Nick Day is joined on The Payroll Podcast sofa by Joanna Rowland, Director General, Transformation Group at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Joanna is an experienced Director General with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Joanna was also Programme Director for the Making Tax Digital project!

We discuss how HMRC managed to navigate the rapid changes required in response to the COVID pandemic. We discover how, against a backdrop of highly pressurised circumstances, HMRC successfully managed and responded to the many challenges they faced. From CJRS and changing furlough guidance to rapid testing and national legislation rollouts!

This Payroll Podcast relives real-time HMRC events that ultimately led to the creation of new legislation, against extremely tight deadlines, that allowed payroll departments throughout the UK to have the tools, guidance and support required to pay the nation timely and accurately.

We also discuss the broader digital transformation aims of HMRC and explore why the relationship between HMRC and payroll is closer and more critical now than ever before.

In this “HMRC Transforming Payroll in a Pandemic” episode with Joanna Rowland, we explore:

1. Joanna's role within the HMRC
2. An overview of the role HMRC plays in relation to payroll.
3. The challenges HMRC faced in interpreting and producing guidance against a backdrop of pressure and time-sensitive challenges.
4. We explore the role HMRC plays behind the scenes when new policies such as CJRS are developed and launched.
5. On February 26th, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, tweeted that he was incredibly proud of the teams within the HM Treasury and HMRC for the systems set up to help pay people's wages throughout this crisis (which had never been created before), and for stepping up to "every challenge they faced".   We find out more about these challenges and how Joanna and her teams overcame them?
6. We find out what was required to ensure the payroll industry could continue to keep the UK paid!
7. Find out about the HMRC digitisation programme and new initiatives to look forward to.

Useful links from this “HMRC Transforming Payroll in a Pandemic” episode include:

• Joanna Rowland LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-rowland-fapm-97410378/
• HMRC Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs
• Visit the following HMRC links for the latest payroll tax codes, calculations and deductions: PAYE for employers - the basics |