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 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!
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| Mandy Eames |
What do you do as a Finance Supervisor?
I supervise half of the Workday Support Team (the half that
is focused on procure to pay) and am personally responsible for payroll
accounting, business assets, projects, and cross-functional Workday
capabilities. A lot of the work I do
revolves around managing and maintaining our workflow and making sure we’re
moving forward in cooperation with other finance areas. I train our team in Workday functionality and also troubleshoot for our users via our Salesforce tickets, and perform a
lot of configuration and testing.
Who do you work with regularly?
I work closely with my team members, Donna Cruzado, Lisa
Atkins, and Jonathan Agop. Because of
the troubleshooting I do for users, I end up working with pretty much everyone
across Grounds. I’ve also spent a lot of
time working with expenses, payroll, fixed assets, and project teams.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your
job?
There is an ebb and flow to everything. Fiscal year-end is a
big push for Workday cleanup and closing things out. Twice yearly, Workday issues new releases.
That’s a busy time for me and my team because we must test to ensure that the
new code introduced by Workday doesn’t conflict with our existing
configuration. Workday releases the new
code to a testing tenant and we test it extensively and adjust if
necessary. We are actively engaged with
the larger Workday community, and we interact with other Workday customers all
year long to problem-solve and find solutions for our users.
What might surprise people about the work you do/this
role/your department or area?
People might be surprised to realize the volume and
complexity the team takes on, because although we’re not often thought of as a
tech group, we are the technical team for Workday. People are also surprised at how dedicated we
are to continuous improvement: we’re actively engaged in improving processes,
workflow, and configuration all the time.
We always have an impressive output, but the team puts in a lot of extra
time during the heavier seasons. We’re
getting better at the juggling act we must do . . . I have seen so much growth
in our team since going live. Our whole
team really does love helping people, and we would love to have Workday work
perfectly for UVA. We do our best to construct
solutions for users that make things work better for them. When we have to tell people “no,” it’s not
because we don’t want to give people what they want, it’s because we have to
work within Workday’s parameters.
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
The people, full stop.
There is a genuine camaraderie between the departments where I feel welcome
in every room. I never feel
uncomfortable working with any department, and that’s a big deal especially
because I’m remote.
How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance
Values?
I take my role seriously, and so does my team. We’re always seeking opportunities to expand
our knowledge base both with classes and learning from one another and the
greater Workday community. We constantly
improve our knowledge so that we can provide accurate solutions and a high
level of service. From a collaboration
standpoint, we work alongside departments to maintain open avenues of
communication so we can align our goals with theirs. That’s how we create an environment for
innovative opportunities. As we work
with others, we provide training and recommendations that move us toward
creative solutions that provide reliable results. The recent DISC assessments give us another
tool to hone our communication skills, tying everything together to push us to
strive for excellence. The cherry on top
of everything is that we love helping – yes, our position is very technical,
but at the end of the day it’s a customer service position. Everything we do can be done with that in
mind.
___________________________________________________________________
What do you do as a Business Analyst?
I am involved in tactical processes that provide solutions for university and external stakeholders. This includes troubleshooting Jaggaer and Workday integration errors, assigning roles/access, answering customer inquiries in Salesforce, and conducting data analysis to support special initiatives for leadership decision-making. I am also involved in strategic processes that identify new technologies, and I design process improvements to enhance current business practices across various departments. As the system administrator for the UVAMarketplace, I ensure that the environment showcases suppliers who provide state-of-the-art goods and services at competitive prices. I have implemented and enhanced Punchout catalogs, such as Quartzy, Linde, Creative Office, Haberdasher, Aireco, and RGH/Staples.
Who do you work with regularly?
I enjoy working with my team from Business Solutions & Data Analysis. Our team dynamic is quite balanced, with a solid foundation of mutual respect and understanding. I love collaborating with other colleagues from PSDS on cross-functional projects. Notable projects include the “High Impact Invoice Initiative” and relaunching the “Goods & Services Guide”. My interactions extend beyond PSDS to other UVAFinance units, such as Workday Support, User Success, Change Management, and Business Systems. Shout out to them! Through answering Salesforce cases, I have developed meaningful relationships with many departments, allowing me to empathize with the issues that they go through so we can work towards practical solutions. Lastly, I work with various suppliers and lead the effort to integrate their Punchout catalogs, which ensures a seamless procurement process for all stakeholders.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
Besides fiscal year-end when everyone is busy closing the books, the weeks leading up to the launch of each new Punchout catalog are also busy. Each Punchout launch demands meticulous planning, coordination, and communication with departments to ensure a seamless transition into the Marketplace. For our team as a whole, there are no cyclical busy seasons–there is a new challenge every day for us to tackle.
What might surprise people about the work you do?
We might not have the answer to your question. However, we will not say “I don’t know” and leave you out in the open without explanation. We go the extra mile to work with you to research the issue and create workarounds with the current tools and limitations. Because our team is a central solution and data hub, we must cater to many departments and internal functional teams. To make an informed, sound judgment, we have to think ten steps ahead to understand 1. ) the root cause, 2.) the feasibility of possible solutions and workarounds, 3.) the operational implications for various groups of stakeholders, and 4.) rules, regulations, and internal procedures that govern the process. We evaluate ideas holistically with data-driven approaches, which ensures objectivity and practicality.
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
I have many opportunities to work with diverse groups of people and learn something new each day. Knowing my work is valued, I like having that entrepreneurial spirit to create something impactful. Since data analysis is my second nature, I love working with data, finding hidden insights, and transforming them into compelling adventuresUVAFinance 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
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