3 minute read
Belinda Stewart
Business Engagement Manager at Paypac Payroll Services Pty Ltd
Belinda Stewart is Business Engagement Manager at Paypac Payroll Services and a director of Digital Service Providers Australia New Zealand (DSPANZ), formerly the Australian Business Software
Industry Association.
She has worked most of her career in the payroll industry—she has been with Paypac for almost 20 years—and says handling sensitive personal data, implementing ISO27001 (an international standard for the management of information security) and following her interest led her into a cybersecurity role though what seemed like a natural progression.
“It wasn’t what I set out to do. However I have a great interest in this area and, working in a compliance space, I found a lot of my skills were highly transposable,” she says. “There is always room for growth and learning. In a constantly changing environment you will always be busy with new challenges.
“I find skills I have in other area of business have allowed me to have a well-rounded view and see things from the perspective of an end user as well as a senior management level to understand how controls can be out in place and work effectively.” Stewart says she has always placed great value on keeping employees’ personal details safe and on the importance of privacy and security around this. So her transition into cybersecurity was a natural progression.
IMPROVING CLIENTS’ SECURITY
“I spend most of my time on compliance in the software development space, delivering client solutions for their workforce management, keeping up to date with what is happening in the industry and striving to continually improve our security posture. The favourite part of my role currently is working with clients to provide solutions to streamline their business processes and keep them compliant.”
And she expects the challenges of compliance to become greater in the near future, citing consent around personal data and giving individuals greater visibility into how their personal data is being shared and used as likely developments. “This would open the door for improved and streamlined business processes with greater availability of trusted data and integration of systems even for the smallest of businesses.”
NO REGRETS
Her current role is far from that she envisaged for herself as a teenager—a career in health science—but she has no regrets. “I have found since my career has steered more into this space over the past couple of years, I have really enjoyed the challenges presented and it has given me a new area of interest to pursue. I need to be continually learning and develop my knowledge base to have job satisfaction and working in the cyber space has certainly provided that.”
As a director of DSPANZ, Stewart says she works with her peers at the forefront of business software and application development on both sides of the Tasman. “We work collaboratively with government agencies and the business software industry on major policies and projects that require technologyled solutions and change to business to business or business to government processes.
“By far the biggest benefit would be the shared knowledge and expertise in the business software development space. Through this platform we see great results in government and industry working together to deliver better policy and user experience outcomes.”
SINGLE TOUCH PAYROLL CHALLENGES
Stewart is also heavily involved in the rollout of Single Touch Payroll Phase 2. This is a federal government initiative that the ATO claims will reduce the reporting burden for employers. However it will require them to report the individual components that make up an employee’s pay and all providers of payroll software are making significant changes to their products to meet its requirements.
With all these roles, it is perhaps no surprise Stewart finds time management, task prioritisation and keeping up to date with compliance issues to be her biggest challenges.
How does she maintain a good work/life balance? That, she says, is the million dollar question. “It’s always a juggle as a working mother of two primary school aged children. There is no one size fits all approach. For me, the most important thing right now is flexibility in the workplace to allow me to do my role effectively and still be available and present for my children.”
www.linkedin.com/in/belinda-stewart-c-p-s-27956076
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