ASB Group is pleased to support Global PayFest ’26, the world’s only non-stop, 24-hour global payroll event bringing together 24 in-market experts across 24 countries to discuss the most pressing challenges and transformation themes shaping payroll and HR today. Held during Global Payroll Week, the event follows the sun, from Australia through to Argentina, connecting senior payroll and HR leaders in a single, continuous global conversation.
Global PayFest ’26 is designed for professionals who manage complexity at scale and need practical, market-tested insight, whether they lead payroll operations, oversee HR strategy, or drive global workforce decisions at C‑suite level. The format reflects the reality of multi-country payroll: local rules, local risk, local execution, yet increasing expectations around governance, transparency, and strategic reporting across the organisation.
ASB session: “Pay(roll) Transparency: Today and Tomorrow”
As part of the programme, ASB Group will lead a session titled “Pay(roll) Transparency: Today and Tomorrow”, featuring Klara Cowan, Group Payroll Director, who will focus on Gender Pay Gap considerations and the implications of the EU Pay Transparency Directive for payroll functions. Pay transparency is quickly becoming part of the job for payroll teams, not because it’s trendy, but because it changes the questions organisations must be ready to answer and it raises expectations around how pay data is collected, checked, and communicated.
Klara commented: The real risk with pay transparency is that many organizations are underestimating it - treating it as a simple requirement when they’re not prepared for what it actually demands. In practice, most issues don’t come from pay levels themselves, but from unclear job architecture, inconsistent data, and the lack of a shared definition of what truly comparable roles actually means. And once transparency requirements kick in, those gaps don’t stay hidden - they become visible from payroll data. That’s why transparency is not something you prepare for at the end. It’s something you build into your data, your processes, and your pay structures from the start.
We look forward to contributing to a global discussion that elevates payroll as a function at the centre of compliance, cost, and employee trust - and to sharing practical perspectives on what pay transparency means for payroll teams in the months ahead.
More about the event: Global PayFest 2026
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