Greatest source of pride for Everatt was helping create payroll education
Like so many in payroll, Barry Everatt didn’t start with it as a career path.
While he was working as a programmer, he created what he calls “a cradle to grave” payroll system that eventually ceased to exist because of Y2K. That first brush with payroll kept him in the profession for decades.
“I guess through the programming I had some exposure to payroll and I really found the whole thing interesting in that there was compliance on so many different levels,” he said. “There was labour, there was workers’ comp and you had to provide all these things through collecting the data and I really just found it fascinating.”
While in the early stages of discovering payroll he was looking for some information to corroborate how to do a Record of Employment properly. While searching out that information in the 1970s, he came into contact with Diana Ferguson, the founder of the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), as she was starting the organization.
He’s been involved ever since.
“And until I’m not well enough to do that, or they don’t want me I’ll probably still do it, because I still have a passion for it,” he said.
Everatt chaired the first conference the CPA held at the Royal York in Toronto. He remembers one of the great debates at that first gathering: whether HR should have payroll under it, or whether it should fall in the realm of finance.
“And that still goes on,” he said.
When the organization was first starting up one of the first things that was tackled was education.
“We really wanted see if we could be the body of information that people would go to and eventually have certification, which we do now,” he said.
There were bumps in the road to getting the information in print, including a scuffle over whether the organization should pay a large tab to get the publication translated into French. Everatt fought to have the publication printed in both languages, something he is pleased was done, he said.
The part he played in creating the certification and education materials is something he is especially proud to have been part of, he said.
“If I was looking back at my whole life and what I accomplished it would be the fact that I actually got that education out there and that it actually became fact,” he said. “And that people are now taking those courses in the thousands and that it’s actually having an affect on how much they get paid and it’s now recognized with companies as a standard.”
He still feels excited about the organization and the networking that comes with it. When he attended the national conference in Edmonton in June walking into the event felt familiar, he said.
“It was just like yesterday stepping in there and talking to all these people,” he said.
Now Everatt works with the CPA chapter in Peel Region, located just west of Toronto, where he runs networking events.
“It’s given me back more than I’ve ever given it,” he said.
He also works with members to run an “understand your pay” program that chapter members deliver to students in Grades 10 and 11. They talk to teens about whether getting paid for coffee breaks is mandatory and they go through a pay stub to clarify what deductions are.
“We’re hoping that we can interest school boards in this and get it started across the country,” he said.
It’s an important education initiative because a lot of people don’t really understand what their paycheques mean, he said.
“Many people, not just young people, don’t really understand what their pay is or the rules behind it,” he said. “It just opens their eyes.”
It’s also a chance to show that payroll is a rewarding career option, he said.
“And the other thing is if you had somebody really interested in it they might end up having it as a career.”
While he was working as a programmer, he created what he calls “a cradle to grave” payroll system that eventually ceased to exist because of Y2K. That first brush with payroll kept him in the profession for decades.
“I guess through the programming I had some exposure to payroll and I really found the whole thing interesting in that there was compliance on so many different levels,” he said. “There was labour, there was workers’ comp and you had to provide all these things through collecting the data and I really just found it fascinating.”
While in the early stages of discovering payroll he was looking for some information to corroborate how to do a Record of Employment properly. While searching out that information in the 1970s, he came into contact with Diana Ferguson, the founder of the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), as she was starting the organization.
He’s been involved ever since.
“And until I’m not well enough to do that, or they don’t want me I’ll probably still do it, because I still have a passion for it,” he said.
Everatt chaired the first conference the CPA held at the Royal York in Toronto. He remembers one of the great debates at that first gathering: whether HR should have payroll under it, or whether it should fall in the realm of finance.
“And that still goes on,” he said.
When the organization was first starting up one of the first things that was tackled was education.
“We really wanted see if we could be the body of information that people would go to and eventually have certification, which we do now,” he said.
There were bumps in the road to getting the information in print, including a scuffle over whether the organization should pay a large tab to get the publication translated into French. Everatt fought to have the publication printed in both languages, something he is pleased was done, he said.
The part he played in creating the certification and education materials is something he is especially proud to have been part of, he said.
“If I was looking back at my whole life and what I accomplished it would be the fact that I actually got that education out there and that it actually became fact,” he said. “And that people are now taking those courses in the thousands and that it’s actually having an affect on how much they get paid and it’s now recognized with companies as a standard.”
He still feels excited about the organization and the networking that comes with it. When he attended the national conference in Edmonton in June walking into the event felt familiar, he said.
“It was just like yesterday stepping in there and talking to all these people,” he said.
Now Everatt works with the CPA chapter in Peel Region, located just west of Toronto, where he runs networking events.
“It’s given me back more than I’ve ever given it,” he said.
He also works with members to run an “understand your pay” program that chapter members deliver to students in Grades 10 and 11. They talk to teens about whether getting paid for coffee breaks is mandatory and they go through a pay stub to clarify what deductions are.
“We’re hoping that we can interest school boards in this and get it started across the country,” he said.
It’s an important education initiative because a lot of people don’t really understand what their paycheques mean, he said.
“Many people, not just young people, don’t really understand what their pay is or the rules behind it,” he said. “It just opens their eyes.”
It’s also a chance to show that payroll is a rewarding career option, he said.
“And the other thing is if you had somebody really interested in it they might end up having it as a career.”
