Wow, I cannot believe I am bringing you the 100th episode!Today I will summarise some of the critical topics The Payroll Podcast has covered. These topics include payroll tax compliance; employee benefits; the use of technology; automation; innovation; global complexities; education; payroll's evolution from transactional operation to strategic function; payroll career pathways, and much more.The Covid pandemic accelerated a change in perspective towards Payroll. Payroll professionals were rightly praised as they worked tirelessly to keep the UK paid after over 11.7 million employee jobs were put through the furlough scheme at the cost of £70 billion. World leaders, such as the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, even publicly thanked the efforts of payroll practitioners "for playing your part in what has been an extraordinary effort." As a result, Payroll has been thrust into the limelight, and with it, we have seen an explosion of new payroll career pathways open within the industry.Therefore, as we embark on the next 100 episodes, I will continue to endeavour to cover a wide range of topics, from digitisation and automation to global payroll transformation and emerging trends, and much more!However, before we look forward, I also want to look back at some of the many insights and conversations that have helped shape the payroll industry into what it is today.Here are 18 key takeaways I have discovered during the 99 episodes recorded to date:Automation of payroll processes is increasing, allowing payroll professionals to focus on more strategic tasks and improve efficiency. Meanwhile, remember that automation and technology will not replace the payroll professional, but tasks within the traditional payroll role will.Integrating AI and machine learning in payroll processes will become more prevalent, providing new opportunities for automation, data analysis, and process optimisation. Companies are continuing to invest in payroll technologies. HCM and Payroll tech is a multi-billion-pound industry. On-Demand Pay is a particular area companies invest in because these solutions help employers manage earned wage access requests. Will this mean the dissolution of our traditional payroll cycles? Quite possibly.The employee is now the centre of the payroll experience. The employee payroll experience is becoming more critical as companies strive to attract and retain top talent. Companies will increasingly focus on creating a positive payroll experience for employees to improve retention and attract top talent.Payroll professionals should stay informed about the latest trends and technologies in the industry to position themselves for success in the future.Continuing education and professional development are essential for payroll professionals to stay ahead of the curve. Skills are the currency of the future; employees need to take actions that enable them to prepare for the future of automation, analytics and AI.The increase in global workforces will result in more cross-border payments and expertise concerning country-related payroll legislation. The barrier to hiring talent in international locations has been lowered, so this trend will only increase. In addition, the ability to deliver global payroll services remotely will become increasingly important, requiring new technologies and strategies to ensure smooth operations.There are a variety of career pathways available in Payroll across Global Payroll, data analytics, and technology. In fact, we recently identified over 60 career pathways, and yet I suspect that number has already increased to almost 100.Cloud-based payroll systems will continue to gain popularity as they provide increased flexibility, scalability, and security for remote payroll operations.Smart Interactive Payslips will make the payment process more efficient and...