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Global payroll, time & HR transformation

Transformation, done by people who’ve done it before.

Independent, solution-agnostic consultancy since 2017. We fix, transform and govern payroll and workforce operations so your business stays profitable and compliant.

Lara Smart delivering The Payroll Playbook keynote

Understand first. Then transform.

2017Established
2×Consultant of the Year
0Vendor ties

The problem

Is your operation held back by systems and processes that need overhauling?

Most businesses lose money through operational weaknesses they’ve learned to live with. Swapping vendors or buying new tech rarely fixes them. Redesigning the operating model does.

Fix the operating model, not just the tech.

01Technology & integrations
02Business processes
03Target operating model
04Data & controls
05Mergers & acquisitions
06Vendor management & supply chains
07Governance & compliance
08Metrics
09Change management
10AI & automation readiness

What we do

Four flexible services, tailored to where you are.

1

Remediation

Projects in trouble? An assessment and re-baseline to get delivery back on track.

2

Programme & project management

Governance, planning and controls that speed delivery up rather than slowing it down.

3

Transformation & RFX

From strategy and requirements through global tender to business case and implementation.

4

Consulting

Payroll health checks, maturity baselines and global HR, payroll and T&A strategy.

How we work

Start with the problem, not the solution.

1

Identify

Define the real problem before anyone talks about software.

2

Fact find

Get the real data, not assumptions. Friction is a data point.

3

Analyse

Explore the options and tools that help. They needn’t cost a lot.

4

Implement

Make the change stick and the business ready to run it.

Free download

Is your payroll ready for AI? Score yourself out of 125.

AI on messy payroll data just gives you the wrong answer faster. The LSC Group AI Readiness Scorecard checks the foundations first: 25 questions across the five areas that decide whether AI will work in your payroll.

Download the scorecard
1Data readinessIs your payroll data clean, consistent and accessible?
2TechnologyCan your systems support AI, or will they hold it back?
3Process maturityAre your processes consistent enough to automate?
4People & skillsDoes your team have the skills and ownership?
5Strategy & governanceIs AI tied to your goals and governed responsibly?

Free tools & guides

More practical tools for payroll and transformation leaders.

Understand where you are before you change anything. Each guide is free, practical and built from real global payroll programmes.

Payroll Health Check cover

Free download

Payroll Health Check

How healthy is your payroll, really? 30 questions across six areas, scored out of 150.

Buying Payroll Software cover

Free download

Buying Payroll Software

A five-stage RFP and vendor selection blueprint, with 28 checks and the red flags to avoid.

Transformation Readiness Checklist cover

Free download

Transformation Readiness Checklist

Ten lessons for your next transformation as a 29-point pre-launch checklist.

See all free resources →

Insights

Practical thinking on payroll & transformation

All insights →
Lara Smart presenting to payroll leaders
AI & data · Oct 2026

AI won’t fix messy payroll data. It just gets it wrong faster.

 Lara Smart delivering a keynote
Transformation · Oct 2026

70% of transformations fail. Ten lessons for your next one.

 Audience at a payroll transformation talk
Governance · Oct 2026

Governance should speed you up, not slow you down.
As featured with activpayroll Reward Strategy Global Payroll Alliance Professional Magazine
Lara Smart presenting to a room of payroll leaders

Meet the founder

Lara Smart

ChFCIPPdip, WCoMC · Founder & Chief Problem Solver

Lara has led global payroll, time and HR transformation since 2012. She’s a two-time global award winner, named in the Reward 300, a judge for The Reward Awards, a non-executive director and a regular speaker on the future of pay and AI.

She works with a trusted network of experienced consultants across HR, payroll, workforce and technology. No junior teams learning on the job, just practitioners who’ve done it before.

Recognition & speaking

Trusted by the industry, on stage and behind the scenes.

Lara Smart receiving Payroll Consultant of the Year
Payroll Consultant of the YearAward winner
Lara Smart receiving the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants
Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Management ConsultantsCity of London · January 2025
Lara Smart on a panel at the Reward & Payroll summit
Panellist, Reward & Payroll summitInsourcing vs outsourcing · 2026

Awards, memberships & accreditations

Global Payroll Awards 2025 – Payroll Consultant of the Year winner Global Payroll Awards 2024 – Payroll Consultant of the Year winner CIPP Fellow Member CIPP Chartered Member Member of the 2025 Reward 300 The Worshipful Company of Management Consultants University of Oxford Saïd Business School PRINCE2 Practitioner AgilePM Practitioner Change Management Practitioner

Watch & listen

Talks, podcasts & interviews

Keynote · NeeyamoLive

The Payroll Playbook: a buyer’s blueprint for global payroll transformation

Watch → Talk show · Payzaar Plug & Pay, Ep 41

The smart way to achieve flexibility in global payroll

Watch → Video · mywage

What are the key challenges when implementing new payroll software?

Watch → Podcast · Women in Payroll

Lara Smart, payroll transformation consultant

Listen →

Clarity before change

Not sure where to start? Let’s talk it through.

Book a call
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