Payroll Specialist Mock Interview

Practice 34 Payroll Specialist interview questions covering compliance, tax regulations, and payroll systems.

Question 25 of 34

What is retro pay?

How to Answer
Entry Level
General
Experienced
Community Answers

Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.

This basic question will allow the interviewer to gauge your level of experience and knowledge in payroll. It will also show the interviewer your ability to explain an accounting-related term in a way that anyone can understand. People can clearly explain concepts they genuinely understand, after all! Your response should be straightforward and to the point.

Christine Pasqueretta

Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.

"Retro pay happens when an employee receives a pay increase. In this instance, there is a date the new rate of pay begins. Sometimes this is not communicated to payroll in time for the new paycheck cycle, so we 'retro pay' the employee for wages that should have been received at the newly updated pay rate."

Rachelle Enns

Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.

"Retro pay is retroactive payment for a service or work, typically when payment is overlooked or an error takes place. Retro pay will correct the payment and make the change retroactive to the appropriate effective date."

Carrie Nelson

Carrie is a Human Resource and Payroll consultant with 25 years of experience.

Retroactive pay is a sum of money owed to an employee for work done in the past. This might occur after a mistake is made in payroll or if the employee did not complete a previous timesheet properly. It might also occur if an employee was promised a raise and the payroll department was not informed properly before a previous payroll was run.

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34Payroll Specialist Interview Questions & Answers

Experience

1.Give me examples of the payroll reports you have prepared.

Experience

2.What is the largest payroll run you have been in charge of?

Problem Solving

3.Describe to me any payroll process that you have developed or revised.

Problem Solving

4.What cost-cutting measure have you been in charge of implementing?

Diligence

5.How do you remain up-to-date on payroll rules and techniques?

Direct

6.Walk me through your payroll experience.

Discovery

7.How did you get started in a payroll-related career?

Experience

8.Tell me about the payroll forecasting you have been responsible for.

Direct

9.Why are you interested in this Payroll Specialist position?

Diligence

10.What information do you require before you approve payroll?

Entry Level

11.What courses did you enjoy most while completing your accounting/payroll education?

Compatibility

12.What are the most important attributes a Payroll Specialist should have?

Salary

13.What are your salary expectation?

Diligence

14.How would you familiarize yourself with our payroll system?

Competency

15.How do you ensure that payroll is paid correctly and on time?

Competency

16.Describe a typical payroll day in your current position.

Direct

17.What is a general ledger?

Scenario Based

18.Each of our buildings has a designated payroll timekeeper that reports biweekly. Two reports are late. How would you approach this situation?

Diligence

19.We spend considerable time editing our timesheets to ensure no errors are present. How do you approach finding and fixing an error?

Tough

20.Would you ever pay an employee through accounts payable rather than payroll?

Career Goals

21.What are your future plans with the company?

Direct

22.What is a fiscal year?

Experience

23.Have you performed bookkeeping for small businesses? If so, walk me through your experience.

Career Goals

24.Do you plan to open up your own accounting or payroll firm?

Direct

25.What is retro pay?

Direct

26.What information do you need to properly set up an employee into a payroll system?

Experience

27.How does higher management benefit from payroll reports?

Experience

28.What experience do you have implementing a new payroll system?

Experience

29.Have you had responsibility for state and federal tax payments?

Experience

30.Can you describe the use of forms W2, W4, and 941?

Experience

31.Describe your familiarity with the administration of 403b and 457 plans.

Communication

32.What have you done to improve your written and verbal communication skills?

Scenario Based

33.There are times when we are placed under extreme pressure on the job. Tell about a time when you were under such pressure and how you handled it.

Behavioral

Payroll Specialist Mock Interview

What is retro pay?

34Payroll Specialist Interview Questions & Answers

1.Give me examples of the payroll reports you have prepared.

2.What is the largest payroll run you have been in charge of?

3.Describe to me any payroll process that you have developed or revised.

4.What cost-cutting measure have you been in charge of implementing?

5.How do you remain up-to-date on payroll rules and techniques?

6.Walk me through your payroll experience.

7.How did you get started in a payroll-related career?

8.Tell me about the payroll forecasting you have been responsible for.

9.Why are you interested in this Payroll Specialist position?

10.What information do you require before you approve payroll?

11.What courses did you enjoy most while completing your accounting/payroll education?

12.What are the most important attributes a Payroll Specialist should have?

13.What are your salary expectation?

14.How would you familiarize yourself with our payroll system?

15.How do you ensure that payroll is paid correctly and on time?

16.Describe a typical payroll day in your current position.

17.What is a general ledger?

18.Each of our buildings has a designated payroll timekeeper that reports biweekly. Two reports are late. How would you approach this situation?

19.We spend considerable time editing our timesheets to ensure no errors are present. How do you approach finding and fixing an error?

20.Would you ever pay an employee through accounts payable rather than payroll?

21.What are your future plans with the company?

22.What is a fiscal year?

23.Have you performed bookkeeping for small businesses? If so, walk me through your experience.

24.Do you plan to open up your own accounting or payroll firm?

25.What is retro pay?

26.What information do you need to properly set up an employee into a payroll system?

27.How does higher management benefit from payroll reports?

28.What experience do you have implementing a new payroll system?

29.Have you had responsibility for state and federal tax payments?

30.Can you describe the use of forms W2, W4, and 941?

31.Describe your familiarity with the administration of 403b and 457 plans.

32.What have you done to improve your written and verbal communication skills?

33.There are times when we are placed under extreme pressure on the job. Tell about a time when you were under such pressure and how you handled it.

34.If an employee called in with a payroll complaint, how would you handle it?