VALUGUARD Payroll Advisory
Identify · Quantify · Control
Risk Intelligence for CFOs

Payroll Stability Index™ Snapshot

A free preliminary read on your organization's payroll risk exposure across five governance pillars. Designed for CFOs, controllers, and PE operating partners who need a defensible read before commissioning a full diagnostic.

5
Governance Pillars
15
Risk Indicators
8min
To Complete
0–100
PSI Score

What you'll receive

A composite 0–100 PSI Snapshot Score, a band rating per pillar, executive-level interpretation of where your exposure concentrates, and a downloadable branded summary you can share with your CFO peer or board. The Snapshot is the preliminary read — the full PSI™ Stability Assessment delivers a 0–100 score across 47 control checkpoints, dollar-denominated exposure ranges, peer-cohort benchmarking, and a board-ready findings pack.

Skip — Book a Consultation Directly

No commitment. No sales call. Results delivered immediately to your inbox. Confidential by default.

Step 1 — About You

Tell us where to send your results.

Your Snapshot results are delivered immediately to your inbox as a branded PDF summary you can forward, save, or bring to a board conversation. Confidential by default — your information is never sold or shared.

Step 2 — Quick Context

Five quick calibration questions.

These help us interpret your Snapshot against the right peer cohort. Answer based on your current operating environment.

Pillar 01
Compliance Integrity
Exposure to external regulatory authorities — federal and state tax filings, FLSA classification, multi-state nexus, and the statutory obligations that can act against the company.
Pillar 02
Financial Accuracy
Whether every dollar paid, deducted, accrued, and reported through payroll matches the company's financial reality — and whether that reality is defensible to the CFO, auditor, and board.
Pillar 03
Operational Continuity
The durability and scale-tolerance of the payroll operation itself — whether it would continue running cleanly through turnover, growth, acquisition, or system migration.
Pillar 04
Governance & Controls
The control architecture that prevents unauthorized, erroneous, or fraudulent payroll activity from reaching paid status — and the audit trail that defends every dollar that did.
Pillar 05
Technology & Data Security
The integrity, security, and architectural soundness of the systems that process payroll data — and the controls protecting the sensitive personal and financial information moving through them.
Your PSI Snapshot
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Pillar Breakdown

Industry Benchmark

What These Findings Cost Comparable Companies

Your Snapshot identifies where risk lives in your payroll. These ranges show what it costs when it surfaces. All figures reflect 2024 enforcement actions, audit data, and breach reports from primary sources. The PSI™ Stability Assessment quantifies your specific exposure against your headcount, multi-state footprint, and ownership profile.

Pillar 01 · Compliance Integrity
Worker misclassification (W-2 vs 1099)
$50,000 – $1,500,000+per settlement

DOL Wage and Hour Division consent judgments against mid-market employers in FY2024 ranged from low six figures into the low seven figures, with a six-year look-back available under willful FLSA violations.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division Enforcement Data, FY2024

Pillar 01 · Compliance Integrity
Unregistered SUI/SIT in remote-work states
$5,000 – $25,000per state, per year

Penalty exposure when an employer fails to register for state unemployment insurance and income tax withholding in a jurisdiction where a remote employee created nexus — compounded across every unregistered state and every open quarter under statute.

Sources: California EDD Penalty Reference Chart (DE 231EP), PayrollOrg multi-state guidance

Pillar 02 · Financial Accuracy
Form 941 reconciliation failures
2% – 100%of unpaid liability

IRS failure-to-deposit penalties graduate from 2% to 15% of underpaid amounts depending on days late. Uncorrected trust fund discrepancies expose responsible officers personally to a 100% Trust Fund Recovery Penalty on the withheld portion.

Sources: IRS Failure to Deposit Penalty, IRS Trust Fund Recovery Penalty guidance

Pillar 04 · Governance & Controls
SOX 404 payroll material weakness
$500,000 – $1,500,000incremental audit fees / year

Disclosed payroll-related material weaknesses in internal controls carry significant incremental audit fees in the disclosure year, with a documented 21–32% fee premium persisting into years three and four after remediation.

Source: Audit Analytics 2024 Audit Fees Report

Pillar 05 · Technology & Data Security
Payroll PII data breach
$189 / record · $9.36M / incidentUS average

IBM/Ponemon’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024 shows US incidents averaged $9.36 million per breach at $189 per compromised employee record. Employee PII accounted for 40% of all breached records.

Source: IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024

What this Snapshot is — and what it isn't

This Snapshot is a preliminary read across 15 indicators. The full PSI™ Stability Assessment deepens the assessment to 47 control checkpoints, returns a defensible composite score, and produces a board-ready report including:

  • Dollar-denominated exposure ranges for each material finding
  • Peer-cohort benchmarking by industry, scale, and ownership profile
  • Prioritized findings pack with recommended next step with owners
  • Audit-ready documentation pack for your next external review
Book a 15-Min Confidential Read

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