Minnesota State payroll problems grew after Workday launch, auditors say
(2026/04/08)
- Reference: 1775667317
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/04/08/minnesota_workday_payroll/
- Source link:
A Workday-based HR platform rollout at Minnesota State universities and colleges likely left more than a thousand faculty and staff with payroll errors.
According to [1]a report [PDF] from the Office of the Legislative Auditor, a test sample of 202 faculty members showed 19 had been inaccurately paid. Additional testing identified another 38 faculty members who Minnesota State paid inaccurately. The auditors' report also found issues with late pay.
Minnesota State is the fourth-largest system of state colleges and universities in the US, working across 54 campuses. It serves around 270,000 students and employs more than 14,200 faculty and staff.
[2]
Even the lower estimate of a nine percent error rate might mean 1,278 members of staff had been affected by incorrect payments.
[3]
[4]
In 2019, Minnesota State began the procurement to replace its legacy ERP system, Integrated Statewide Record System (ISRS), with new software that combines finance, HR/payroll, and student components, and "streamlines processes and procedures across all campuses," according to the audit document.
However, the state realized "it might not be able to find one system that could provide all of the desired functionality."
[5]
"Consequently, one of the functions that was not incorporated into the Workday system was the capability to calculate faculty payroll," the document states.
As a result, Minnesota State continues to use a combination of Workday, its legacy payroll system, and a Statewide Employee Management (SEMA4) system to create pay distribution records and paychecks.
The auditors claim Minnesota State had been aware of faculty payroll issues before the implementation of Workday. However, the issues actually increased after the new software was introduced. "For instance, there were interface issues with transferring data between ISRS and Workday," the report says.
[6]
The initial project budget for the integration and implementation was $151.1 million. Following the contract award to Workday in 2020, Minnesota State increased that to $242.7 million. The plan was for HR and payroll to go live in July 2023 with the student component arriving in fall 2026.
"Due to additions to the scope of the project, extended timeline costs, and additional contingency funds, Minnesota State increased the total project budget to $290.4 million as of November 2024. Minnesota State also moved the implementation dates to July 2024 for the finance and HR/payroll components and fall 2029 for the full implementation of the student component," the report states.
The Register has asked Minnesota State and Workday for comment.
[7]Workday CEO's AI talk can't shake off weaker sales forecast
[8]Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach clocks out amid job cuts and market jitters
[9]Workday reveals around 400 staff soon won't have to work another day
[10]Workday project at Washington University hits $266M
Other state and college Workday projects in the US and Canada have hit setbacks. In 2024, [11]Iowa decided to end its contract with Workday to provide finance software, but continues to use the vendor's HR system. It delayed introducing the Workday finance system after finding "implementation issues" that could impact a number of business processes. Instead the state opted to extend its existing contract with CGI to upgrade its legacy system, an official statement said.
In 2021, [12]Maine accused Workday of showing "no accountability" for its part in a flawed process to replace the US state's HR system. It shared correspondence that alleged "significant gaps in configuration and testing, as well as best practices and methodology that had not been followed" after missing two go-live dates. Workday was contacted for comment at the time.
Following an official review of the $54.6 million project, the state government suspended the project and laid off contractors. Maine now runs an HR system called PRISM, "built using Workday and other software as needed to meet our complex requirements," according to its website.
The cost of a Washington University project [13]has also risen to $266 million , or around $16,000 per student, over a seven-year rollout, replacing 80 legacy systems.
In December 2024, [14]then-CEO Carl Eschenbach told The Register more than 90 percent of the vendor's rollouts are a success.
"You can always find a couple of stories like that but if you look at Workday, 95 or 90 percent of our implementations are on-time and on-budget," he said. "When you think about the size of these implementations, the scope of them and the transformation that's required, that statistic is unheard of in our industry. We're always looking to learn from implementations that maybe have had issues or challenges in the past."
Eschenbach [15]left his position in February and was replaced by co-founder Aneel Bhusri following a round of [16]job cuts and share price volatility. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/pdf/fad2603.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/25/workday_q4_2026/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/workday_ceo_steps_down/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/workday_layoffs_400_jobs/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/washington_university_workday_costs_revealed/
[11] https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2023-03-24/state-iowa-ends-agreement-workday-update-financial-management-system-will
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/27/maine_workday_consultant_layoffs/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/washington_university_workday_costs_revealed/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/02/workday_implementations_interview/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/workday_ceo_steps_down/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/workday_restructure_job_cuts/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
According to [1]a report [PDF] from the Office of the Legislative Auditor, a test sample of 202 faculty members showed 19 had been inaccurately paid. Additional testing identified another 38 faculty members who Minnesota State paid inaccurately. The auditors' report also found issues with late pay.
Minnesota State is the fourth-largest system of state colleges and universities in the US, working across 54 campuses. It serves around 270,000 students and employs more than 14,200 faculty and staff.
[2]
Even the lower estimate of a nine percent error rate might mean 1,278 members of staff had been affected by incorrect payments.
[3]
[4]
In 2019, Minnesota State began the procurement to replace its legacy ERP system, Integrated Statewide Record System (ISRS), with new software that combines finance, HR/payroll, and student components, and "streamlines processes and procedures across all campuses," according to the audit document.
However, the state realized "it might not be able to find one system that could provide all of the desired functionality."
[5]
"Consequently, one of the functions that was not incorporated into the Workday system was the capability to calculate faculty payroll," the document states.
As a result, Minnesota State continues to use a combination of Workday, its legacy payroll system, and a Statewide Employee Management (SEMA4) system to create pay distribution records and paychecks.
The auditors claim Minnesota State had been aware of faculty payroll issues before the implementation of Workday. However, the issues actually increased after the new software was introduced. "For instance, there were interface issues with transferring data between ISRS and Workday," the report says.
[6]
The initial project budget for the integration and implementation was $151.1 million. Following the contract award to Workday in 2020, Minnesota State increased that to $242.7 million. The plan was for HR and payroll to go live in July 2023 with the student component arriving in fall 2026.
"Due to additions to the scope of the project, extended timeline costs, and additional contingency funds, Minnesota State increased the total project budget to $290.4 million as of November 2024. Minnesota State also moved the implementation dates to July 2024 for the finance and HR/payroll components and fall 2029 for the full implementation of the student component," the report states.
The Register has asked Minnesota State and Workday for comment.
[7]Workday CEO's AI talk can't shake off weaker sales forecast
[8]Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach clocks out amid job cuts and market jitters
[9]Workday reveals around 400 staff soon won't have to work another day
[10]Workday project at Washington University hits $266M
Other state and college Workday projects in the US and Canada have hit setbacks. In 2024, [11]Iowa decided to end its contract with Workday to provide finance software, but continues to use the vendor's HR system. It delayed introducing the Workday finance system after finding "implementation issues" that could impact a number of business processes. Instead the state opted to extend its existing contract with CGI to upgrade its legacy system, an official statement said.
In 2021, [12]Maine accused Workday of showing "no accountability" for its part in a flawed process to replace the US state's HR system. It shared correspondence that alleged "significant gaps in configuration and testing, as well as best practices and methodology that had not been followed" after missing two go-live dates. Workday was contacted for comment at the time.
Following an official review of the $54.6 million project, the state government suspended the project and laid off contractors. Maine now runs an HR system called PRISM, "built using Workday and other software as needed to meet our complex requirements," according to its website.
The cost of a Washington University project [13]has also risen to $266 million , or around $16,000 per student, over a seven-year rollout, replacing 80 legacy systems.
In December 2024, [14]then-CEO Carl Eschenbach told The Register more than 90 percent of the vendor's rollouts are a success.
"You can always find a couple of stories like that but if you look at Workday, 95 or 90 percent of our implementations are on-time and on-budget," he said. "When you think about the size of these implementations, the scope of them and the transformation that's required, that statistic is unheard of in our industry. We're always looking to learn from implementations that maybe have had issues or challenges in the past."
Eschenbach [15]left his position in February and was replaced by co-founder Aneel Bhusri following a round of [16]job cuts and share price volatility. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/pdf/fad2603.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33adbQAmNy28r8ugWfmJYxiwAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/25/workday_q4_2026/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/workday_ceo_steps_down/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/workday_layoffs_400_jobs/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/washington_university_workday_costs_revealed/
[11] https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2023-03-24/state-iowa-ends-agreement-workday-update-financial-management-system-will
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/27/maine_workday_consultant_layoffs/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/washington_university_workday_costs_revealed/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/02/workday_implementations_interview/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/workday_ceo_steps_down/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/workday_restructure_job_cuts/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Wrong pay
johnB
Payroll - about the most basic & long-running computer application.
If they can't get that right, why would anybody trust them with anything else?
Love the spin...
IGotOut
"more than 90 percent of the vendor's rollouts are a success."
Or a 1 in 10 failure rate. Its payroll, not a British Leyland car FFS.
You know who understands your internal systems best?
Some rando outside vendor knows your internal systems best, right? Preferably in cloud! Who promise to never change!
/s in case needed