New analysis reframes payroll as a strategic asset instead of a back-office function for organizations pursuing AI transformation at scale. Are organizations ready for AI in payroll?
McKinsey’s latest research indicates that generative AI could contribute $2.6 to $4.4 trillion in annual economic benefits globally. Yet a critical gap threatens to undermine these investments: data readiness. While 72% of leading organizations identify managing data as their top challenge preventing AI from scaling, most overlook the foundational role of payroll data architecture in determining AI success.
Payrollminds today releases a new executive report: “Work Disrupted: The Pay, People & Data Realities No One Talks About.” Drawing from insights across global payroll operations and curated by CEO Bart van der Storm, the analysis challenges prevailing assumptions about enterprise AI readiness and argues that without structural improvements to payroll data architecture, most AI in payroll investments will underperform or fail outright.
The report positions payroll as both strategic risk and latent advantage, representing the largest operational cost for most organizations while touching every employee, making its data infrastructure a critical yet often invisible foundation for AI-enabled transformation.
“AI doesn’t fix fragmentation. It amplifies it,” van der Storm observes. “Organizations that do not control their payroll data structurally, legally, and operationally are not ready to scale AI. Period.”
Key analysis themes
- The readiness gap between AI ambition and operational infrastructure
- The risk of cost-driven transformation without architectural alignment
- The overlooked role of payroll in enabling trust, agility, and workforce intelligence
- A 90-day executive mandate for aligning leadership around foundational readiness
The analysis incorporates perspectives from global payroll leaders, including Rahul Upasani, a seasoned global payroll director with extensive US market experience, and Xavier Meulemans, HRIS Global Mobility Expert and founder, bringing European market insights to the assessment.
Why this matters for C-suite
Generative AI promises significant economic value, but most enterprises remain constrained by fragmented data ecosystems, opaque vendor models, and insufficient ownership of core workforce intelligence. In such conditions, automation creates complexity faster than it creates value. This report offers C-suite and executive teams a diagnostic lens to determine whether their operational architecture can support responsible AI deployment. It includes assessment frameworks across data, systems, and organizational governance, positioning payroll as a litmus test for enterprise AI preparedness.
Access the analysis on AI in payroll
The full executive report on the overlooked foundation of AI in payroll is available for download here.
