Payroll Specialist, Americas

Morningstar’s Corporate Finance team plays an essential role in supporting our company’s strategic initiatives, day-to-day operations, and long-term financial health and growth. Our Payroll team plays a critical role in maintaining employee satisfaction and trust by ensuring employee are being compensated accurately and on time. Maintaining compliance with tax regulations and labor laws is also an important role of this group. The team works collaboratively with our internal and external partners to expertly execute payroll processes and to continuously improve.

The Role:

Morningstar is looking for a Global Payroll Specialist to join our Canada Finance team, who will play an integral role in all aspects of Canadian Payroll: administering and processing Canadian payroll for 900+ employees and ensuring payroll is completed accurately, on time and in accordance with applicable legislation, organizational policies and procedures. This position also completes administrative activities relating to pension/benefit requirements, monthly/year-end reconciliations and reporting, and also journal entries and Sarbanes-Oxley Act(“SOX”) compliance. This full-time position reports to the Payroll Manager and will be based in Chicago.

The Responsibilities:

• Preparation and processing of semi-monthly payrolls for salaried and hourly employees in accordance with applicable legislation and SOX requirements defined for the Canada payroll process.
• Adjust, maintain and process payroll data pertaining to wage increases, leaves of absence, return from leave, and top ups, etc. using ADP Workforce Now (“WFN”) application.
• Responsible for the administration and reconciliation of benefits: enrolments, additions, deletions, terminations to maintain accurate records.
• Administer workflow to ensure all payroll transactions (timesheets, on call hours, on call premium) are captured and processed accurately and timely.
• Responsible for importing the inbound integration files into ADP for pension and benefit changes
• Assist in year-end reports and reconciliations i.e.T4’s, T4A’s ,EHT, RL-1, CNESST etc.
• Investigate and resolve payroll issues with HR regarding new hires, onboarding missing information, terminations, renumeration etc.
• Responds to employee inquiries regarding the pay, pension and benefit programs in a professional and timely manner
• Assist in month end duties as required – preparing journal entries, accruals, ensuring all entries are reconciled to payroll reports.
• Assist with any payroll audits that may arise because of regulatory, internal and external audits
• Performs other duties that may be required or assigned from time to time.

The Qualifications:

• 2+ years of progressive payroll and benefits experience with mid-large sized company.
• Canadian payroll knowledge a plus
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite (Intermediate in MS Excel- VLOOKUP, Pivot etc.)
• Working experience with ADP WFN payroll software
• A desire and openness to learn and grow within the role and team
• Ability to adapt well to change
• Ability to collaborate effectively within cross-functional teams and contribute to a positive, team-oriented work environment
• Ability to deal with people sensitively, tactfully, diplomatically, and professionally at all times
• Ability to follow guidelines and strong attention to detail and accuracy in all aspects of the position
• Ability to handle and prioritize a wide variety of tasks accurately and efficiently in a fast-paced environment
• Well organized, detail minded with a mathematical aptitude and analytical skills

Compensation and Benefits

At Morningstar we believe people are at their best when they are at their healthiest. That’s why we champion your wellness through a wide range of programs that support all stages of your personal and professional life. Here are some examples of the offerings we provide:

• Financial Health

  • 100% 401k match up to 6% of salary

  • Stock Ownership Potential

  • Company provided life insurance - 1x salary + commission

• Physical Health 

  • Comprehensive health benefits (medical/dental/vision) including potential premium discounts and company-provided HSA contributions (up to $500-$2,000 annually) for specific plans and coverages

  • Additional medical Wellness Incentives - up to $300-$600 annual

  • Company-provided long- and short-term disability insurance

• Emotional Health 

  • Trust-Based Time Off

  • 6-week Paid Sabbatical Program

  • 6-Week Paid Family Caregiving Leave

  • Competitive 8-24 Week Paid Parental Leave

  • Adoption Assistance

  • Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities

  • Annual Flex Stipend - $1000 annually to cover personal education & well-being expenses

  • Tuition Reimbursement

• Social Health 

  • Charitable Matching Gifts program

  • Dollars for Doers volunteer program

  • Paid volunteering days

  • 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups

Total Cash Compensation Range

Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive

Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.