About this episode

In this episode, Shala Druin discusses the critical importance of payroll in business and compliance, urging organizations to stop viewing it as mere overhead.

In this episode, we sit down with Shala Druin — Founder of Strategic Payroll Solutions, Certified Payroll Professional, and one of the payroll industry's fastest-rising thought leaders — to have the conversation that every C-suite needs to hear. Payroll isn't a back-office function. It's one of the most critical compliance and business risk drivers in your entire organization. And if you're still treating it as overhead, you may already be exposed to risks you don't even know about. 💥 In this episode, we cover: Why payroll being "boring" is actually the sign it's working — and how to leverage that The real cost of understaffing your payroll department (hint: it can reach millions) A real-world story of a company facing a $2M IRS bill — and how it was fixed How to get payroll a seat at the executive table (even if you report to HR) AI in payroll: what's exciting, what's dangerous, and how to test it properly Why the next big payroll title might be Chief Payroll Officer How to advocate for yourself and your team when no one else will 🎙️ About Shala Druin: Shala is the Founder of Strategic Payroll Solutions, a trusted advisor to CFOs and CHROs, and a certified payroll professional…

More episodes of It's About Payroll

• What Season 17 Taught Us About Payroll’s Future · July 21, 2026 · 50 min
• The $18,000 Payroll Mistake: What Would You Do? · July 8, 2026 · 39 min
• True Payroll Crime Stories: Shady Business in the Sunshine State · July 1, 2026 · 41 min
• AI Is Coming for Payroll, but Not How You Think · June 23, 2026 · 42 min
• Jim O'Connor's Playbook for Fixing America's Broken Benefits System · June 15, 2026 · 40 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the It's About Payroll podcast page.