When the Securities and Exchange Commission added risk oversight to the responsibilities of corporate boards, Paychex assembled a novel enterprise risk management strategy that involves a review of business risks by what the payroll services provider calls "guest reviewers."

Since 2005, more than 300 analysts, supervisors and managers at the company have participated in the Paychex Peer Process Program, or P4. The 45 risk reviews that have been conducted have resulted in more than 1,200 recommendations on how to mitigate and manage diverse business, operational, financial and other risks. Seventy percent of the suggestions have been put in place or are presently being implemented.

This atypical approach is similar to processes in the medical and accounting industries, where peers from different disciplines assess each other's work and projects.