MoD plans "major data cleansing" of its payroll software

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to conduct a "major data cleansing exercise" to improve the performance and accuracy of its payroll software.

Computer Weekly reports that followings a "significant number of errors" in the allowances and services for service personnel given out by the MoD's payroll administration in 2009/10, the MoD is to examine the quality of the data held in its payroll software system.

In the MoD's 2009-2010 Consolidated Departmental Resource Accounts report, under secretary Sir Bill Jeffrey said that there were "concerns over the quality of elements of the underlying data set." Although full details are not readily available, the report and previous cases involving the MoD's payroll software indicates that this refers to inaccurate personal data on military personnel, including their eligibility for benefits, expenses or other important details for proper payroll administration. 

"We still have a number of unresolved issues to do with payments and visibility of data on the numbers of Army Reservists," he said in the report. "As part of plans to address these, the Army will be undertaking a major data cleansing exercise."

According to the report, the MoD has made significant improvements in the error rate of its payroll services. Yet whilst the "catastrophic" errors revealed in 2009 - when nearly £28.9m was overpaid and hundreds of soldiers were underpaid - have largely been resolved, 11% of transactions tested by staff still contained errors in payment of allowances and expenses.

"There remains significant further work to be done to ensure that a robust control environment is established and that processes are sound," concluded the report.