has presented a huge challenge to all businesses over the past couple of years. Keeping up our usual service, as well as supporting staff members who have had to go off sick has been tricky.

On top of this, there’s been the extra work involved in supporting our clients through the pandemic, with the furlough scheme and guidance from the government changing daily at times, so it has certainly been a challenge!

What are some of the biggest challenges faced by your clients?

A lot of our clients are new start-ups, and there’s an awful lot to get your head around at the beginning! It probably feels like they are bombarded with information sometimes, but we try to guide them through everything as smoothly as possible and are on hand for any questions.

How are you able to use your skills to solve problems for them?

I’ve got a background in Mathematics so I’m used to thinking logically, which can definitely help at times. It’s also important to have empathy and try to be understanding of clients’ points of view to help them get the answers they need.
 

What is your favourite part of the job?

As we are in contact with some of the clients every month, there’s lots of opportunities to build up good relationships with them. It’s really nice to interact with so many different people on a regular basis.

We’re also a really close-knit team here in payroll, and at TAP in general, which makes the days fly by.

What do you like most about working for The Accountancy Partnership?

The team! As I said, we all get on really well and everyone has different skills and strengths. It’s great when we can all work together and feel like we’ve done a really good job on something.

What skills do you find most useful to do your job?

Being really organised is very important here, and attention to detail. We have to understand that no query is too small because people are relying on us for their wages to be paid correctly.

Where’s your favourite place to visit on days off?

We’re spoilt for choice here on the Wirral. There’s countryside close by for walks and Liverpool just over the water for when we fancy shopping or a night out. I also love live music so can often be found at a local venue called Future Yard here in Birkenhead.

Tell us about your proudest achievement.

Completing my degree in maths was really hard at times, so I’m very proud of that!

How would your colleagues describe you?

Sarcastic at times! But hopefully caring too.

What are you reading/binge watching at the moment?

I’ve finally got around to watching After Life on Netflix and it lives up to the hype. I also loved the recent Dune movie, so I’m giving the book a go at the moment (when I’m not reading course material from the Chartered Institute Payroll Professionals).

Who do you admire, and why?

It’s a bit cheesy but my mum is a great role model to me, my number one supporter and occasional counsellor.

What question would you really like to answer, and what’s the answer?!

Another coffee? The answer is always yes!
 
Find out more about the services we offer by hitting the live chat button, or get an instant quote online. Interested in joining the team? Check out our recruitment page!