Payroll administration is one of the most common accounting professions, next to public accounting and bookkeeping. Payroll administrators ensure that employees are paid on time at the correct amounts, taxes are withheld and paid accurately, benefits and subsequent taxes are properly computed, and proper forms are filed with various state and federal agencies. These professionals are vital to the accounting department, especially in manufacturing and service-oriented industries were employees and labor-related costs are a company's biggest expense. Payroll administration programs seek to prepare students for their responsibilities as they relate to employee benefits, compensation, and taxation.

A student enrolled in one of many payroll administration programs available in the U.S. can expect to cover a great deal of information in the short time they are a student. Topics covered range from simply completed required government forms such as W-2, 1099, and other required forms for state and local governments to calculating pay and income tax withholdings. More advanced topics include benefit taxation, involuntary deductions, Department of Labor requirements, and more complex legal regulations. In short, these students learn about basic accounting, gain a basic understanding of Human Resources, as well as dealing with legal documentation and government reporting.

As a payroll administrator, these students must learn how to become well-versed in a variety of business areas. In addition to learning about human resources and legal compliance, students must also learn how to evaluate payroll metrics, implement improved processes, and find ways to reduce the cost of payroll through computerized technology. In effect, payroll administration programs expose students to a little bit of everything in terms of business education. They learn business law, accounting, human resources, business management, and other key business areas relative to the industry in which they work. In many cases, the payroll department is a key link between each separate area of a business.

Completing payroll administration programs can take as little as 18 months or as long as four years, depending on the student's choice in terms of degree options. There are diploma or certificate programs, associate degrees, as well as bachelor and graduate degrees that each focus on teaching students the challenging aspects of payroll administration. In fact, truly industrious students may choose to continue their education on into doctoral studies. Doctoral-level business studies at many universities include concentrations which allow payroll-related professionals to increase their knowledge to the point of being able to teach others about the field.