Invoice Processing has Officially Moved In-House!

Contributed by Amanda Lockhart Davis

L to R: Rebecca Clore (temp), DeAnna Snead (temp), Jack Jensen (trainer),
Leslie Williams (AP), Brittany Ripple (temp), and Sarah Outten (temp)

How excited are we to report that invoice processing has moved in-house?  SO EXCITED!  And we know you're excited, too!

All invoices are being processed in-house, on-Grounds, and within UVAFinance, by warm bodies with thoughtful brains.

This Monday, April 24, a group of sharp-as-a-tack temps arrived to train with AP's Leslie Williams and UVAFinance trainer Jack Jensen.  While our AP team works through the more complicated invoices in our backlog, the temps will tackle new invoices that come into the system.  

You may have to reassure your vendors that the change in the address they may notice on their invoices is on the up and up.  And of course, as May progresses, you should start to see a real difference in the backlog.

We're so happy to deliver on a promised improvement and we look forward to keeping you up to date as the initiative progresses.   

Click the image to read her cheeky sign ;)

UVAFinance In Action: April 27, 2023

 UVAFinance team members share their expertise far and wide this month:

Amanda Lockhart Davis and Adeline Coe were featured speakers and panelists at a CPE event hosted by PaymentWorks and Carahsoft.  They shared their knowledge and experience on risk mitigation and the strategic importance of your vendor master file.  

Angela Knobloch was a panelist at CUPA-HR's Spring Conference in Boston.  Her focus?  Change Enablement across Finance Stakeholders.  She's pictured here with a fellow panelist who should look familiar to the UVAFinance team; it's Love Anderson, one of our Deloitte partners from the FST project!

Scott Adams, Teri Bowen, and Joey Carls represented UVA at Salesforce's 2023 Education Summit in Florida, learning so much that can be used back here at UVA!

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Related Content:  Jacob Mair is the new Senior Director of Financial Accounting & Reporting;  Mark Cartwright is the new Senior Director of Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services

The Online Community's Sun Has Set: Here's where your Resources Live

The Online Community, or CommunityHub, is a fond memory at this point, having sunset on April 19.  If you find yourself missing something you used to access there, here's where it landed:

Finance Content

Much of the Finance content on CommunityHub was FST-related and has been archived. Content that was still relevant to the work we do, such as information related to the FDM, it has been moved to the appropriate area on the UVAFinance website. If you find yourself in need of something and you can't find it on the website, email askfinance@virginia.edu and ask for your case to be sent to Brandi Van Ormer.

UBI Content

UBI users have a new interactive space in Teams that features the core components you've come to enjoy in CommunityHub, including resources, and a place to ask questions about UBI, UBI training, and news. This space is called the Data and Analytics Community. Just ask to join this community in teams to begin using this space.

Continuous Improvement Content

We had a thriving Continuous Improvement space on CommunityHub. Those resources have been moved to the UVAFinance website. You'll find resources for managers, CI tips & tricks, Lean Training, videos, and more. We'll add to this site continuously, so check back frequently (or just watch for updates in the blog). Have a CI resource or idea you want to share? Feel free to send it along!

Announcing Senior Director of Financial Accounting & Reporting

Jacob Mair has accepted the position of Senior Director of Financial Accounting and Reporting, effective immediately. Mair has most recently served as Director of Financial Reporting and Accounting, was a leader on the Finance Strategic Transformation Project, and was even recognized last year with a Leonard Sandridge Award for his work and dedication throughout the FST project.

This new role will have broader engagement regarding our annual audit and collaboration with the Medical Center, along with a greater focus on our external reporting and compliance needs. As so many are assisting with transitions and personnel changes, Mair has also agreed to provide interim oversight of our State and General Accounting area as well as our Financial Compliance area. 

UVAFinance is making steady progress in filling key vacancies with capable leaders who have demonstrated success in terms of doing the work and leading teams. We're grateful for Mair's commitment to UVA and our stakeholders and for always being up for a challenge.

A Note from Your Friendly Neighborhood LSP

For UVAFinance Team Members

A Cisco AnyConnect update began rolling out on April 24th. This update is safe and you should install it when prompted.

The prompt should occur sometime over the next month when you attempt to establish an HSVPN connection.

Did You See This? Reporting & Analytics Release Notes for April

A new set of Finance Reporting & Analytics Release notes were posted on April 10.  Did you miss them?  You can see the whole release online here.  There were lots of goodies in this month's notes! 

There were so many updates and new things, in fact, that you may have missed:

• The Research Administration Dashboard is now accessible to principal investigators.
• There's a new report in Workday that gives a managerial summary of current and projected fund balances for the Academic Division.
• The Worker Costing Allocation Information report in Workday now pulls position restriction (labor suspense) costing allocations
• UBI now has a Workday NACUBO Function Analysis app that allows you to compare Function Worktag usage between FY23 and Workday and FY22 in Oracle for reviewing the correct and accurate use of the Function Worktag.

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See the April 10 Reporting & Analytics Release Notes on the UVAFinance webpage

The Great Clean-Up Has Begun

L to R Jarod Verkleeren, Nika Vest, Dallas Pitt, 
and Jim Stolz:  our Clean-Up Squad!  You'll
hear more about these awesome folks soon.

Spring.  It's the time of the year we clean out closets, wash windows, dust the blinds, and do other deep-cleaning chores.  It's also a great time to tidy up financial transactions!

UVAFinance is pitching in to help schools and units in the necessary cleanup of financial transactions before the end of the fiscal year by creating the Clean-Up Squad. We've onboarded a talented team of temps who will, for the next months, take up the task of spring-cleaning thousands of financial transactions for you!  It's like having someone come in and clean your house when you're swamped at work.

Our Clean-Up Squad will focus on cleaning up a few priority areas: 

• Ensuring the function worktag is used properly in actuals to date and PO and payroll costing schedules
• Cleaning up designated and fund mismatches
• Fixing any remaining transactions on DN999999

As the Clean Up Squad delves into the fray, each school and unit will need to play their part by being ready to review transactions that we identify and ensuring they're prepared to move any approvals forward when it's time.  

The Clean-Up Squad also takes requests!  If you have other areas you'd like them to focus on for clean-up, contact us through Ask Finance.

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We'll feature more news and information on the Clean-Up Squad (including meeting the squad members!) in future blog digests.  

Important Note about Requisitions with Zero Dollar Lines

Sometimes, requisitions you submit to Procurement will have a line with $0 (zero dollars).  Usually, this is a free sample or to document the transaction liability reasons, etc.  In any case, zero-dollar requisitions occur every once in a while.  

Here's the important part:  until we implement a system fix that's in the works, please let us know via Ask Finance if you submit a requisition including a zero-dollar line.  All we need is the requisition number!  

Why?  Because currently, a system constraint in Workday sends requisitions with a zero-dollar line into a sort of "requisition purgatory" from which it's very difficult to filter for them without identifying data.  

We should have a permanent solution for this very soon, but until then, if you provide us with information upfront, we'll be able to rescue your requisition and get it on its merry way quickly.

Note:  If your entire requisition has a zero-dollar amount, a Contract Request should be submitted instead.  A Contract Request is used when you need a contract reviewed and signed by PSDS and you do not need a PO issued to a supplier.  See this Quick Reference Guide for more info. 

Announcing the New Senior Director for Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services

Congratulations, Mark!

After completion of a thorough and robust national search, UVAFinance has chosen Mark Cartwright as the new Senior Director of Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services, effective April 24. Cartwright served in this role on an interim basis for three months, providing excellent leadership, and prior to that,  led Supplier Diversity for over a year.

Cartwright has a long and varied background in leading procurement teams, including those at Virginia Tech and the Commonwealth of Virginia. He has devoted his career to fostering business growth opportunities in academic and business settings. His energy, ingenuity, and desire to partner with our stakeholders across Grounds and in the greater Charlottesville Community make him an ideal leader for UVA's procurement efforts.

UVAFinance welcomes Carwright's stellar expertise and experience in this position and we're very excited to partner with him on all things Procurement and Supplier Diversity.  

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Read more about Mark Cartwright on the blog.

End of Year Closing Dates

https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/year-end-closings

Year End Closing Dates are now available on the UVAFinance website. 

 Access them by clicking this link: https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/year-end-closings

You'll notice the deadlines are listed chronologically, but you can also search by "Finance Activity" (functional area). 

 Note that the calendar contains multiple pages; click the "next page" button in the bottom right to navigate it chronologically.

New Quick Reference Guides for PaymentWorks

Five new Quick Reference Guides for PaymentWorks are posted on the UVAFinance website for your use.  

You'll find them under the "Training" section when you're working with Supplier & Payee Registration content, but for your convenience, we've also linked them directly below.

• PaymentWorks:  Track Onboarding Status
• PaymentWorks:  Search for a Payee
• PaymentWorks: Payee Registration Steps
• PaymentWorks Troubleshooting FAQs
• PaymentWorks: Invite a Payee

What to do When Workday isn't Working

The month of April has been rocky so far in terms of system outages.  Whether it's Workday, Jaeggar, or Adaptive, we've had our share of ups and downs.  When you can't do your work, it's very frustrating, and the only thing you need more than for it to be fixed is knowledge.

Here's where to go for system outage info: 

• The UVAFinance System / Status page:  You can get there from the blue ribbon at the top of every page on our website, or by clicking "systems-status" at the top of the homepage (or, here's a direct link).  This page lists Workday Finance's known issues, Finance Systems Status, and UVAFinance Webpage issues.  When issues arise, we try to update this page as soon as possible and keep it updated as much as possible.  These updates are for minor performance issues.  If a system is down in a fashion that completely STOPS work University-wide, we go to the next step, an emergency notification banner on the website (see below).
• An Emergency Notification Banner on the UVAFinance Website:  This is usually red in color and will appear on every page of the UVAFinance website and will describe the outage in as much detail as possible, with updates as frequently as possible. 

We are currently working on a cross-platform, integrated response with our partners across Grounds so that the notification process will be smoother for you, our users. We'll be sure to share this with you in the future!

For now, when you notice an issue with Workday Financials or another finance system, please feel free to call Ask Finance at 434-924-3400.  When you reach out to us via phone, that enables us to quickly make sure our functional teams are aware of the outage and can work with our vendors as needed to get a fix in place as soon as possible.  

Thank you for being willing to work with us.  We'll never be able to avoid all the ups and downs, but together we can make them easier for everyone to navigate.

How to Work with PaymentWorks: More Helpful Resources

At the April Fiscal Administrators meeting, the group had some great questions about Payment Works that we thought would be helpful to share with the larger finance community (those Fiscal Admins are on it -- if you aren't already coming to FA meetings, you don't know what you're missing).  

Check out past meeting recordings and materials on the UVAFinance website under "Fiscal Administrators," and if you're not on the mailing list, contact AskFinance and ask to be added.

• How do I find if a company or person is registered in PaymentWorks?
• How do I tell which registration form to use in PaymentWorks (individual or supplier)?
• Had any trouble bookmarking PaymentWorks?  Do it from this screen. 
• Resources for Suppliers working in PaymentWorks

If you'd like to see more of the discussion about PaymentWorks from the April FA meeting, it's available for viewing on the Fiscal Administrators' page on the web (the PaymentWorks portion begins at the 1 hr 15-minute mark).

UVAFinance Team Members: Complete the Climate Survey

As of 9 am Wednesday, April 12, all UVAFinance Team members have a climate survey from Augie Maurelli in their inbox  Please follow the link to the Qualtrics survey and share your feedback by April 19 at 5pm.  

If you don't see the survey in your inbox, check first to make sure it didn't get filtered into another folder or your junk mail, then contact Jill Simpson and she'll make sure you get a copy to complete.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts in advance of our Spring All Hands meeting on May 4.  We're looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

UVA Joins the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council

Contributed by Mark Cartwright

The University of Virginia has joined the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, a who’s who of private sector, higher ed, government, and non-profit advocates. Higher Ed members include Yale, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, NYU, Stanford, Emory, and Georgia Tech.

The SPLC connects members to best-in-class sustainable procurement expertise including one-on-one training, a network of engaged peers, and practical guidance that includes case studies, webinars, contract language, tools, and category-specific resources. Within Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services, Song Song and John Gerding have taken the lead in sustainability efforts, partnering with the Office of Sustainability at UVA. 

Any UVA employee can sign up for free online access to the SPLC and enjoy their network and resources by visiting https://www.sustainablepurchasing.org/create-account.

Reporting & Analytics Release Notes April 10

 Finance Reporting & Analytics Release notes for April 10 have been posted to the UVAFinance website.  This update includes significant new reports and modifications that have been released since March 9th as well as known issues that we are investigating or working on currently. 

This was a BIG month with lots of new reports and updates to pre-existing reports.

 Some highlights of note:

Fund Balance by Major Business Unit: A new report in Workday that gives a managerial summary of current and projected fund balances for the Academic division.  Worktag prompts can be used to highlight specific funds, gifts, grants, or designated worktags.  Balances can be drilled into for further analysis.

 Worker Costing Allocation Information: 

• This Workday Payroll Report now pulls Position Restriction (labor suspense) costing allocations in for greater visibility into allocations that exist for a single Worker.
• Positions without costing allocations can now be pulled in this report, eliminating the need to remember the name of multiple reports.
• Outdated/unnecessary costing allocation reports have now been hidden so there will be fewer reports returned in search results, providing users with more confidence that they have selected the right report.

Workday NACUBO Function Analysis: New in UBI!

• Comparison of Function Worktag usage between FY23 in Workday and FY22 in Oracle for reviewing correct and accurate use of the Function worktag. Significant variances between years should be analyzed to determine if the current year usage is correct.
• Guideline on use of the function worktag can be found here: 
• Function Worktag Overview – Schools and Academic Departments | UVA Finance (virginia.edu)
• Function Definitions | UVA Finance (virginia.edu)
• Workday NACUBO Function Analysis Module (QRG) | UVA Finance (virginia.edu)

Workday Research Admin Dashboard (RAD)

• Added a new Home Page and navigation buttons for an improved user experience
• Improved the layout/UI of the Grant Summary page
• New views of Project to Date, FYTD, and Future Spending by Fiscal Period as well as Burn Rates and Spending Forecasts
• Added Grant Invoice History
• Organization page with contact information and hierarchies for key personnel
• Definitions sheet to clarify the metrics used in RAD
• Direct Access is now available for PIs – QRGs and formal launch materials under development

The full April 10 release notes are posted on the website here. 

Save the Date: Return of the Travel & Expense Expo!

Save the date:  Thursday, August 3, 10 am - 2 pm, Newcomb Hall Ballroom

After the three-year Covid-induced hiatus, we are eager to the Travel & Expense Expo back to Grounds.

The Expo consists of a vendor fair showcasing nearly 40 contracted Travel & Expense suppliers.

Throughout the day, we will also host workshops about travel and expense-related topics. 

This event is for travelers, travel arrangers, and anyone interested in T&E at UVA!

Teri Bowen Takes on New Role in Treasury

 

Earlier this April, UVAFinance Solution Center User Success Agent Teri Bowen took on a new role within Treasury.  

In her new position as a treasury analyst, Bowen will analyze the University's daily bank accounts and assist with daily cash positioning, develop relationships with the University's banking partners, process debt services and other treasury payments, and much more.  She'll also help triage the Treasury Salesforce queue.

That responsibility isn't the only way her past work with the Solution Center will serve her well. 

 "In my previous position, I've been exposed to many areas of central finance and have been engaged with all areas within UVA, and learning a little bit about each area has been helpful, and provided me with necessary growth in my skills and knowledge that will help me going forward," says Bowen.

Congratulations, Teri!

Cost Transfer Documentation: Administrative Exception

When there is an administrative delay in setting up the Award and Grant(s) in Workday Financials, costs are generally held in a non-sponsored worktag until moved to the newly set up grant. 

Please follow the abbreviated steps below to submit the cost transfers (payroll and non-payroll) as exceptions to the standard and retroactive cost transfer processes. 

Please note, the “Administrative Exception” should not be used if the grant has been available for use in Workday for over 90 days.

• Payroll Allocation Adjustments (PAA) and Accounting Adjustments (AA): Create the PAA or AA request by selecting Reason Code: Administrative Exception from the drop-down list of reason codes. This will bypass the retro form requirement and workflow approval to the PI.
• Cost Transfers Using Accounting Journals: When creating a journal entry for an expense exceeding 90 days, please use the journal source of “Grant Cost Transfer” (not Retro Grant Transfer) and write “Administrative Exception” in the Memo field. This will bypass the retro form requirement and workflow approval to the PI.
• Please Note: 
• Journal source “Payroll Accounting Adjustment-Historical” will always route to the PI for approval and is not subject to the “Administrative Exception."
• Over 90 days Payroll Allocation Adjustments for Salary over the Cap and Cost Share will require a retro form, subject to the same retro form requirements as the sponsored grant.

Requesting Role Changes: A Few Reminders

Requesting role changes can be a little confusing:  which process do you use?  Do you contact the Finance Solution Center or use Request-Based Access?

Use Request-Based Access in Workday for most role requests and for role removal.  RBA captures all approvals in the process and provides an audit trail, which is very important.  

Bear in mind that roles are tied to positions in Workday, so when someone changes a position, they lose their roles in Workday.  

Only if you're submitting a mass request (50+ roles), should you send the request through askfinance@virginia.edu.  This is a labor-intensive process that will take more time.  

If you need to see what security roles are assigned to your area, you can use the UBI application called Workday Security Roles. Find it on the UBI Hub here: https://ubihub.admin.virginia.edu/

Helpful Resources

• Link for Finance security roles 
• Roles and training list
• Quick Reference Guide 

April 19 Sunset of the Online Community: Relocation of Resources

On April 19, the Online Community, or CommunityHub, will sunset, but don't worry: resources you've accessed on that platform have moved to other locations you use frequently.  So where do you find your stuff?

It depends on what you're looking for!

Finance Content

Much of the Finance content on CommunityHub was FST-related and has been archived.  Content that was still relevant to the work we do, such as information related to the FDM, it has been moved to the appropriate area on the UVAFinance website.  If you find yourself in need of something and you can't find it on the website, email askfinance@virginia.edu and ask for your case to be sent to Brandi Van Ormer.

UBI Content

UBI users have a new interactive space in Teams that features the core components you've come to enjoy in CommunityHub, including resources, and a place to ask questions about UBI, UBI training, and news.  This space is called the Data and Analytics Community.  Just ask to join this community in teams to begin using this space.

Continuous Improvement Content

We had a thriving Continuous Improvement space on CommunityHub.  Those resources have been moved to the UVAFinance website.  You'll find resources for managers, CI tips & tricks, Lean Training, videos, and more.  We'll add to this site continuously, so check back frequently (or just watch for updates in the blog).  Have a CI resource or idea you want to share?  Feel free to send it along!

Caution: Don't Cross the Fiscal Year

 Contributed by Amanda Lockhart Davis

When it comes to entering invoices, I can understand the urge to clear your desk as soon as you're able, but there's one specific area around which we urge some caution.

When you're entering invoices into Workday, please be aware of fiscal year boundaries when it comes to stipends.  When you enter stipends with due dates past the current fiscal year, those entries have a possibility of being paid very early, which we want to avoid. 

Please feel free to contact us at AskFinance if you have questions about how early is too early -- we'll be happy to help!

New FDM Worktag Resources on UVAFinance Website

New FDM resources have been posted on the UVAFinance website.  Starting from the Workday Financials card on the homepage, then clicking on "FDM Worktags," you'll be able to access helpful materials such as quick reference guides, crosswalks, FAQs, templates for requesting and changing worktags, and more.

Here's a quick link: https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/workday-financials/fdm-worktags

Some of the resources are new, and some have been relocated from the CommunityHub in advance of its April 19 sunset.  

Please let us know if there are additional resources that would be helpful to you to have on this page by emailing askfinance@virginia.edu.

Earth Day Every Day!

Each year, UVA Sustainability partners with organizations on Grounds and across the Charlottesville-area community to host Earth Day Every Day, a month-long celebration of our shared environment. 

Earth Day Every Day includes dozens of events and activities -- something for everyone -- including volunteer litter clean-up days, workshops, art-making, tours, career fairs, and much more.

See this year's lineup on the UVA Sustainability website.

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Related Content:  UVA Joins the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council