Jared Thompson Reports for FST Duty

Jared Thompson and family

Reporting is a key part of the Finance Strategic Transformation (FST) project, and that's where Jared Thompson comes in. This month, he joined the project team as a Workday Report Developer. Thompson was practically engineered in a lab for this role, as he has five years of experience building financial reports in Workday, which he started doing when he worked for Workday. Additionally, his experience includes higher ed consulting; he's worked with two other universities. 

As a consultant, Thompson has built clients' financial reports in Workday, including income statements, balance sheets, and whatever other financial statements they needed. 

"I enjoy it because I feel like it's a rare skill but adds quite a bit of value," says Thompson. "A lot of people will spend all of their time doing all the work, and I get to help push that last button so they get to see all of their work in one place." 

UVAFinance Director of Business Intelligence and FST Reporting and Analytics Lead Mark Anderson frequently comments that the process of creating reports in Workday is unique and requires a specialized skillset, so UVA is fortunate to benefit from Thompson's expertise. Even though he's been on the project less than two weeks so far, Thompson explains that it feels like he's already been with UVA longer. 

"I think being able to go from my last role to this one—I'm able to transition pretty quick because I know Workday," Thompson says, "you know, it's just tracking the reports so I can hit the ground running."

He's done just that, already building and tweaking several reports FST team members have identified as necessary. 

Thompson and friends overlooking the Grand Canyon

Part of what attracted Thompson to this role is that he'll be able to develop and maintain relationships, working with the same colleagues over time—a bit different than consultant life. Also, he's able to work for UVA while remaining remote. Thompson lives with his family in St. George, Utah, which he loves. He was born in California, then his family moved to Utah and he's been there ever since. 

Outside of work time, Thompson spends time with his family, pictured above. He also loves to be outside in nature: camping, hiking, and mountain biking. His children are 3 (almost 4) and 18 months, so he explains there's not as much time for those activities just now, though he'll surely get back to them.