With all of the changes in how we compute payroll files, and all of the additional import and export files that we generate in payroll today, I wonder how many companies have, or will soon, have to put a new department in place, the Payroll Technology Department. For many companies, the current IT Teams of the world handle most of the API and single sign on maintenance. While for some companies, the creation of an HRIS Team has become necessary to maintain the HCM, Payroll, Benefits, On-boarding and Applicant Tracking systems and all of the data feeds that need to happen between them. So it seems only fitting that somewhere along the line, the Payroll Department will become more than just the brilliant folks who know how to calculate the paychecks timely and accurately... They will become system administrators (if they aren't already) who grant access to the employee self-service and time & attendance portals, create API files for benefits administration or financial system, upload CSV files from the expense reimbursement system, benefit system or 401(k) system, and create custom reports using either the payroll reporting system or some portion thereof exported into spreadsheet format. Since we aren't actually pulling out Publication 15 (Circular E) to calculate Federal Income Tax manually anymore, doesn't that automatically make us a type of engineers who are responsible for the accurate input of data in order to generate the accurate end result? And doesn't that make it necessary for us to understand the technology of the payroll world and how it both affects and creates trends in the world of business? And doesn't that already sort of make us all Payroll Technicians or PT Analysts?