Karen Thomson has been named among the most influential people in the payroll and reward industry by Reward Strategy on its Partner 50 list for 2025 – which features the top 1% of payroll professionals.

Ms Thomson has played a key part in developing Armstrong Watson’s payroll service to a nationally recognised and award-winning standard.

She has vast experience within the payroll profession and boasts a number of influential payroll titles including chair of the CIPP’s Special Interest Group representing Accountancy Payroll Bureaus and vice chair of Local Government Pensions Scheme (Cumberland). She also sits on a number of forums including, HMRC policies, Admin Burdens Advisory Board, the Employment Payment Group, CIOT Payroll Employment Tax and ICAS Payroll Employment Tax. Ms Thomson is also an active panel member on the Payroll Question Time webinars.

Reward Strategy highlights a number of individuals for their merits in its Reward 300 Index, which Ms Thomson has previously been recognised on, but the Partner 50 list is a new accolade for 2025, celebrating an exclusive group of individuals working for suppliers who are recognised as the very best within the industry. It also serves to connect Pay & Reward professionals with the ideal suppliers for successful partnerships.

Reward Strategy says Ms Thomson was selected based on the positive impact she has made to the profession through striving for excellence and innovation within pay & reward.

Ms Thomson said: “I am thrilled to have been selected to be included in this elite group, with so many of my peers.

“Having been in the payroll profession for over 30 years and been recognised by Reward and its members in the past Reward 300 group, I feel very honoured.

“I couldn’t be where I am without the fantastic people I have met and who have mentored me, along with my amazing payroll team at Armstrong Watson.”

Ms Thomson was invited to attend an exclusive networking event in London and will also benefit from a number of benefits full access to Reward Strategy’s Knowledge Hub and have the opportunity to sit on its steering committees to discuss topical issues and drive change.

Paul Dickson, Armstrong Watson’s CEO and managing partner, added: “Karen is thoroughly deserving of this recognition.

“She has an enviable vision for Armstrong Watson’s payroll service and the industry as a whole, and her first-hand knowledge and experience is a huge asset to our client proposition as we strive to be the best accounting and financial advisory firm to deal with, delivering the best client experience in the UK, including all those Karen and her team provide payroll services for.”