Runbooks / RSU Vest Payroll Control Runbook
RSU Vest Payroll Control Runbook
Use this runbook to execute monthly RSU vest processing with clear controls, owners, and evidence.
1) Vest Calendar & Ownership
- • Publish monthly vest calendar with file cutoff, approval, and payroll processing windows.
- • Assign control owners across payroll, equity admin, tax, and finance.
- • Confirm escalation contacts for late data, exceptions, and broker mismatches.
Artifacts
Vest calendarowner matrixescalation roster.
2) Input Data Validation
- • Validate participant roster, vest quantities, and jurisdiction flags before payroll ingest.
- • Reconcile equity system exports against payroll population deltas.
- • Flag terminated, LOA, and transfer cases for manual review before lock.
Artifacts
Pre-vest validation reportdelta reconciliationexception queue.
3) Withholding Calculation Controls
- • Apply jurisdiction-specific withholding logic and approved tax tables.
- • Verify supplemental wage handling and employer tax setup for vest events.
- • Run tolerance checks on outlier withholding percentages and net share outcomes.
Artifacts
Tax matrixwithholding calc logoutlier review log.
4) Payroll Posting & Funding
- • Post vest transactions to payroll with run identifier and approval checkpoint.
- • Confirm funding instructions and settlement timing with treasury/broker teams.
- • Validate net pay impact and negative pay protections for affected employees.
Artifacts
Payroll posting fileapproval recordfunding confirmation.
5) Reconciliation & Exception Closure
- • Reconcile gross shares, withheld shares, and released shares by participant.
- • Track exceptions to closure with root cause and remediation owner.
- • Confirm corrected entries are reflected in payroll and equity ledgers.
Artifacts
Vest reconciliation packexception trackercorrection journal.
6) Reporting & Audit Package
- • Validate statutory reporting fields (grant ID, vest date, taxable income, withholding amounts).
- • Prepare period-end audit packet with approvals, reconciliations, and exception outcomes.
- • Retain files by policy for internal/external audit readiness.
Artifacts
Statutory reporting QA checklistaudit packetretention log.