Introducing UVAFinance: Tina Brice and Tim Lingo

A lot has changed in UVAFinance in the past few years (understatement!). There are many new faces, changes to the organizational structure, and lots of differences in the way we do our jobs. When remote and hybrid work is added into the mix, it's easy to become unsure about which department does what and who works where.

Introducing UVAFinance is a recurring blog feature created to introduce our team to our team, a couple of members at a time. Every other week, we'll present readers with two team members to get to know. To understand how these colleagues are situated within the greater UVAFinance structure, check out this new resource on the UVAFinance website. (Keep in mind that it's not an org chart, but rather a map of what functions of central finance exist in which general areas.)

Let's go!

____________________________________________

Tina Brice, Accounts Payable Payment Specialist

What do you do as an Accounts Payable Payment Specialist?

I do the settlement run to pay UVA's vendors.  When I say settlement run it means the process of where WD pulls in all payments that are ready to be paid out based on the criteria set up in the system. That includes running reports that show rejections and corrections and getting those taken care of beforehand so we can get them into the settlement run.  We do a settlement run each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; but there are times we must run them every day. Paying our vendors is an important process, but there are a lot of reasons things can go wrong, such as issues with purchase orders, wrong addresses on file to send checks, and so on -- but in our vendors' minds, they provided the goods and services, and they need to be paid. 

I process the Stop payment forms, the returned checks that come back with bad addresses that have been sent out to our vendors, etc. This is where the customer service part of my job comes in.  I help people with all the various questions we get about payments or questions in general.

Who do you work with on a regular basis? 

Student Financial Services, Payroll, Financial Reporting & Operations, Financial Planning & Analysis, and of course, all of our customers in the schools and units across the University.  I've been here for a long time, so people call me for lots of things, although not as much now that we have Workday and Salesforce.  I think of how folks relied on Joyce Dunn when she was here, and I don't mind being a resource for my colleagues. 

What seasons are busiest for you, or what rhythms exist in your job? 

There are our weekly settlement runs, but also when students come back on Grounds, we do special payment runs for them.  We've been doing runs for students every day for the last two weeks.  We also get busy at the end of the calendar year, because even though UVA closes in July, other companies close in December, and they want to close their books out.  And then of course May picks up for us because everyone is trying to get things in for the closing in June. 

What might surprise people about the work you do? 

Only two people are responsible for processing the settlement run for the University on the academic side: Shelly Winston-Bowers and myself.

What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?

I like the customer service and the accountability we have as a university.  We want to do what's right for the people we serve; we want them to be happy, and we want to be happy!

How do you connect your work with the UVAFinance Values? 

Accountability and collaboration and just making myself available.  I try to help people as much as possible and get them the resources and help they need, even if I have to pass them on to someone else.  I had a great example of that in Joyce Dunn; she was like a beacon of helpfulness and I want to be like that, too.

_______________________________________________

Tim Lingo, Operational Contracts Manager

What do you do as an Operational Contracts Manager?

While all contracts allow the university to operate, “operational”, in our context, excludes procurements, sponsored agreements, and agreements directly related to academic program services. Some of the broader areas of operational contracts that come through Finance are real estate leases and facility use agreements, intellectual property licenses, loan agreements for art and artifacts, service agreements, and affiliation agreements that allow students to get practical experience outside the classroom.

Who do you work with on a regular basis? 

Outside of departments needing an agreement to be set up (which is most of them), I work most closely with Risk Management and University Counsel.

 

What seasons are busiest for you, or what rhythms exist in your job? 

That varies by the type of agreement. Real estate leases are pretty evenly distributed throughout the year, whereas student placement agreements are most frequent around the beginning of a semester. Art loans happen in clusters where many works are borrowed in anticipation of, but rarely during, an exhibition.

What might surprise people about the work you do? 

The variety of subject matter covered by operational contracts- from obtaining permission from railroads to cross their property to lending a lower thigh bone to a medical museum.

What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?

Working with people. Contracts, in and of themselves, can be as dull as dishwater but become interesting when viewed as a model of something people are attempting to do to achieve a shared objective. In that context, the contract is a map of the project, and part of my job is to see that the map is complete and ­scaled with enough detail to be useful to the parties, without unneeded length or complexity.

How do you connect your work with the UVAFinance Values? 

Being a collaborative partner is front and center for me because I deal with contracts. Contracts are collaborative by nature. So, everything I do with contracts supports a collaborative endeavor between people. An appropriate contract, by clarifying its subject endeavor, supports a successful relationship between its parties.

_____________________________________________

UVAFinance Mission & Values / UVAFinance Organizational Structure / Past Introductions can be found on our site under "Resource Shelf"

Would you like to be featured in Introducing UVAFinance? Want to suggest a colleague to be featured? Email bv8h@virginia.edu

Don't Forget Time with a Trainer

Need a little help on a Workday Financials task?

Maybe it's been a long time since you've done a transaction, or a while since you took the training, or maybe you're new in your role.

Whatever your circumstances, our UVAFinance trainers have time on their calendars to give you a hand!

Head over to the Workday Financials Training page and find the right trainer to assist with your task, then sign up for a Zoom meeting.

We're happy to take some time to help you!

For Internal Service Delivery, use the ISD Process in Workday

When you are providing goods or services to another internal department, be sure and handle the transaction via internal service delivery (ISD) instead of using a manual journal entry or supplier invoice.

Most Workday Financials users have already taken advantage of the ISD process and can attest to the general ease of the transaction. In fact, if you're not already using ISD, the only additional step you need to take is a one-time setup of an internal service provider (ISP) using a request template. After that, you can take advantage of the helpful features of using the ISD process:


You don't have to worry about debits and credits, because the accounting is done automatically between the unit charging and the unit receiving the funds.
You can set up catalogs for items that have a constant rate, making it easy to pull from the catalog when you do your ISD.
Supporting documentation can be added right to the transaction, reducing outside file storage and encouraging good tracking.
To find a list of all ISPs, use the Workday Report "Search - Internal Service Provider Information."


Our functional experts and the training team have worked together to provide some resources to assist you:
Internal Service Provider Request Template
Frequently Asked Questions about ISDsHow do I charge an internal UVA department for goods or services? https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/resources/how-do-i-charge-internal-uva-department-goods-or-services
I previously charged internal UVA departments for goods or services through either a manual journal or supplier invoice request. Am I still allowed to process internal transactions in this manner? https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/resources/i-previously-charged-internal-uva-departments-goods-or-services-through-either-manual
What is the difference between ISD and ISP? https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/resources/what-difference-between-isd-and-isp
We're always happy to help you via AskFinance and Time With a Trainer, too (look at Danielle Hancock's schedule to book some help).

TravelUVA and Workday Expenses Webinars coming soon!

For those who weren't able to attend the sessions offered at the Travel & Expense Expo, mark your calendars for the following dates, when we make them available again via Zoom:

• Tuesday, September 12, at 12 noon: TravelUVA
• Thursday, September 14, at 12 noon: Workday Expense Q&A

Just click the links above to join when it's time; no registration is needed.  

We hope to see you online then!  

Did You See This? Reporting & Analytics Updates

A new set of Finance Reporting & Analytics release notes was posted on August 24.  Did you miss them?  You can see the whole release on the UVAFinance website. 

Here are some highlights that might interest you: 

•  A few NEW Workday Reports:

• Open Obligations on Purchase Orders - This can be run on a cost center, designated, gift, or grant. You can look up a purchase order or a specific supplier. By default, it will include canceled and closed POs and will exclude POs with no obligation remaining. Can also be modified to show POs with zero obligations remaining that are not closed or canceled (these are good candidates for closing!).

• Project Fund Balance – A Fund Balance report by Project with associated funding worktags provides beginning balance, YTD activity, and current balance.

• Billing Installments – OSP (NEW) - To help pull information on installments to be manually invoiced.

• My Card Transactions: UPDATE! Can now be run for all expense transactions (both approved and unexpensed/unapproved). A drillable link to the Expense Report Line was added. The report can be accessed directly from the Expenses app for quick access (or can search for it in Workday).

• A couple of NEW UBI Reports:

• Workday Research Admin Dashboard (RAD): A simple Expense BBA Report has been added to this app.

• Workday Supplier Invoices - New app and dataset with Supplier Invoices – created for the Accounts Payable team.

Go see the full version of the August 24 release notes online.

Welcome to UVAFinance, Garrett Morris

The Morrises

A new Senior Sourcing Specialist recently joined the procurement team:  Garrett Morris will focus on athletics and service-based commodities in his role as a buyer and contract negotiator. 

Morris has a wealth of experience in both procurement and athletics.  He spent the previous ten years procuring every commodity for athletics at James Madison University.  "I did the whole gamut at JMU," he says; "from apparel to IT to even capital construction and equipment."

With a degree in history and political science from Bridgewater College, the Virginia native originally wanted to be a history teacher and coach, but his love of athletics led him into the procurement department at JMU and his career took off in that field.

Morris is happy for a new opportunity to grow in his chosen field, and to be able to take advantage of the flexibility UVAFinance offers in terms of its working environment.  He and his wife, Charissa, who is a veterinary technician, enjoy both gardening and flyfishing and often take flyfishing trips out west.    The couple are high school sweethearts who have been together for 17 years and married for six years.  They have two dogs, Elwood and Opie. 

Academic Employees: Check Your PTO!

Don't forget that the Academic leave year ends on December 31, 2023.  
Now is a good time to check your "use or lose" hours in Workday, while you still have time to benefit from a few well-placed days off.
For more information on PTO Carryover & Cash Out visit the UVAHR website, and contact AskHR@virginia.edu with further questions.

UVAFinance Welcomes Duane Miller

The Miller Family

In his new position as a Senior Financial Analyst in the Office of Financial Planning & Analysis, Duane Miller brings a vast amount of experience from his work at the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts and Department of Education and also an abiding love of UVA basketball.  Both will serve him well in his first role in higher education.

Out of all his government-based work, one of Miller's favorite experiences was his tenure at the Virginia Department of Education, so when the opportunity to join UVA came up, his interest was piqued. It helped that a former colleague of his, Brian Logwood, had also made the switch to UVA.

In his new role on the budget team, Miller will focus on state government operations and coordination with state offices and agencies, as well as analytical work.  

"This role is the right mix of new challenges and utilization of my experiences and skill set," says Miller.  

"Higher Ed is a whole new world in a lot of respects, and I'm looking forward to learning something different and new."

Besides being a big sports fan, Miller is also a self-proclaimed "music person" who enjoys attending concerts when he can.  Miller and his wife Kate have a soon-to-be five-year-old daughter, Evelyn.  

Rasha Ahmad Moves into Business Services Role

With over a year of experience under her belt as a User Success Agent in the UVAFinance Solution Center, Rasha Ahmad has taken on a new role in the organization as a Business Services Associate.  In this role, Ahmad will administratively support UVAFinance leadership, particularly the Associate Vice President for Finance & University Controller (upon that position being filled).  

Both Ahmad's background on the "Ask Finance" team and her previous work history in retail management have given her the ability to handle a lot of things at once, so she's prepared for the juggling of schedules and paperwork that will come in her new position.  

Ahmad says she's grateful for her experience with the Solution Center and how it provided a good foundation.  "It's the best preparation ever," she says. 

"My role in the Solution Center meant I gained knowledge about UVA as a whole, our different schools, and finance's different departments.  It was one of the best experiences I could have."

We wish you the best in your new role, Rasha!

____________________________________________________________________

Read more about Rasha Ahmad on the blog here: https://uvafinance.blogspot.com/2022/04/a-new-user-success-agent-joins-team.html

Congratulations, Former Clean Up Squad Members!

We're pleased to share that two more former Clean Up Squad members are now full-time UVA employees! 

You may recall that in the spring preceding the turn of the fiscal year, UVAFinance employed a talented team of temps to help clean up thousands of financial transactions related to the first fiscal year within Workday Financials.  These temps, our Clean Up Squad, helped ensure a smoother year-end close with less work falling onto schools and units.   

Four Clean Up Squad members found employment before their temp time at UVAFinance ended, and another two, Hemlata Saha and Nicole Ramirez, have since secured new positions Student Health and Wellness. 

Congratulations to Hemlata and Nicole!  We miss you and wish you the best!*

__________________________________________________________________________

*and it's very quiet in the basement of Carruthers without y'all. :(

UVAFinance: Save these Dates!

Hey UVAFinance Team members, grab your calendars! 

Here are some important dates to note for the UVAFinance Team this fall and next spring: 

• Quarterly Town Hall: November 2023

• Social at Carter Mountain: November 16, 2023

• Quarterly Town Hall: February 2024

• Finance Week:  April 15-19 2024

We'll firm up times and other details as the dates draw nearer.  Watch your email and this space! 

Reporting & Analytics Release Notes for August 24

Finance Reporting & Analytics Release Notes for August 24 have been posted to the UVAFinance website.
This update includes significant new reports and modifications that have been released between July 1st and August 11th as well as known issues that we are investigating or working on currently.

When using the UBI WD Journal Lines app, please remember to set filters BEFORE you open the Details sheet. The amount of data in the application continues to grow so limiting the data before the table is generated will improve response times.

The BI team met earlier this week with a group of users to discuss options for managing the data volume to keep the UBI apps performing. During the fall, you can expect to see a few new Journal Lines apps in UBI – one will contain Actuals only for both the Income Statement and Balance Sheet accounts, and the other will contain Actuals plus Commitments and Obligations, but only Income Statement ledger accounts. More to come on the exact timing.

A friendly reminder that you always find this information and more reporting resources at Business Intelligence & Analytics | UVA Finance (virginia.edu)

Here are just a few noteworthy highlights:

• A few NEW Workday Reports:
• Open Obligations on Purchase Orders - Can be run on a cost center, designated, gift, or grant. You can look up a purchase order or a specific supplier. By default, it will include canceled and closed POs and will exclude POs with no obligation remaining. Can also be modified to show POs with zero obligations remaining that are not closed or canceled (these are good candidates for closing!).
• Project Fund Balance  – A Fund Balance report by Project with associated funding worktags provides beginning balance, YTD activity, and current balance.
• Billing Installments – OSP (NEW) - To help pull information on installments to be manually invoiced.
• My Card Transactions: Can now be run for all expense transactions (both approved and unexpensed/unapproved). A drillable link to the Expense Report Line was added. The report can be accessed directly from the Expenses app for quick access (or can search for it in Workday).
• A couple NEW UBI Reports:
• Workday Research Admin Dashboard (RAD): A simple Expense BBA Report has been added to this app.
• Workday Supplier Invoices  - New app and dataset with Supplier Invoices – created for the Accounts Payable team.

See the full Release Notes on the UVAFinance website. 

Introducing UVAFinance: Song Song and Kristie Sojka

 

A lot has changed in UVAFinance in the past few years (understatement!).  There are many new faces, changes to the organizational structure, and lots of differences in the way we do our jobs.  When remote and hybrid work is added into the mix, it's easy to become unsure about which department does what and who works where.  
Introducing UVAFinance is a recurring blog feature created to introduce our team to our team, a couple of members at a time.  Every other week, we'll present readers with two team members to get to know.  To understand how these colleagues are situated within the greater UVAFinance structure, check out this new resource on the UVAFinance website.  (Keep in mind that it's not an org chart, but rather a map of what functions of central finance exist in which general areas.)
Let's get started!
_____________________________________________________
Song Song, Senior Sourcing Specialist in Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services
What do you do as a Senior Sourcing Specialist? 

I am a senior buyer, covering the Scientific Discovery area in the IT&SD category in PSDS. I source scientific discovery orders over $10,000 and address any questions from the departments before and after issuing the order, through Salesforce and emails. My daily work scope includes contract negotiation and redlining, facilitating new vendor setups and invoice related questions, PO change orders, etc. I also do a lot of data analysis to help make decisions on strategic sourcing.

Other than the operational work, I make improvement wherever and whenever I can. I successfully managed the Quartzy punchout implementation with multiple teams of stakeholders involved. It streamlined the order process and made a stride in sustainable procurement as Quartzy provides the lab inventory system to minimize lab waste and duplication of ordering.

I have identified areas need to be improved in the sole source procurement process in the first month on the job and have been working on an overhaul for the whole process, as sole source is the most scrutinized area for auditors. Standardizing and improving the process can help to position UVA as a leader in higher education procurement.

Who do you work with on a regular basis?

I cover all the UVA labs, departments, and schools that are related to research and academics. The people I work with can be admins, managers at the departments, professors, graduate students, as well as people from different positions from our suppliers.

What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?

I haven't felt much of a slow season for me yet since I started the position. Currently, most of my daily time is spent editing contracts and solving issues through Salesforce and emails, when there aren't meetings. I have a lot of ideas for how to do things better and I would like to spend more time on making improvements.

What might surprise people about the work you do?

The scale of the research community is enormous: I cover the procurement requests for orders and contracts for over 500 labs and over 2,300 researchers.

Sometimes the orders can have a high level of complexity. For example, there was a purchase with a conflict of interest. The situation demanded an extensive array of documentation and mandates from various tiers of leadership, including our president, Jim Ryan. It happened during the period when multiple levels of leadership in Finance were unavailable. I took the initiative and orchestrated the formation of a new process and a fresh team comprising leaders and University Counsel, successfully closed the case.

What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?

People are very helpful and professional. I feel we are all working toward one common goal.

How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance Values?

I am working diligently and striving to provide the best service to our internal and external customers. This includes upholding a demeanor of respect and patience in all interactions. I firmly believe in the value of ongoing training and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

________________________________________________________________________

Kristie Sojka, Accounting & Financial Analyst in Financial Accounting & Reporting

What do you do as an Accounting & Financial Analyst? 

My title indicates I do accounting and finance, but I think it might be more descriptive to say I do banking and reconciliation.  Banking and reconciliation at UVA is more than just checking off transactions; it involves problem-solving and close monitoring of ad-hoc bank transaction approvals so that everything can be reconciled in a timely manner.  In a perfect world, we get everything reconciled by the end of the month, and at the latest, by the end of the next month.  

Every day at 1 p.m., the previous day's bank statements are integrated into Workday, and we have it set up so that there is automatic reconciliation of the transactions.  For every bank statement line, there's an ad hoc bank transaction that the school or unit's Cost Center Depository Specialist must approve.  If the transactions don't auto-reconcile and go to approval, I troubleshoot and manually reconcile them.

Who do you work with on a regular basis?

I work more intensively with departments that have heavy deposit activity, like cashiering, and also those that take in money, like the Virginia Film Festival, Athletics, and some units on the medical side.  I also partner with Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Student Financial Services, and Treasury.

What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?

May through August is busy of course, due to fiscal year end, and throughout the rest of the year, I am busy keeping everything up to date.  For central finance, even after June 30 comes and goes, we still have a month or two to wrap up any necessary adjustments. 

What might surprise people about the work you do?

The volume of transactions!  I reconcile and manage 9 bank accounts, 5 of which are higher maintenance, and it's not just reconciliation involved, but also the ad hoc transaction management.

What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?

I like being a resource for departments and other central finance teams. Even though at times my job is pretty solitary and behind the scenes, I have to reach out to other departments and they have to get in touch with me, and I like being able to help solve their problems.

How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance Values?

Obviously, all of the values are important, but if I had to pick one, I'd say identify most with 'impeccable source of information' and being accurate and accountable -- that one is very important to me in this role.

__________________________________________________________________

UVAFinance Mission & Values / UVAFinance Organizational Structure

Would you like to be featured in Introducing UVAFinance?  Want to suggest a colleague to be featured?  Email bv8h@virginia.edu

UVA Launches Punchout with Aireco Supply

UVA is launching a punchout in the Marketplace with Aireco Supply, a heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) wholesaler in the mid-Atlantic region. Aireco has over 70 years in the business and helps the University and facilities management staff find standard and unique HVAC parts to repair systems around Grounds.

Benefits of the Aireco Supply punchout: 

• No copy/pasting fields for the requesters when placing orders with Aireco. After discussing your system and its problems with Aireco staff, they will place your unique quote in their punchout and a shopper can click and add it to their UVA Marketplace shopping cart.
• Accurate prices on stock items—simply click and add to the cart.
• Shoppers will be able to see if their items are in stock for rapid delivery.

The punchout goes live in the UVA Marketplace on Thursday, August 24th. While we are making the implementation, orders with Aireco will be temporarily unavailable from August 22-23.

UVAFinance Facilitates Provost Office IRA Retreat

 

Earlier this month, Angela Knobloch - senior director of Change Enablement/Continuous Improvement at UVAFinance - facilitated the  Institutional Research & Analytics' (IRA) annual planning session.  IRA reports to the Office of the Provost.

Hosted at the UVA Darden Kimpton Hotel, Knobloch led various events throughout the day to get the team to reflect on the past year and look forward to future goals. The team centralized their focus on data across their core service areas: What is data literacy? How can we build data literacy programs? How are data connected?

The team recognized that data literacy is critical for the university's future and the importance of change enablement for our varied data users across our UVA community.  Knobloch introduced activities that made the team consider opportunities, challenges, and dependencies for such potential programs. 

By the end of the day, everyone left with a sense of accomplishment and motivation going into the start of the academic year. One team member remarked: "I see a lot of commitment around this table, and it feels good." 

UVAFinance's collaboration with the Office of the Provost for this retreat emphasizes the benefits of the university's commitment to collaborative excellence. We are excited to see what is to come in the future. 

Which type of PaymentWorks invite to send?

So you want to invite someone to register in PaymentWorks so they can do business with UVA.  You've made sure they aren't already registered, now all you need to do is decide which type of invite to send them.  Is it an individual payee invite or a supplier invite?  How do you know which one is the right one to send? 

Sometimes it's easy to tell, but when you're working with a person and not a company, it can seem confusing.  Here are some guidelines:

Use a Supplier Registration Form when a person is doing business as themselves or their company is providing goods or services to the University.

Use an Individual Payee Form when a person is receiving payment: 

• for being a research participant

• as reimbursement

• as a monetary gift from the University

• as a royalty 

• as an honorarium

• as a pre- or post-doc fellow or grad student receiving a stipend

• on a supplier invoice request as an individual payee

For more information on extending an invite to a supplier, check out this Quick Reference Guide.  You can also contact AskFinance for help, or reach out to Jack Jensen to book some Time with a Trainer to learn more about the process!

New Spend Category Makes Paying Entertainers Easier

A new spend category can now be processed via the supplier invoice request process in Workday.  'Services Entertainers (SC0208)' was previously limited to the purchase order process.  

The new spend category means that paying artists, performers, and other entertainers is now easier for departments and ultimately quicker for the vendor.  One important note, however, is that if a contract must be signed, then a PO is still required.

This addition was an idea from a finance partner in a UVA department.  We're happy to make things simpler when we can!  Contact AskFinance with your inquiries and ideas.  

Troubleshooting Match Exceptions

When your Workday purchase order lines and corresponding supplier invoice lines do not have the same price and/or quantity or your purchase order totals and invoice totals do not have the same price and/or quantity, you get a match exception.  

It's important to be proactive on match exceptions -- don't ignore the notifications you receive about one of your invoices being under match exception, because invoices under match exception can't be paid.  This means the suppliers you use won't receive payment.  Accounts payable can't fix the match exceptions without input from the department (you).  Fortunately, the reasons for match exceptions are usually fairly easy to investigate and identify.
The UVAFinance Training Team has put together some helpful resources to make understanding, addressing, and avoiding match exceptions as easy as possible.  Check them out on the UVAFinance website:
Match Exception Investigation and Correction QRG
Match Exception Frequently Asked Questions
Still need help working with a match exception?  Book some Time with a Trainer!  Jack Jensen has time on his calendar reserved especially to help users with these issues.  See his calendar and reserve a time on the UVAFinance Workday Finance Training page. 

Leadership Essentials with Clara Tang and Michelle Gregory

Recently, UVAFinance’s Clara Tang and Michelle Gregory finished the Leadership Essentials (LE) program, presented through UVAHR. This was no small feat. LE is an interactive 12-week program designed to educate, inspire, and stretch one’s leadership thinking and abilities to succeed at UVA.

Participants engage in this in-person class twice a week through dynamic discussions and activities to build relationships and learn from one another. However, not just anyone can join. Participants are required to complete an application supported by their supervisor and have at least three years of managerial experience.
Tang is a Senior Compliance Analyst and Gregory is a Manager in Financial Data and Analytics.

Both learned a lot in the class. Tang stated that their trainer, various guest speakers, cohort members, and a variety of self-assessments all played into her great experience. She remarked: "Leadership is personal. What kind of person we are plays an important part in what kind of leader we are." She emphasizes that leadership is all about people and knowing how to manage them. Intentionality and inclusivity are crucial when interacting with others, which makes people willing to trust and collaborate with you."

Gregory agrees. "'One of my favorite presenters spoke about the business case for inclusion," she says. "The most impactful thing was learning where my blind spots are and how I can improve in those areas."

After taking the course, their roles may not have changed, but their mindsets have: "One myth about being a leader is you have to have direct reports. No, you can be a leader and make a positive impact whether you lead a team or not," says Tang. Gregory says that there was so much that resonated with her, but she especially took away that it's okay to be vulnerable, and that understanding can help you to be a better leader.

Would they recommend the experience to others? Their answer is a resounding yes. Both of them reflected that the LE helped them gain a deeper understanding of self and provided them with several tools on how to handle situations in the future.

"The course curriculum can help participants succeed as an individual and team members as well," says Gregory. "This will help anyone lead, up or down."

3.

UVAFinance in Action

UVAFinance's Amanda Lockhart Davis recently proved her professional expertise by obtaining her Accredited Payables Manager certification through the Institute of Finance and Management.

The certification involved completing coursework and passing an exam encompassing Leadership, Internal Controls, the A/P Process, Tax and regulatory, Vendor Management, Travel and Expense, Process Improvement, and Technology and automation.

Dorsey & Wampler

The Supplier Diversity Team has been very busy this summer, representing UVA at two vendor events within three weeks:  First, the RVA LinkUP Expo, and then the Business Opportunity Conference, both in Richmond. Thanks to Mark Cartwright, Lorie Strother, Shannon Wampler, and Ajoni Wynn-Floyd for dividing and conquering these events!  Syd Dorsey, former UVA BOV member and current powerhouse of small business development was also on hand in Richmond.

Danae Polemi and Chailey Hench of the Travel & Expense Team attended the Global Business Travel Association Conference held in Dallas last week.  GBTA is the premier global event for the business travel industry.

The UVAFinance Blog got a Makeover!

Your eyes aren't deceiving you, the UVAFinance blog did indeed get a facelift.  All of the historical content is still here, though!  

You may notice some new features coming online in the next several weeks.  If you click on a link and something unexpected happens, have a little patience, because it will be a work in progress for a week or two.  

Please direct any questions to Brandi Van Ormer, and thank you!

Happy National Payroll Week!

Every year after Labor Day (since 1996), the United States has celebrated National Payroll Week.  This year, we celebrate it from September 5 through 9.  

UVAFinance is proud of our team of payroll professionals, who aren't fazed by increasingly complex payroll challenges based on local and national legislation, and who are up for all the changes that come from new systems (we're looking at you, Workday HCM and Workday Finance).

Happy National Payroll Week, UVA Payroll Team!  We love getting paid!

Reminder about Invoices from Accounts Payable

We want to pay your supplier’s invoices in a timely fashion, and we know you want that too! Please encourage your suppliers to submit invoices that include the following basic information:

• Vendor name

• Vendor invoice number

• Amount due

• Invoice date

• Description of services or products provided

The document also needs to be clearly marked as an invoice (see the sample provided below).

Click the image for a larger view

If your suppliers submit invoices without this information, please ask them to correct their submission. Without the proper information, we cannot pay them! We are happy to remind them, but a word from you could help as well. Thanks for your support!

OSP & Finance Partner to Create New Fund Hierarchies

The Office of Sponsored Programs and Finance have partnered to create new fund hierarchies, which are the high-level of funding sources associated with non-sponsored driver worktags (DN, GF, and PJ). The fund hierarchy, FDH087-Allowed for Cost Share, will be entered as an Allowable worktag on cost-sharing grants and sponsored grants that are subject to a salary cap. 
In the current state, OSP Pre-award requires the department to provide their non-sponsored worktags for cost-sharing & over the cap salaries. Under the new process, a cost-share grant will be set up with fund hierarchy FDH087, allowing the departments to select the non-sponsored driver worktags directly on transactions, provided the driver worktags used roll up under FDH087 (Allowed for Cost Share).

New cost-share grants will have FDH087 as an Allowed worktag and DN000001-FD005 (or as specified by dept.) Default worktags. Grants with salary caps (DHHS agencies, including NIH, HRSA, etc.) will have sponsored fund FD021 and FDH087 fund hierarchy as Allowed worktags and FD021 as Default worktag.

Existing cost-share grants and grants subject to salary cap will be updated with FDH087 as an Allowed worktag. Default worktags will remain the same.

With these fund hierarchies in place, there will be efficiencies in reporting, system configurations, and turnaround time for award creation by OSP.

Reviewing PO Balances and Obligations: Helpful Reports

When you need to look at open obligations on purchase orders, there's a new Workday Report available to help you investigate.

Open Obligations on Purchase Orders  - This new report can be run on a cost center, designated, gift, or grant.  You can look up a purchase order or a specific supplier.  By default, it will include canceled and closed POs and will exclude POs with no obligation remaining.  See the sample report image below for an idea of the fields available to view in the report.  The report can also be modified to show POs with zero obligations remaining that are not closed or canceled (these are good candidates for closing!).

Click the image for a larger view

This new report is in addition to the previously available Open Purchase Order Report.

Travel & Expense Expo: Winners, Pictures, and more seminar opportunities!

Over 300 UVA travelers and travel planners attended the Fourth Annual Travel & Expense Expo on August 3. After a four-year COVID-induced hiatus, it was great to see everyone in person at Newcomb Hall. Over 35 travel-related vendors provided exhibits and giveaways for attendees, and Passport Services and the DMV were also on hand.

Thank you to everyone who attended and those who volunteered!

For those who didn't get to attend the seminars offered at the Expo, mark your calendars for the following dates in September when we'll make them available again via Zoom:

• September 12: TravelUVA
• September 14: Workday Expense Q&A

We'll share more details on the blog and in the Travel & Expense Newsletter as the dates approach.

Click here to see the raffle winners!  All attendees were entered in the raffle (double entries for those who RSVPd and checked in at the event).

See all the Travel & Expense Expo event photos on UVAFinance's Flickr page.

UBI User Hub Becomes UBI Portal

The UBI User Hub is now the UBI Portal, featuring upgrades to both usability and functionality.

This new name reflects the module's purpose, an entry to UBI Reporting and Analytics, and reduces confusion with UBI Analytics Qlik Sense Hub.

In this new UBI Portal, you'll be able to do many of the same things as before, including:

• Explore and access UBI apps and modules
• Find which fields are present in what UBI modules
• View the access roles required for each app
• See the latest reload timestamp for any app and see important alerts for the UBI reload process in general.

In the new UBI Portal, you’ll also be able to:

• View approved data definitions from the Data Catalog, which replaced Data Cookbook
• See if UBI fields have an associated data definition
• View your current UBI access roles

We look forward to sharing this revamped UBI portal with you. You can access it here.

Need help?

We’ve developed a quick reference guide for the UBI Portal and posted it on the Data and Analytics Community Teams site. If you’re already a member you can access the guide directly via this link or in the resources channel under the files tab.

If you’re not yet a member of the Data and Analytics Teams, you can join by:

• Open Microsoft Teams.
• Click the Teams icon on the left-hand side of the window.
• Click Join or Create a team (at the very bottom of the screen).
• In the Join a team with a code box, enter this code: 7g617dn

If you are a Heath Center or UPG employee, the code will not work. You’ll need to email the UBI Team to request access to the Team. Once you’ve been granted access, be sure to use your @virginia.edu account to log on to the Team.

 

Fund Validations Added for Function Worktag

As of August 4th, validations have been added to the use of the function worktag in Workday Financials.  

Here are some basic points to know about the function validations: 

• Validations ensure the usage of Scholarships and Fellowships functions (FNH100) only with SC0153-155 and all SCs included in SC hierarchy Scholarships & Fellowships

• Functions in the hierarchy FNH098 Institutional Support (FN029 - FN034) can only be used by certain Cost Center Hierarchies (configured on Function worktag). 

• Function FN062 Hospital can only be used by Cost Centers in the UPG and Medical Center CC hierarchies (configured on Function worktag).

•  Allowed Funds on Designateds will be set equal to the default fund outside of a few exceptions. 

These validations will keep errors from occurring, which is a good thing, but users should be on the lookout for transactions that don't go through.  As long as users aren't changing the fund when they enter a designated value and leave the default, there should be few issues.   If you have problems with transactions due to function errors, please contact Ask Finance. 

Continuous Improvement Corner: High Impact Purchase Order Distribution Method Clean Up

The Issue:  Issued Purchase orders were not delivered to the suppliers because there was an outdated distribution method on file. This caused department users and Central Buyers confusion, delayed delivery of items, and unproductive administrative time to track down Purchase Orders.

Actions Taken: A group of Procurement team members collaborated to find non-catalog suppliers with no distribution method. They filtered to suppliers who were active in the past FY and used the Pareto rule to identify the ones with high impact. Then, they collaborated with the Supplier Management team to send new Paymentworks invitations and clean up supplier profiles in Workday and Marketplace. ​

Findings:​ In the last FY, UVA did business with 710 suppliers that had a bad distribution method. That's 4824 Purchase Orders worth $41.6 million,  and 238 high-volume suppliers with 3697 Purchase Orders worth $36.5 million.​

Impact on UVA Users:  Created efficiency in the sourcing process for department users and Central buyers and helped the disbursement team by reducing the time to manually adjust supplier profiles. This means schools and units can have increased confidence that when their PO is approved, it is being distributed to the accurate address at the supplier.  The team continues improvement activities in terms of purchase orders in order to achieve as high a degree of accuracy as possible!

Results:  As of 8/2/2023, we have fully registered and approved 64 suppliers​ and processed 1115 Purchase Orders,  $13.9 million worth of business

Major Contributors in this project:​  Andrew Clark, Franky Kong, Susanna Huang, Sri Ranjani Murthy

Keeping the Goods & Services Guide Up to Date

As reported in July, the Goods & Services Guide has been overhauled after an intensive cross-functional project spearheaded by several teams in Procurement.  The Guide, located on the UVAFinance website, has several new and useful features (see all the changes in this July blog post).

The Goods & Services as it exists online is the most current version.  The Procurement team will continually monitor and update it, so downloading the document is discouraged.  The Guide is a 'living document' governed by a cross-functional team.

That team asks for your help in keeping the Guide as up-to-date as possible.  If you know of changes that should be made, please propose them by emailing them to AskFinance@virginia.edu; we'll be happy to investigate and review any discrepancies, gaps, or inaccuracies, and address them.  

Heads Up on Aging Transactions

The Travel & Expense team is working to clean up a number of aging transactions over 90 days old.
If you receive an email regarding aging transactions for you or one of your direct reports, please expense these as soon as possible. 
The new My Card Transactions report is an easy way to see if you have any outstanding transactions. Often items are ‘hidden’ in draft expense reports. 
Thank you for your help!

Josh Breeden Leaving UVAFinance

Josh Breeden, formerly a Senior Workday Finance Architect, has his last day on Friday, August 11th. He is moving on to be a Workday Senior Associate, working in post-production support with Huron.

Although it is sad to see him go, Breeden is looking forward to broadening his Workday knowledge. At Huron, he will have the opportunity to partner with other customers using Workday Financials and see how they leverage the technology to its maximum potential. He is excited to work with and learn from people that have used Workday for a lot longer than he has.

Despite that, Breeden is very grateful for all that he learned from his eight years at UVAFinance. He remarks, “I have had the chance to delve into cross-functional challenges to develop my operational knowledge, and then most recently build up my Workday knowledge base as a part of FST and the Workday Support Team.” His experience at UVAFinance will stick with him as he moves on to Huron.

He reflects that he will genuinely miss working with the various stakeholders across UVA: “I am thankful for the trust they put in me and for their partnership in challenging the status quo.”

Breeden will go on to do great things at Huron. Best wishes Josh!

(You can keep in touch with Josh via his LinkedIn.)

Update on Two-Approver Process for Expense Reports

The Expense team is working on a better way to achieve a two-approver process for expense reports that will work for both compliance purposes and for our schools and units.  

They've just finished internal testing on a process that is a significant improvement over the initial course of action we tried out (and pulled back) in May.  This process will be tested with a spend focus group; once more feedback has been gathered, we'll share the results at the September 6 Fiscal Administrators' Group. 

Want to be added to the Fiscal Administrators email invite list?  Email Stacey Rittenhouse.

_____________________________________________

Related information:  You can find the 2023 Fiscal Administrators' Meeting Schedule, along with Agendas and Meeting Recordings, on the UVAFinance website here (click Fiscal Administrators): https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/finance-community-engagement/meetings-and-resources 

Wellness Resources: August 2023

Upcoming Wellness Webinars

• Grow Fulfillment & Well-Being through Career Development

• Fine-Tuning Your Retirement Strategy

Do you have a Hoos Well success story that you'd like to share? The Hoos Well team is looking for testimonials and quotes that they can use for Hoos Well resources. Click HERE to learn more and complete the survey. Also feel free to attach a picture to the survey if you'd like!

Tune in on August 9 at 3:30 pm. Click HERE to register.

Tune in on August 24 at 12:00 pm or 3:00 pm. Click HERE to register..

Create a Hoos Well Portal Account

Create a Hoos Well Portal Account and earn up to $500 in awards while enhancing your well-being! Thousands of your colleagues are already reaping the benefits of the Portal and its offerings. Watch the recorded demo to learn how to get the most from the Portal.

Seeking Hoos Well Stories