MYOB Suffers Payroll Reporting Glitch

Australian small business cloud accounting company MYOB was managing a system glitch last week after it confirmed hundreds of payroll reports known as group certificates or payment summaries were sent to the wrong recipients.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday (July 4) that MYOB confirmed a technical glitch had forced the company to shutter some of its systems the week prior. The firm reported a “small number of system issues” that sent 220 payment summaries to the wrong person, potentially exposing sensitive employee data.

The payment summaries, also known as group certificates, break down the gross wages, tax and allowances an employee received during the fiscal year, which ended June 30.

“We immediately switched off all outgoing payment summary emails to ensure no further incidents occurred, [and] worked methodically to both rectify the glitch and check the emails in the backlog to ensure no further errors,” a spokesperson for the company said, according to reports, which added that MYOB is collaborating with the Australian Taxation Office and information commissioner to resolve the matter.

MYOB contacted users affected by the glitch to help them securely dispose of any payment summary emails sent to them in error, as well as to contact employees whose payment summaries were sent to the wrong person to help them protect their identity and personal information.

Although 220 payment summaries were incorrectly sent, MYOB shuttered some of its systems for all customers. One professional, Helen Evans, a business manager at Toro Wines, told the publication that she was “absolutely livid” with MYOB over the glitch. She also noted that she has previously experienced problems with MYOB’s bulk email service, as well as its payments platform.

Another professional, entrepreneur Geoff Rudd, said MYOB shuttered email service for all users in response to the glitch, leading to a “mess” in the last few days of the fiscal year.

Last month, Square experienced a similar glitch that led to receipts being sent to the wrong recipients from its POS solution.