Enhancements in Workday Finance

R2 Enhancements are here!

On September 21, Workday released its latest set of enhancements to the Finance system. Workday follows a biannual release cycle, typically in March and September, with additional weekly updates for fixes and smaller improvements. Each release incorporates customer feedback and delivers new features, enhancements, and AI-powered tools across both the Human Capital Management and Financials modules. The focus is always on streamlining processes and improving the overall user experience. 

This most recent release is all about convenience, adding tools that make routine tasks easier, provide better visibility into transactions, and save you time. None of these changes alter your core workflows, but they do give you more efficient ways to get work done. 

AI Prompt Recommendations for Payroll Accounting 

In the assign costing allocations and create payroll accounting adjustments tasks, you’ll now see a new “Recommended” option in several fields (such as costing company, earning, position restriction, worker, change reason, and employee). Choosing this option provides up to five prompts based on your frequent usage, helping you complete these tasks more quickly and with fewer clicks. 

Current Accounting for Gross-to-Net Pay Result 

You can now view all journal lines affecting a pay result in one place — including adjustments made after the pay period was completed and processed. This consolidated view eliminates the need for multi-step reporting, presenting both the original journal lines and subsequent adjustment lines together. Journal types included are Actuals and Payroll Accounting Adjustments. 

Costing Source for Payroll Accounting Journal Lines 

A new Costing Source column displays on Actuals, Current Accounting, and Forward Accruals journals. This gives you immediate visibility into the costing allocations that generated payroll accounting journal lines, making it easier to trace, audit, and understand complex distributions without running additional reports. 

Customer Accounts Hub 

The new Customer Accounts Hub offers one-stop access to many of the most used customer account tasks and reports. The hub is personalized to you — it only displays the tasks and reports you already have permission to access, so you can navigate faster and more confidently. (Image to be included in article) 

Revenue Hub 

Similarly, Workday now delivers a Revenue Hub, providing a centralized location for Customer Account Contracts tasks and report. Like the Customer Accounts Hub, this hub adapts to your permissions, showing only what you have access to, and making it simpler to find what you need in one place. (Image to be included in article) 

Looking Ahead: Videos on the Horizon 

These enhancements are designed to give you better visibility and quicker access to information so you can spend less time hunting for details and more time focusing on your work. And there’s more support on the way: the Finance Training team will soon be sharing short videos to walk you through these new features in action. Watch this space for more information! 

 

Introducing Procurement Transformation at UVA

Modernizing our Procurement Function

At UVA, procurement is more than purchasing goods and services; it’s a vital part of advancing our mission in education, research, and healthcare. To better serve that mission, we’ve launched Procurement Transformation, a strategic realignment to create a smarter, more connected procurement ecosystem.

This initiative is about more than just technology. It’s about reducing manual processes, increasing transparency, and creating a seamless experience for both our colleagues across Grounds and suppliers. By modernizing how UVA sources, contracts, and partners with suppliers, we unlock time and resources that can be directed to advancing the University’s mission.

Our Goal

This transformation positions Procurement Services as a trusted partner across Grounds. We aim to deliver a seamless procurement journey, from sourcing to payment. Through updates to our team structure, technology, and end-to-end processes, we’re setting UVA procurement up for long-term success and resiliency.

What’s Happening Now

Procurement Transformation preparatory work has been underway this summer:

• Team updates: Procurement Services has a new structure, with team members stepping into new roles to better support UVA’s buying needs.  Read more about the team changes
• Infrequent Payee Pilot: We’ve launched a pilot process to simplify how occasional or one-time payees are managed. Once complete, we’ll share the results with finance partners across Grounds. 
• Technology improvements: Workday Strategic Sourcing is next on the horizon, with guided buying and supplier onboarding coming soon. The project team is looking forward to continuing to engage with our partners across Grounds as we make progress on this next phase of transformation.  
• Website launch: A new website is underway to provide a one-stop hub for project details, resources, and updates. 

Looking Ahead

We recognize that change can raise questions, especially with many initiatives happening across UVA. The goal of Procurement Transformation is simple: to improve the procurement process from start to finish and leverage UVA’s buying power more effectively. 

This is about creating a procurement experience that is modern, people-centered, and mission-driven. We’ll share updates regularly as the project progresses this fall and winter, and we invite you to join us on this journey toward a smarter, more connected UVA procurement future.