Important September Monthly Close Dates that impact your work

Monthly close activities will be performed on September 30^th. Please be advised of the following deadlines and cut-offs:

• Accounting Journals and Accounting Adjustments will be closed on Friday, September 30^th at 4pm. All Accounting Journals and Accounting Adjustments (e.g. supplier invoice and expense report adjustments) must be approved by Friday, September 30^th at 4pm, otherwise they will be canceled by Central Accounting as they will prevent the period to be closed. Users are encouraged to enter all Accounting Journals and Accounting Adjustments by Thursday, September 29^th to allow sufficient time for approvals. Canceled accounting journals and adjustments can be copied and resubmitted in the next accounting period when it becomes available (see below).
• Payroll will be closed on Friday, September 30^th at 4pm. All Payroll Accounting Adjustments should be approved by Friday, September 30^th at 4pm, otherwise they will post to the next accounting period, when it becomes available (see below).
• All other activity groups and transaction types will be closed on Friday, September 30^th at 5pm. Users can continue to enter and approve expense reports, requisitions, purchase orders, ad hoc payments, banking transactions, customer invoices, etc. until this time to be posted in the current period. Any pending/unapproved operational transactions at cut-off will post to the next period when it becomes available (see below).
• The October period will be opened on Friday, September 30^th at 5pm. Users can continue to process Accounting Journals, Accounting Adjustments, as well as all other transactions at this time to be posted to the October period. Note that the Accounting Date for all transactions must be in the October period as September will be closed which may require the default Accounting Date to be changed to October.

Integrations:

• Last scheduled Accounting Journals Integration (SIS, FM, Fundriver) for the month of September will be on Thursday, September 29^th at 7:00pm.
• Last scheduled Customer Invoice, ISD, Supplier Invoice, and SIS Misc Payments integrations for the month will run on Thursday, September 29^th from 6:30pm to 7:00pm.

Thank you for your cooperation and adherence to these deadlines. As we become more comfortable with the new system, UVAFinance may adjust deadlines and cut-offs in the future.

FST Update: September 22, 2022

No time to read all the text? Check out Five Things to Know about FST

Or listen in to WFST, the FST Radio News Broadcast

Hypercare Case Backlog 

The FST Team is making headway with the backlog of cases during this hypercare phase of the project. The team has prioritized issues like registering and paying vendors, with some team members committing evenings and weekends to solve these issues more quickly, to reduce frustration for both our stakeholders and their vendor partners.  

A quick look at case volume: 

As of September 19, our Finance Solution Center still had 204 cases open at the Tier one level, but they have closed 3795 cases.  For the more complex cases at Tier 2, there are 866 cases open at that level, while 8,325 cases have been closed.

These numbers are on par with what would be expected from such a major implementation in a large organization like UVA.  During hypercare, our functional experts, training team, and several other finance folks are pitching in to help the Finance Solution Center answer your questions as quickly as possible and solve the problems causing stress.

Resources & Help Available

We appreciate that folks are still sharing their questions, working with us on solutions, and doing their part to understand the system.  Attendance at Office Hours has been consistent: since August 11, we’ve  And as of the beginning of September, there have been 10,214 training course completions. 

Although the hypercare phase technically ends when September ends, we’re still planning on having Office Hours in some form during October, for the sessions that are still in demand.

Keeping up with Items in Progress

51 items were deferred until after go-live.  Of the 45 issues still to be tackled, 16 of those are set to be done in September.  Remember that the UVAFinance website is a great place to go to keep up with not only those items in progress, but also on issues with the system and just general “of the moment” FST updates: The FST News Ticker on the home page, the Spend Issues update page, and our System Status/Known Issues page. 

Also on the website is the Workday Finance training page, which is full of not only the training links, but also quick reference guides, video demos, FAQs, and much more to help you get through the tasks you need to complete day-to-day.  

Reporting & Analytics Update

The Reporting & Analytics Team released a significant number of new and updated reports between August 8 to September 9 and there were some new reports for account certification details and grant balance available.  See the full details here.

The team is also working on a Day in the Life FAQ on reporting, which will match up one or two reports with the most frequent daily questions that fiscal administrators and business officers find themselves needing to address.  Their goal is to provide users with a slimmed-down list of go-to reports selected by their peers.   They’re looking to release that in mid-October.

Focus Groups Wrapping Up

There have been six topic-based focus groups that have met for multiple sessions, and the FST team will take that user feedback and use it to focus our efforts where they will be of the most help, and solve the most difficulties. 

Five Things to Know about FST: September 22, 2022

 

1.  The FST Team is progressing with the backlog of cases during the "hypercare" phase of the project.  Functional experts, the training team, and many extra finance folks are pitching in to work extra hours helping the Finance Solution Center answer your questions and alleviate issues.

2. Resources and help are available.  Check out the Workday Finance Training page for Office Hours schedules, quick reference guides, links to online training, and video demonstrations.  You can also reach out to askfinance@virginia.edu

3. The FST Team consistently updates issues and items in progress.  Check out the FST News Ticker on the UVAFinance home page, as well as the Spend Issues Update page, and our System Status/Known Issues page.

4. New and updated reports are available for account certification details and grant balances, among several others.  Full Reporting & Analytics release notes are available.

5.  Focus Groups involving teams from UVA schools and units have wrapped up and the FST Team will use their feedback to focus problem-solving efforts to be of the best help.

Are you in Adaptive Planning?

If you're a budget officer for your school or unit and you haven't already gone into Adaptive 3.0, don't wait:  the time to work on your FY23 budget is now!

Adaptive Planning 3.0 went live on July 28.  This is the version of Adaptive that integrates with Workday Financials.  Schools and units are encouraged to log into the system and make updates as necessary.

Training for Adaptive 3.0 is available in Workday (online, on-demand) for everyone. Access to Adaptive is dependent on approval from your school or unit.  For more Adaptive Planning Resources and links to training, visit the UVAFinance webpage.

UVAFinance In Action

Ashby, Hoover, Walker, Daniel

 UVAFinance's Katie Walker, Executive Director of Financial Planning & Analysis, compiled feedback from NACUBO members to produce a piece on Higher Education's Top 5 Business Issues.  The brief is part of a NACUBO's State of Higher Education series.

Walker was also a co-presenter with UVAFinance's Associate Vice President for Financial Strategy Bill Ashby at the NACUBO Budget, Planning, and Analytics Forum.  Joining Ashby and Walker to discuss "Lessons Learned Evaluating RCM" were UVA's Adam Daniel and Rob Hoover.  

Support Sustainability at UVA with "Hoos Making an Impact" Competition

Interested in making a difference in the UVA community? Then why not participate in the “Hoos Making an Impact” (HMAI) competition?

What is HMAI?

HMAI was developed by Staff Senate Co-Chairs Adam Griggs and Patrick Wood, President Ryan and his Executive Staff, and the Staff Senate.

“The competition’s inception was born from the idea that staff needed to be active partners with leadership in the crucial conversations that impact staff University-wide,” Staff Senate Co-Chair Patrick Wood explained when asked about HMAI. 

The goal of this competition, held annually, is to enable staff members to share their ideas for process improvement and to participate in implementing those ideas. Though subsequent years will not be themed, Sustainability was the chosen theme for the competition's first year since the University is working toward the 2030 Sustainability Plan goals.

Proposal Submission and Prizes

The submission portal is open to all Academic Staff from now through October 7th, 2022.

Staff members with the top ten submissions will present their proposals to a screening panel composed of representatives from the Staff Senate, and from the offices of the President, Provost, COO, DEI, and Sustainability.

The panel will choose up to three winning process improvement proposals to implement. The winners will receive $1,000 (teams split the reward) and a lunch in their honor with President Ryan, his leadership team, and the Staff Senate Co-Chairs. Winners will also be featured in UVA Today.

More information on the competition is available on the Staff Senate website.

Mara Hilliar Retires after Memorable 30-year Career

Mara Hilliar started as a temporary employee with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office in August of 1988 and with 30 years of service on the books, she retires this month.

"Working for all three branches of Virginia’s government including the Governor’s cabinet, I have worn many, many hats over the years such as executive assistant to the president/chief of staff, adjunct instructor, office manager, administrative staff specialist, assistant editor and researcher for the Blue Book of the Commonwealth, enrolling assistant, and restoration of rights and executive clemency coordinator," she says.

The last five years of her work in the Commonwealth has been for UVA and she has made a difference during her tenure. She began in the School of Architecture as the assistant to the dean before coming to UVAFinance as the executive assistant to Vice President for Finance Melody Bianchetto.

"Mara is committed to lifelong learning, being a dedicated football mom and attentive grandmom, analyzing the best way to get anything done, and serving as chief DocuSign advocate at UVA," says Bianchetto. 

"Mara enjoys a challenge and will stick with a complex meeting task until it is complete, no matter how many blocks are put up."

In her career, Hilliar has most enjoyed connecting people to resources, "I considered myself a true civil servant and with the mission of looking for ways to help serve Virginia’s constituency. Because I had the opportunity to work in many different agencies and engage with many diverse populations, I was able to see how services and programs intersected. I used this knowledge to help those lost in where to go and how to go about getting what they needed to point them in the right direction and provide options."

Back in 1996 during the General Assembly, Hilliar worked for the Senate Finance Committee as their office manager. Due to the 1995 election, the Senate ended up split evenly by party and the influential Senate Finance Committee ended up power-sharing with co-chairs. The House of Delegates, specifically the House Appropriations Committee and House Speaker, thought this would weaken the Senate and when it came time for budget negotiations thought they would have the upper hand.

Hilliar recalls of this time, "Negotiations stalled and because this was before the practice of extending the session or coming back at another time, the legislature had to pass a balanced budget before the last day of the session per the Virginia Constitution."

Hilliar stepped in to go above and beyond in her role, "After the conference committee finally convened, the analysts approved all the numbers, it was left to the office managers of both money committees to see the budget conference report got printed and onto the floor of the respective chambers for the members to vote. And those familiar with the final report know that it is the size of a book. I did an all-nighter that lasted 36 hours total but ended with me being escorted by Capitol Police as I rolled the 50 copies from the General Assembly Building to the floor of the Senate in time for the vote."

Her career has been made memorable by the projects she's managed and the people she has supported, but also because of her generous personality and creativity.

"I am constantly blown away by her. Mara is a renaissance woman who relishes getting her hands dirty with topsoil while growing almost anything, an amazingly creative artist and craftsperson, a mixologist and chef, a lover of books, and a generator of unique ideas for UVAFinance swag - chocolate bars, anyone? I’ll always remember her as someone who does whatever is needed to get the job done even with grace and a smile," Bianchetto shares.

Hilliar's last day in the office is Sept. 30 and a celebration of her time with UVAFinance is planned during the networking event at 4 p.m. on Sept. 29 during the Fall Meeting.

UVAFinance Fall Event Update

UVAFinance Team, we're looking forward to seeing you at Darden on Thursday, September 29 at the annual Fall Meeting.  

You should have received an agenda for the day, as well as parking instructions and other details, as attachments to the meeting invitation.  

If you are a fully remote employee, we will have limited availability for headshots during the event.  

Please reach out to bv8h@virginia.edu if you are interested.

See you soon!

Tosh Thompson Joins PSDS as Sourcing Specialist

Thompson and Family

Though new to UVAFinance, Tosh Thompson is no stranger to UVA. With over 13 years, most recently at the UVA Heat Plant, Thompson was ready for something different that provided more of a challenge.

 

In his role within Procurement and Supplier Diversity Services, Thompson will work mostly with Joel Krieder and Song Song. As a Sourcing Specialist, Thompson’s primary responsibilities are to turn requests for money/products into orders, read contracts, and to be a good steward of the University’s funds.

“I love this position,” Thomspon said when asked about his thoughts on his new role. “I have learned a tremendous amount about finance and state regulations.”

Outside of work, Thompson loves spending time with his three daughters, two of which are in high school and one in elementary school. He also enjoys playing golf and traveling. He has even been to every continent except Antarctica!

Continuous Improvement Corner: The Last (and Earliest) Settlement

The Office of Financial Planning & Analysis recently scored a two-for-one on process improvement when the team used new tools to enhance yearly settlement reports and delivered those reports to schools and units in record time.

The Background

A key element of Finance Strategic Transformation was the movement from budgetary spending authority to base spending authority, or the transition to a "hard funding" budgetary model.  As a result of this change, schools and units will have the ability to run a trial balance on any combination of FDM worktags at any time.  That's a welcome change!  However, OFP&A had to work off of the old model one last year, and also do it as quickly as possible so that schools and units could apply knowledge of their current fund balances to the fund balance realignment exercise.  

The Old Process

Each year since 2016 (when the University Financial Model was instituted), the Office of Financial Planning & Analysis had undergone a complicated process at the turn of the fiscal year in order to provide schools and units with a year-end settlement and carryforward calculations.   The process involved pulling data from multiple sources, moving it to Excel, and adding and subtracting and combining everything for a bottom line total.  This complicated flurry of work was necessary in order to give schools and units a rough idea of their financial situation.

Complications from FST Changes

Team members Keith Carter and Rohan Patel were faced with a September deadline to get provide the last year-end settlement to schools and units.  However, the 2022 transition to Workday Financials made the process even more difficult, because the reports they had traditionally used in UBI to gather the data were no longer an option.  They were going to have to recreate the process one more time before the new process took effect.  

A New Method to Get the Data

Carter and Patel needed a different methodology to get the data they needed for the year-end settlement.  After pursuing a few options that were non-starters, Patel finally landed on MySheet as their method of choice.  In MySheet, Patel expanded the columns available so that he could bring in additional fields that they needed for the year-end settlement reporting.  After extensive effort, he and Carter tested their results and found that their data was solid.  With a solution in place, they were able to run the numbers and provide the necessary year-end reports by the end of August instead of the original September deadline.  Using MySheet, the team was also able to provide schools and units with a tie back to historical balances in Oracle, so it was clear how current data related to past data. 

The Result of the Improvement

Not only did this process improvement provide a new and better way to get data needed for the last year-end settlement report that our UVA partners will need after FST, but also, it meant that OFP&A was able to provide the data to schools and units in record time.  The timing element was especially important this year, due to fund balance realignment.  With correct and useful year-end data in their hands, schools and units could review the funds allocated to them and make necessary changes before the three-phase fund balance realignment process wrapped up on September 22.   

Congratulations to the OFP&A Team's Keith Carter, Brian Longwood, Rohan Patel, and Katie Walker, for their Continuous Improvement thinking, collaboration, and commitment to our financial partners at UVA!  

Reminder: October 6 UVAFinance Book Club Meeting

The UVAFinance Equity Action Team looks forward to our early-fall book club discussion on October 6 at 4:30pm.

The book we're discussing is Razorblade Tears, by S. A Cosby. The book is an intriguing and fast-paced crime novel set here in Virginia and dealing with themes of racism, classism, homophobia, and parenting.

Check out this video interview Cosby did about his book for more insight into the story. the inspiration for his character, and why he relates to Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days." 

Questions? Email us at uvafequityactionteam@virginia.edu

UVAFinance: Share your News!

Hey UVAFinance Colleagues! The UVAFinance Communications Team seeks your content for our various channels.

We're interested in a wide range of updates and pictures that you might have.  If you've been to a conference, taken pictures with your colleagues at a meeting or event, or have a professional achievement to share, those are great for LinkedIn and the blog. Has your team accomplished something great, met an important milestone, or improved a process? Let us know!

Send news/pictures/ideas to us at askfinance@virginia.edu (put "For the Coms Team" in your subject line so we can get to you more quickly!)

Open Enrollment Website

Benefits Open Enrollment occurs October 3 – 14, 2022. The Open Enrollment website is open; take some time to review the benefits changes coming up and to review action items to prepare yourself for Open Enrollment.

Open Enrollment Town Hall – in addition to five Open Enrollment presentations offered Sep. 14 – Oct. 5 by the HR Benefits team, the Open Enrollment Town Hall on Oct. 5 will include presentations by FEAP, Hoos Well, Fidelity, and the UVA HR Leave, Benefits, and Retirement teams. Additional time will be given for Q&A. Visit the Presentations webpage for a full schedule and links to the presentations, webinars, and Town Hall.

This is a busy time of year, and your benefits are an important financial investment. Carefully plan and mindfully consider your benefits options before it’s time to choose, so you’re ready when Open Enrollment opens in Workday.

1. Familiarize yourself with the Open Enrollment website.
2. Redeem Hoos Well rewards by November 30.
3. Deplete Full Healthcare FSA to $0.00 if considering moving into Basic Health for the first time.
4. Schedule a 1:1 appointment with HR specialists if you need help. Call 434.243.3344 to schedule.
5. Mark your calendar for the Open Enrollment key dates. Visit the Open Enrollment website or refer to the Aug. 31 Open Enrollment email to all benefits-eligible employees.

Updates on Spend Action Plan

Since the beginning of September, the FST team has been providing updates on the action plan to address post-go-live issues in the Spend workstream.  

Working with a cross-functional team augmented by temporary additional team members, they have steadily chipped away at the difficulties and issues affecting users. 

If you'd like to keep track of progress in this area, please visit (and bookmark) this page on the UVAFinance webpage.  

This page is updated once per week (sometimes more!).  

Finance Reporting and Analytics Release Notes for September 9th

This update includes significant new reports and modifications that have been released from August 8th - September 9th as well as known issues that we are investigating or working on currently.

Read the full release notes after the jump, or visit the Reporting & Analytics webpage.

The Reporting team is working with end users to share useful learning materials related to reporting. 

To request new reports:  Email askfinance@virginia.edu with as much information as possible about audience, purpose, filters, fields, etc.

Top Five Most Used Reports over the Past Two Months: 

1. Budget Vs. Actuals by Cost Center
2. Spend Detail Report
3. Find Expense Reports
4. Employee Information for Costing Allocation
5. Award Lines Overview

Upcoming from Organizational Excellence: "The Untapped Science of Less"

In striving to improve, we overwhelmingly “add” and often overlook the power of “subtraction.” We collect new-and-improved ideas but don’t prune outdated ones. Every day, across challenges big and small, we neglect a basic way to make things better: we don’t subtract. Learn how the concept of subtraction thinking can help you find more options and be more effective. UVA Professor Leidy Klotz will share practical applications from his recent book, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less. Presenter: Leidy Klotz, Professor, Engineering Systems and Environment When: October 19, 2022, 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Details: Newcomb Hall, Room 481 (In-Person) Register here.

Sustainability Lunch & Learn with Dogwood Refillery

Join the Office for Sustainability for a zero-waste lunch catered by Vu Noodles. Our guest speaker this month will be Alex Theriault, owner of the local business Dogwood Refillery. We all know that recycling is a good first step in your “green” journey, but Alex can teach us more about reducing, reusing, and refilling! Learn more about her shop and her journey to becoming a local green business leader.

Wednesday, September 28 from Noon-1:00pm
Ridley Hall (formerly Ruffner Hall) Room 302

Must register here by Sept 23

FST Update: September 8, 2022

 No time to read all the text? Check out Five Things to Know about FST

Or listen in to WFST, the FST Radio News Broadcast

 It’s September, and that means we’re in the last month of the phase of the FST project called “hypercare,” a phase of the project that emphasizes knowledge transfer, close ongoing support, ironing out known issues, and preparation for the future state. 

Office Hours in September

Topic-based office hours are continuing through September - the Training Team along with our partners on the Functional Team are hosting sessions on reporting and dashboards, payroll, account certification, and other popular topics, plus new additions such as the Workday release on September 10 and the Tuition and Fee Proposal Tool. View the schedule.

Workday Release 2 on September 10

Workday often makes updates to improve the system's look and functionality.  For this particular update, users will notice that their homepage will look quite a bit different.   You will notice changes to the appearance of your apps, the addition of a global navigation menu, and improvements in the search feature, among other things.  Read more and access a video overview on the blog.  

FDM Requests Open

The FST team has officially opened the ability for schools and units to request new FDM values, edits to existing values, or deactivation of existing values. Each major business unit has an FDM administrator who will be responsible for submitting requests for their unit on a once-per-week basis. Read more on the blog.

New Tuition & Fee Portal

The Financial Planning & Analysis Team has developed an improvement around the 2023-2024 Tuition and Fee request process. The new process involves the use of Smartsheet and is much more streamlined and simple,  including enhanced reporting functionality, a familiar, excel-like format for viewing historical data, and the ability to add all requests while staying on just one screen.  The T&F portal is expected to open on September 12, and office hours and other resources will be available during the month of September while the portal is open for tuition & fee requests.  Read more on the blog.

Security Requests and Role Access

Now that Workday Financials has been in use for a couple of months, and especially since the passing of the August 31 deadline for completion of training, users may find that they need to make changes to security role access for themselves or in their teams. If you request a role through the system access request process in Workday, remember that training must be completed before the role is approved.
If you want to remove a training requirement for a role you don’t need, use the system access request process to request the removal of the role. Read more on the blog. 

Five Things to Know about FST: September 8, 2022

 

1.  FDM Requests are Open:  each major business unit has an FDM administrator who will be responsible for submitting requests for their unit once per week.

2. On September 10, your Workday home page will look different due to an update released by Workday.  You'll see changes to the appearance of your apps, a global navigation menu, and improvements in the search feature. 

3. Topic-based Office Hours sessions continue through September.  New sessions include the Workday Release changes and the new and improved Tuition & Fee Request Process.

4.  To add or remove security roles in Workday Financials, be sure and use the system access request process in Workday.

5.  Keep up with updates and system issues on the UVAFinance website as we move through the "hypercare" phase of the FST project this September. 

Q & A: Security Role Access

Here are a few questions and answers we common to security access in Workday Financials.

Q.  What is the turnaround time for security roles to be added/removed and what could be delaying my request?

A.  Turnaround for complete requests (role and cost center/grant/gift/project numbers included) is three business days.  If the requests lacks any required details, there will be delays.  You can check on approval status of your request by reviewing the Disposition column in the My FIN Security Requests report.

Q.  What is the maximum number of security roles I can request per submission?

A.  The new maximum of roles per request is 20 roles.

Q.  What actions should I take to remove a training requirement for a role I do not need?

A. To have the training requirement removed, request removal of the relevant security role using Request-Based Access in Workday

Q.  When completing a request for security role addition or removal, which fields are required to be complete?

A. Complete all fields including Role, Security Group Type, Organization Type, and Organization.  Failure to provide these vital details will result in the request being sent back to you.  If you aren't familiar with the security roles and definitions, refer to the Finance Security Roles on the UVAFinance website.

Faculty: Your Resources

UVAFinance understands there is a significant impact on faculty and staff and day-to-day operations as we have transitioned to Workday Financials. While fiscal administrators and business managers in schools and units are keeping pace with the day-to-day, the Finance Strategic Transformation team is keeping resources specifically for faculty and teaching staff updated.

Faculty can keep up with Workday Financials updates via the FST News Ticker on the UVAFinance homepage and stay informed of any known system issues. Resources such as training links, security role request instructions,

Need basic information on the change to Workday Financials?  

Check out this resource.

We encourage faculty to work closely with your area business manager or your go-to finance person for questions after reviewing the resources. You are also welcome to contact FST directly at askfinance@virginia.edu.

Book Club Discussion this October

The UVAFinance Equity Action Team is taking a break from our regularly scheduled Sprint Discussions to give everyone room in their schedules to participate in an early-fall book club discussion on October 6 at 4:30pm.

Our book is Razorblade Tears, by S. A Cosby. The book is an intriguing and fast-paced crime novel set here in Virginia and dealing with themes of racism, classism, homophobia, and parenting. We think you’ll really enjoy reading it and that it will result in some great conversation come October.

Questions?  Email us at uvafequityactionteam@virginia.edu 

Your Workday Homepage Changes on September 10

In a continual effort to improve its look and functionality, Workday is updating the design of the user homepage. You will be able to tailor your homepage to meet your unique Workday needs through enhanced customization functionality. 

Here's what's new:

• Update: Applications - When you log into Workday, you’ll notice your applications (like benefits, absence, etc.) are now accessible through a 'View All Apps' button and through the new 'Menu' feature (located in the top left of your screen, in your Workday toolbar).
• Update: Search – your search results are now returned in two sections: Saved Categories (which you can configure for your own efficiency) and More Categories (all categories not listed in your Saved Categories section).
• Update: Inbox – your Inbox is now searchable, providing you the ability to quickly find a specific task/person related to a task in your inbox list. Other aspects/features of the inbox are unchanged.
• New Feature: Global Navigation Menu – available to you no matter where you are in Workday. It includes your Applications (which you can reorganize) and your Shortcuts (if you chose to set them up).
• New Feature: Cards - provide information to you, based on your role, in categories of: Timely Suggestions, My Team, and/or Recommended for You.

Resources:

• Watch this Overview video (courtesy of UVAHR)
• Watch this Inbox Enhancement video (courtesy of UVAHR)
• See finance-specific details and frequently asked questions on the UVAFinance site.
• Access learning resources, a short self-paced demonstration, and more, on the Workday Finance Training page.

 

September Office Hours & Training Resources

Topic-based office hours continue through September.  Sessions include reporting and dashboards, payroll, account certification, and other popular topics, plus new additions such as the Workday R2 Release and the Tuition and Fee Proposal Tool.

You can find the September office hours schedule on the Workday Finance Training page, along with a wealth of other resources.  

A note about role requests:  if you request a role through the System Access Request process in Workday, remember that training must be completed before the role will be approved.  Read more about the process and view some frequently asked questions about it.

Financial Planning & Analysis Welcomes Reshma Gali

Reshma Gali, a 2022 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has joined the Financial Planning & Analysis team as a budget analyst.  

With experience in the private sector and a broad background in fundraising and volunteering, Gali is excited to make use of her background in the realm of higher education. 

In her role as a budget analyst, Gali will work with the FP&A team to assist UVA schools and units in their budgeting process in order to help them be successful and stay on track.  The key factor in her role, she says, is listening - "listening to what the departments need, and what their students, faculty, and staff need."

Gali hopes eventually to go to law school, so working at UVA is a perfect way for her to experience the culture of higher education.  

"UVA is touted as the ivy league of public schools, and I'm looking forward to learning here about how universities function financially and how, as a part of Financial Planning & Analysis, I can help contribute to that," she says. 

When she isn't working, Gali enjoys a wide range of activities and volunteers quite a bit.   She led a Bollywood fusion dance team during college, and will soon begin coaching a boxing class at her local fitness club.  Her love of sports has shaped her philanthropic activities, too:  in college, she helped raise funds to build classrooms and purchase sports equipment for girls in India as part of an effort to break the cycle of child marriage by using sports as a means for empowerment and recreation.

Gali is also a pet parent to her puppy Simha, who tends to bark during her Zoom meetings. 

Taking New Approaches

The first couple months of go-live with Workday Financials has been busy for the entire team. From answering questions and troubleshooting to developing new training and getting information to the website, it is a steady stream of information across Grounds. New data coming into UVAFinance is at a new level and team members are adjusting.

"The volume of data entering the data warehouse seems to be at least three times greater than we received from Oracle," says Forrest Swope, Director of Data Operations.

Swope reports that the number of journal lines created when payroll is run generates a file too large to move. That's a lot of data!

"We devised a method to overcome these limitations - which is inelegant, but effective," he says.

While his team routinely checks the results of the nightly processing, it proved challenging to confirm
that they were certain they were receiving all of the lines using just Journal Lines data from Workday as a validation.

"After the end of July, we were able to run a Trial Balance in Workday for the entire month and compare the results (Beginning Balance: Changes during July: Ending Balance) to precisely tie out the total of all transactions by Company and Ledger Account to the Journal Lines data collected in the Data Warehouse," shares Swope.

The results of this new assessment have proved successful as Swope reports, "Across six companies with over six million posted transactions, totaling $9 billion we were off by exactly $0.00."

Swope thanks Mohan Vijay Adusumilli, Navya K, and Sai Mahesh Vemulapalli for their dedication to determining new processes and evaluations.

"It's a team effort and my hat goes off to the entire group."
 

 

New T&F Portal: A process improvement from Financial Planning & Analysis

Continuous Improvement is one of the four parts of Finance Strategic Transformation.  This September, the Office of Financial Planning & Analysis delivers an improvement around the 2023-2023 Tuition and Fee request process.

The team has been hard at work since last year’s tuition & fee submission rethinking, designing, and building out a new process for submitting tuition and fee requests utilizing Smartsheet. They're calling tthe new system the Tuition & Fee (T&F) Portal. 

The T&F Portal will provide a streamlined and simple experience for entering tuition & fee requests in coming years. Here are a few highlights users can expect:

• Familiar, Excel-like format for viewing prior-year data
• Enhanced reporting functionality allowing for a Board of Visitors report updated in real-time
• Ability to add all requests while staying on just one screen

The T&F portal is expected to open on September 12, and office hours and other resources will be available during the month of September while the portal is open for tuition & fee requests.

SWAMFEST 2022 Registration has Opened!

For the first time since 2019, SWaMfest, the Commonwealth’s premier networking, educational, and professional development event for small, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses, will return to an in-person format.

Hosted by the Virginia Association of State College & University Purchasing Professionals, SWaMfest 2022 takes place October 26-27 in Richmond’s historic Shockhoe Bottom district at Renaissance Revival style Main Street Station.

Why attend SWaMfest?

• Networking opportunities for SWaM businesses and representatives from VASCUPP institutions, prime contractors, and corporations.
• Engaging in workshops to enhance your professional development
• Opportunities to reassess how your organization operates and how to embrace the untapped potential in SWaM business relationships.

See you October 26-27, 2022, at Richmond's famed Main Street Station! Learn more and register at https://events.bizzabo.com/swamfest2022/home 

Questions?  Contact Mark Cartwright in UVA Supplier Diversity.

UVA Employee Resource Group Fall Fest

UVA’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Affinity Communities will be hosting the 1st Annual ERG Fall Fest on Friday, September 9, from 11 am to 1 pm in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom. This event is open to all faculty and staff (Academic Division and UVA Health), and in particular, hopes to welcome new faculty and staff. The following groups will be represented:

• Latinx ERG
• Black Faculty/Staff ERG
• Native and Indigenous Relations Community
• Asian American Pacific Islander Group
• Military Veterans Group
• LGBTQ Committee
• Organization of Employees from Africa
• Disability Action & Advocacy Committee

There will be snacks, swag, and ways to get involved with each of these organizations/groups. Join us as we kick off the academic year, celebrating the diverse UVA community.

DMV Real ID event

Brought to you by the Travel & Expense Team

DMV REAL ID Event October 24-25, 2022 in Carruthers Hall

Make an appointment to obtain your REAL ID. We will email fees and documentation requirements closer to the dates of the event. 

If you sign up but are unable to attend, please use the same link to cancel or email Travel@virginia.edu so others may take advantage of this opportunity.

Get Ready: Open Enrollment 2023 is October 3-14

UVA’s Benefits Open Enrollment for plan year 2023 will occur October 3 – 14, 2022. 

Now is the time to review the benefits that you will select for next year. Since the Open Enrollment window is only two weeks, we are providing you with all the information you need to decide prior to Open Enrollment going live in Workday so you can carefully consider options and ask questions. Don't wait until the short window opens to do it all.

Here's what you can do to prepare for Open Enrollment: 

• Make sure the benefits you chose in 2022 are meeting your needs and supporting your health and well-being. Consider: Have you used all your preventive services for health, dental, and vision? Visit:
• Medical Claims and Pharmacy: Aetna website
• Dental: United Concordia member website
• Vision: Davis Vision member website
• Do you have funds left in your FSA account that you can use? Visit the Chard Snyder website to check your FSA account balance. All funds in your Full FSA need to be used by the end of 2022 if you are changing to Basic Health with HSA, or by the grace period deadline.
• Chard Snyder has an online FSA store where you can use your FSA dollars. Check out the FSA Eligibility List to find out which kinds of over-the-counter products and medications you can purchase.
• Do you have funds left in your Dependent Care FSA account that you can use? Visit the Chard Snyder website to check your Dependent Care FSA account balance. All funds in your Dependent Care FSA need to be used by the end of 2022, or through the grace period. Review your dependent care costs and spending to plan for caregiving costs in 2023.
• Did your benefits elections in Workday match your spending in 2022? Log in to Workday and review your benefits.
• Are your dependents listed with social security numbers in Workday? Add their social security numbers if they're missing.
• Is your home address and phone number correct in Workday? Review your profile in Workday and update as needed.

Asking yourself these questions can help you make the best investment. As Open Enrollment approaches, knowing what you need now is a great way to thoughtfully prepare for next year.

Check out these resources:

Visit UVAHR's Open Enrollment 2023 website for important dates and helpful resources. Note that this website will be fully updated on September 14, 2022.

Register for the Open Enrollment Town Hall on October 6 here.