It's About Payroll
Brian Escobar and Walter William Duncan III are the hosts of It’s About Payroll. Collectively, they have over 4 decades of experience in the payroll industry. This podcast was created with the intent of sharing their knowledge and attracting new talent to the payroll industry. ItsAboutPayroll.io You can access their LinkedIn profiles. https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/escobarbrian https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/william-duncan-477051187
Episodes
October 26, 2025 • 59 mins
In this Season 14 Review of It’s About Payroll, hosts Brian Escobar and Walter Duncan reflect on one of their most dynamic seasons yet—packed with powerhouse guests, innovation talk, and real-world payroll insights. They open by reframing mindset and language, stressing how positivity and intentional speech shape success. The duo then dives into financial fitness for payroll pros, revealing practical ways to cut costs—like reducing...
Mark as Played
October 20, 2025 • 47 mins
Join us for an inspiring episode of "It's About Payroll" as we sit down with Troy Markusson, a seasoned payroll leader and mentor, to discuss the future of payroll and how to attract the next generation of professionals to this essential field.
In this episode, Troy shares his journey from college intern to payroll innovator, his passion for making payroll "cool," and the importance of purpose, compassion, and curiosity in build...
Mark as Played
October 13, 2025 • 61 mins
In Episode 179 of It’s About Payroll, hosts Brian Escobar and Walter Duncan III sit down with Jim Kohl, a payroll leader whose career bridges compliance, creativity, and comic-book storytelling. Jim shares his origin story—from English major and stand-up comic to Paychex trainee and, eventually, one of the first employees at Check Technologies, where he helped pioneer embedded payroll. Together they explore how this new model integ...
Mark as Played
October 6, 2025 • 50 mins
🚨 Is the tip system broken? 🚨
From underpaid service staff to gender & racial wage gaps, the truth about tipped pay isn’t pretty — and it could all be changing soon.
Episode 178 of It’s About Payroll exposes the real numbers, the hidden biases, and why the future of tipped work might be headed for a total shake-up.
💡 If you’ve ever left a tip — or relied on one — you need to hear this.
🎧 Listen now!
#earnings #PaycheckTr...
Mark as Played
September 27, 2025 • 55 mins
Global payroll leader Kira Rubiano returns to It’s About Payroll—but this time, the conversation goes far beyond payroll. Kira opens up about her courageous battle with breast cancer, her path to remission, and the lessons she’s bringing back into leadership, consulting, and community. From early detection to empathetic leadership, this episode blends professional insights with powerful personal resilience. A must-listen for payrol...
Mark as Played
September 22, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode, we dive deep into the future of payroll, automation, and the impact of AI on the world of work with special guest Brent Skinner—renowned HCM and HR tech analyst, podcast host, and industry thought leader.
Join us as we explore:
What “autonomous payroll” really means and how close we are to letting AI run the show
The evolving role of payroll professionals in an automated world
Why “payroll pilots” (humans) a...
Mark as Played
September 15, 2025 • 52 mins
In this episode of It’s About Payroll, Brian and Walt welcome leadership expert William Davis, author of How to Lead Without Just Managing. With decades of experience in corporate, consulting, and retail leadership, William brings practical insights on what makes leaders truly effective.
The conversation dives into today’s leadership crisis, where 78% of Americans believe organizations are failing. William explains why trust—not j...
Mark as Played
September 8, 2025 • 56 mins
Get ready for an inspiring deep dive into the world of payroll, time tracking, and people-first leadership! In this episode of "It's About Payroll," we sit down with Dean Matthews, visionary CEO and founder of On the Clock—a leading time tracking solution trusted by over 15,000 businesses.
Dean shares his journey from self-taught developer to SaaS leader, revealing how he built On the Clock from the ground up and transformed it ...
Mark as Played
September 5, 2025 • 54 mins
In this gripping It’s About Your Paycheck true-crime episode, we unravel the unbelievable payroll fiasco at Palm Beach Equine Clinic, where a receptionist was mistakenly paid a veterinarian’s $400K salary for nearly a year.
Key Points Covered:
The Error: A third-party payroll provider assigned the wrong salary, and internal controls failed at every level—no alerts, no audits, no red flags caught.
The Fallout: The employ...
Mark as Played
September 1, 2025 • 45 mins
In this lively episode of It’s About Payroll, Brian and Walt welcome UK payroll veteran and Payroll Support Network (PSN) co-founder, Jody Cox. With over 20 years of experience, Jody shares her career journey from finance into payroll leadership, including building a payroll function that supported over 11,000 employees. She reveals how PSN started as a mentoring connection that grew into a thriving community of thousands of payrol...
Mark as Played
August 25, 2025 • 34 mins
🎙️ Welcome to Episode 171 of the It's About Payroll podcast!
This week, hosts Brian and Walt sit down with Sanders Offner, President of Crescent and Impact HR, to explore the evolving world of HR and payroll for small to mid-size businesses.
Sanders shares his journey from starting in a closet to leading a company known for white-glove service, operational expertise, and people-first leadership.
In this episode, you'll l...
Mark as Played
August 18, 2025 • 42 mins
In this powerful episode of It’s About Payroll and It’s About Your Paycheck, Brian and Walt sit down with Marshall Leitz, a seasoned lending expert with over 35 years in commercial finance. Marshall specializes in helping fast-growing businesses unlock working capital through receivables, inventory, and equipment financing—without sacrificing equity.
Marshall breaks down the difference between dilutive vs. non-dilutive capital, ex...
Mark as Played
August 10, 2025 • 31 mins
✅ Summary –
In this episode of It’s About Payroll, hosts Brian and Walter welcome Aaron Martin and Shohan from Rain, a leading Earned Wage Access (EWA) company on a mission to end payday lending and improve financial wellness. Aaron shares how lessons from his father shaped his approach to saving, while Shohan recounts his own experience escaping payday loan cycles. They explain how Rain provides employees with instant access to e...
Mark as Played
August 4, 2025 • 41 mins
🎙️ In It’s About Payroll Episode 168, we’re honored to welcome Dr. Victoria Mattingly (Dr. V)—an organizational psychologist, global keynote speaker, and founder of Mattingly Solutions.
From allyship and mental health to data-driven DEI, Dr. V delivers powerful insights rooted in both lived experience and psychological science.
Her mission?
To make inclusion actionable and allyship a shared responsibility.
✨ In thi...
Mark as Played
July 28, 2025 • 46 mins
🎙️ Episode 167 of It’s About Payroll is here, and we’re going global—literally.
We sat down with John Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Work From Anywhere, to unpack the real challenges behind remote work across borders—and how smart payroll strategy is the key to making it work.
🧭 From managing permanent establishment risk and multi-country tax compliance, to addressing payroll and social security challenges in a world where team...
Mark as Played
July 20, 2025 • 54 mins
🎧 EPISODE 166: The Global Payroll Playbook with Max van der Klis-Busink Podcast: It’s About Payroll Hosts: Brian Escobar & Walt Tynes
This week, we’re honored to welcome Max van der Klis-Busink — global payroll leader, award-winning author of The Global Payroll Manager’s Playbook, and founder of Passion for Payroll & The Payroll Comedian.
Max shares his journey from dreaming about global payroll in Amsterdam to launching a book ...
Mark as Played
July 14, 2025 • 58 mins
Trucking payroll isn’t just complex—it’s a moving target.
In this episode, we sit down with Michael Ritzema, President and Founder of Superior Trucking Payroll Service, to talk about the unique challenges and solutions in the world of transportation compensation. From per diem strategies and IRS Form 945 to misclassification pitfalls and garnishment headaches, Michael shares hard-earned insights from years on the road supportin...
Mark as Played
July 7, 2025 • 51 mins
In this episode of It’s About Payroll, we welcome Michael Steen, Client Solutions Director at Payroll Minds, for a powerful and insightful conversation on the intersection of payroll, leadership, and humanity. Michael shares his nontraditional journey from crisis intervention and mental health to global payroll consulting, and how compassion, personal branding, and listening are his keys to success.
We dive into:
What the fut...
Mark as Played
June 29, 2025 • 75 mins
In this episode, we hit pause to look back and talk through:
✅ What really stood out to us this season
✅ The challenges we navigated behind the scenes
✅ Powerful lessons learned along the way
✅ And most importantly—the amazing guests who brought their wisdom, energy, and heart to every conversation.
From compliance curves to pay transparency, global payroll trends to financial wellness tips, these seasons have been full ...
Mark as Played
June 23, 2025 • 28 mins
In this episode of It’s About Payroll, we’re joined by the brilliant Tiana Neal—a dynamic leader in global payroll and benefits operations, founder of Transcenders Consulting Group, and host of The Human Roll podcast. With deep expertise at the crossroads of compliance, care, and technology, Tiana brings a refreshing and insightful perspective to the evolving relationship between HR and Payroll.
Together, we dive into the essent...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a thought-provoking, opinionated, and topic-driven journey through the top sports stories of the day.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.