Audit of payroll and ways of its improvement

Relevance of the article. In many countries of the world and Ukraine, during the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, production fell, productivity fell, the number of workers decreased, and the unemployment rate increased, both in Ukraine and in the world. Therefore, this will affect the change in the structure of production and the system of remuneration. It should be noted that the formation of an effective incentive structure, the organization of its accounting depends on the timeliness and quality of work, production efficiency, production costs and many other aspects. Therefore, there is no doubt about the relevance of audit issues on remuneration and ways of solving them, but on the contrary, this topic requires special attention. Formulation of the problem. Analyzing the methods of auditing payroll accounting by experts, we found that the methodology for auditing payroll at the theoretical and practical levels does not exist, which is explained by different methods of determining the purpose of the audit. In this case, the main thing to consider is the use of continuous verification methods for organizing a payroll audit, as well as the possible use of selective and combined methods. Although the issue of audit of wages is the subject of research by many scientists, the question of the practical application of the method of audit of wages of a Ukrainian enterprise remains relevant. Analysis of recent studies and publications, which began to solve this problem. The works of famous scientists cover research on topical issues related to the accounting and audit of wages, namely: F. F. Butinets, M. D. Vedernikov, Yu. A. Veriga, Ya. D. Krupko, V. N. Goncharov, Z. V. Gutsaylyuk, O. V. Dodonov, Z. V. Zadorozhny, A. M. Kolot, T. A. Kostyshina, T. G. Melnik, M. S. Pushkar, V. V. Sopko, P. L. Suk, I. D. It should be mentioned that although scientists have done a lot of work, there are many questions that are worth discussing. For example, improving employee remuneration, automating payroll, controlling pay, etc. Research assignment. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been set: study the main practical issues of audit of wages, generalization of practical experience and determine the direction and method of solving this problem in Ukraine. Application area. The results of this study can be used at Ukrainian enterprises for the audit of payroll calculations, as well as in the educational process when teaching the discipline "Labor Economics and Socio-Economic Relations", "Audit". Conclusions. This article notes the nature of a payroll audit. Audit objects are listed. The most important task of checking the calculation of workers' wages has been determined. Based on the results of the audit, typical violations of wage accounting were formulated. The type of liability for non-compliance with the law is indicated. Possible methods for resolving typical accounting violations are listed.