Not just a tech implementation: FST transformations in progress (Volume Two)

When you think about what Finance Strategic Transformation involves, you probably think about the Workday Financials implementation, and that makes sense! After all, it's the thing you probably hear about most often.

But it's not just our financial system that's transforming; in addition to the implementation of Workday Financials, the four parts of FST include adopting Adaptive Planning (Workday's budgeting and planning tool), enhanced reporting and analytics, and continuous improvement.

At a recent Steering Committee meeting, the project team highlighted some of the big transformations being driven by FST that highlight the innovation and continuous improvement sparked by the project. You can see those slides in the Community, but we'll also highlight those Transformations in Progress here in the blog, in a three-part series.

Here's our second round-up of examples of how changes are taking place surrounding FST:

• Management Reporting:  Defining 6-12 standardized management reports needed to run operations.  This will help UVA move toward one source of truth, enable thinking about resources in a common way, and promote consistency and common expectations.
• FST Glossary / Data Catalog:  Defining and refining terms and definitions so that we all speak the same language, simplify practices, improve financial acumen, and clarify key financial management concepts. 
• State Reporting: Reviewing the management agreement and clarifying reporting requirements with State (via a whitepaper).  This will assist with greater compliance and make sure that unnecessary complexity is not built into future processes.
• Commitment Tracking: Establishing a "commitment tracking process" that includes workflow approvals and supporting memo attachment that is automatically incorporated into the budget in Adaptive upon approval.  This will enable better resource management and it will be cutting edge in the Higher Ed industry.
• Quarterly Forecasting:  Introducing a quarterly forecasting process across the institution that will provide leadership with greater predictability surrounding fiscal year-end results and promote stronger accountability to the original budget.
• System Consolidation:  Using Workday to reduce the need for external systems that require integrations, such as Recon@ and Chrome River.
• Data Governance:  Establishing data governance as it relates to the new FDM and controlling when and now it is modified.  This will improve data integrity and accuracy in financial and management reporting.  

See Volume One of the FST Transformations in Progress here: http://uvafinance.blogspot.com/2021/06/not-just-tech-implementation-fst.html 

You can also see all of the transformations in progress in the steering slides in the Online Community!