Save the Date: Annual Day of Caring

This year UVAFinance plans to participate in the annual United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring, which will take place on Wednesday, September 20th. 

Please mark your calendars if you are interested in participating. We will share more information and details in the coming months. 

You can read more about the 32nd Annual Day of Caring on the United Way of Greater Charlottesville's website.

 

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

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

Finance Content

Much of the Finance content on CommunityHub was FST-related and has been archived.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

UBI Content

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

Continuous Improvement Content

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

End of Year Closing Dates

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

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

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

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

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

UVAFinance Team Members: Complete the Climate Survey

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

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

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

UVAFinance: Need a Headshot?

UVAFinance team members, we still have a few slots open for our spring headshot session on April 26.  

If you need a headshot, please visit our Sign Up page and see if we have a slot that works for you.  

If you are an employee who comes to Grounds ONLY for the twice-yearly All-Hands meetings, we will have a special headshot session just for you in May (more details on that later).  

Questions?  Contact Brandi Van Ormer

A First 90 Days Message from Augie Maurelli to UVAFinance

On March 9, 2023, Vice President for Finance Augie Maurelli shared his vision for the first 90 days as he transitions into the leadership role with the UVAFinance team.  The following are the main points of that presentation.

First, thank you for all the work you have done to get us to this point.  We have just come through a major time of transition with the implementation of Workday Financials and all of the other deliverables involved with Finance Strategic Transformation.   I appreciate your tenacity and dedication and acknowledge the uncertainty you may feel as we're faced with another period of change.

As we embark on a new era of UVAFinance, here are some assurances in our approach for the next 90 days:

• We will continue to leverage data and feedback to drive our decisions.  Even preconceptions will need validation. 
• We will be targeted and deliberate in our efforts and manage expectations appropriately.
• We will broaden our engagement horizontally across the organization and with our stakeholders.
• Communication, collaboration, and co-creation are fundamental to how we work.
• We will continue to embrace our self-developed core values in our actions. 

While some things will remain the same, there will, of course, also be some opportunities for change during this time of transition.  Change is not always our favorite meal; however, we can determine the size of the bite.  Here are some of those opportunities UVAFinance will embark upon: 

• Truly understanding all of UVAFinance's needs, challenges, aspirations, and concerns.  We will develop an internal survey and share the results of this survey during our May All-Staff meeting.
• Assessing current training and development mechanisms and seeking improvements.  We will work with directors and our training team to create a reliable, equitable way to appropriately focus our training development.
• Establishing meaningful relationships and tapping into our collective genius to arrive at solutions together.  We'll revisit and establish an appropriate meeting cadence and engagement.
• Continuing our path to success.  The aggregation and accumulation of repetitive work is what ultimately creates success.  We have made significant investments in major systems and we need to maximize them.  
• Co-creating a long-term vision.  How do we want to define success?

To achieve these aims, the first 90 days will require not only the aforementioned survey but also a listening tour (both internal and external), as well as my meeting with all directors.  We will also survey our stakeholders, seeking feedback on the current state, identifying key areas of improvement, recognizing effective tools as well as cumbersome ones, and more.   

As you might imagine, we'll also need to address key vacancies and critical needs.  That's a key priority we're working on immediately.  Departments are also revisiting goals with the aim to share them this spring.  As we approach May and the All-Staff meeting, we'll be looking to have a vision for UVAFinance 2.0, including a road map for a UVAFinance five-year strategic plan.  Major goals already established include a successful fiscal close and audit for FY2023, clearing all finance management points, improving multi-year financial planning, and developing an excellence scorecard/dashboard for UVAFinance. 

My ask of the team in UVAFinance during these first 90 days is to consider the following carefully: 

• How do you impact the team?
• What are your accountabilities?
• What do you enjoy about your role?
• What type of work do you enjoy that makes you lose track of time?
• Where do you struggle?
• What would you change about your job?  About the team?
• What would make your job more enjoyable?
• Are you challenged?  
• What metrics are meaningful to you?

These will be important considerations to have in mind as we work together to co-create the future.   Our aim is to consider not just what should we be doing, but what could we be doing.  I look forward to building UVAFinance 2.0 with you!

Augie

UVA Appoints Augie Maurelli as Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer

The University of Virginia announced on February 21 that Augie Maurelli has been appointed vice president for finance and chief financial officer.

Maurelli is an experienced financial leader in higher education and has served as associate vice president for financial operations at the University since December 2019. He previously served as associate vice president for strategy and operations in University Finance at the University of Delaware and held leadership roles in athletics both there and at Georgetown University.

As the leader of the UVAFinance organization and the University’s CFO, Maurelli reports to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jennifer (J.J.) Wagner Davis. He will work closely with each member of the University’s executive leadership team and partners across Grounds.

Maurelli is responsible for overseeing the University’s consolidated financial statements, along with developing financial strategy and plans for the effective allocation of resources to support UVA’s key strategic initiatives and priorities. He will provide strategic financial oversight of the Academic Division’s operating budget and collaborate with UVA Health finance leaders who oversee its operating budget, each over $2 billion annually. In addition, he will steward the University’s assets, and provide financial counsel to help UVA reach its ambitious goals.

“Augie joined our team during a multi-year strategic transformation of our finance operations. He dove right into learning about UVA and quickly began to collaborate with partners across Grounds,” Davis said. “When we all needed to begin working remotely at the onset of the pandemic, Augie continued to work closely with colleagues throughout the University. He spearheaded a governance committee that oversaw the creation of a new chart of accounts and managed multiple workstreams associated with the transformation. He earned a reputation as a leader who spent time working through the details with partners.”

UVA President Jim Ryan endorsed the selection. “Augie brings years of experience and strategic thinking to this role, and his collaborative leadership style will be an asset to the University,” he said. “I’m grateful to those who participated in the search process, and I’m excited to continue to work with Augie in the years ahead.”

Melody Bianchetto Retirement Reception Photos

It's not even been a week and we miss her already!  

If you'd like to relive last week when we said our fond goodbyes to Melody Bianchetto as VP of Finance (with the understanding that they're just "see you soons" in terms of her being our fellow Wahoo and neighbor), check out these Flickr photostreams and prepare to get a little misty-eyed:

Melody's Carruthers Luncheon

Melody's JPJ Reception

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Related Content:  Melody Bianchetto's "Farewell Tour" podcasts on Finance Matters - Career Reflections, DEI Reflections , Melody's "Brown Bag Series" (under "Resource Library")

Save the Date: May 4 is UVAFinance's Spring All Hands

 

UVAFinance's Spring All Hands Meeting is planned for Thursday, May 4.  

Mark your calendar now!  More information will be shared very soon. 

Five Things to Know about Finance: December 13, 2022

1.  Procurement will operate under an altered schedule during Winter break.  

• Procurement has altered its payment schedule to accommodate the Winter Break. On December 21st the Accounts Payable team will make all payments scheduled through January 6th. Payments suitable for processing must be fully approved and ready for settlement by 9 am on the 21st. The normal payment schedule will reconvene on January 2nd.
• Procurement will operate at a limited capacity during the break. If you have an urgent request with operational impacts, please send a request marked Urgent to askfinance@virginia.edu and copy Alita Salley. For Travel and T&E card-related matters, please use travel@virginia.edu and card@virginia.edu. Procurement will check these boxes Monday – Friday at 10 am and 2 pm.

2.  Account Certification News & Resources:  The Deadline for November Account Certification is COB January 20.  New Account Certification Resources have been posted on the training webpage, along with a new FAQ and a new Workday Account Certification Dashboard in UBI.

3.  Match Exceptions are improving, and we have new resources for avoiding them and correcting them.  Get the links to resources on the blog.

4. The Reporting & Analytics Team has posted release notes for December 2, including significant new reports and modifications for the month of November.  See the release notes here. 

5.  Finance Strategic Transformation is officially over as of the end of 2022, but support and engagement are ongoing in 2023, including Time with a Trainer and sessions like Fiscal Administrators and Business Officers Council.

Final 2023 CVC Update

Here's where UVA's Commonwealth of Virginia (CVC) 2022 giving stands as of December 6.  Since the last update in early November, many at UVA may have chosen to support the UVA Strong Fund to honor the families of the victims of the November 13 shooting as well as the survivors. If you would still like to support the good work local charities do in our region, CVC 2023 runs through the end of the year.

The last day to make a donation by payroll deduction is December 18. 

To participate in this year’s CVC, use the pledge form at cvc.virginia.edu. If you have questions about the CVC, email uvacvc@virginia.edu.

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Total Amount Raised by UVA: $495,577 (61.95% of the $800,000 goal)

Top 15 UVA Areas by % of Employees Participating in CVC Giving

1.  Communications - 62.8%
2. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Partnerships - 50.0%
3. Miller Center - 42.6%
4. Audit & Compliance - 33.3%
5. Advancement - 33 %
6. Operations - 31.6%
7. EVP/COO Office - 20.8%
8. EVP/Provost Office - 17.3%
9. School of Data Science - 14.3%
10. University Counsel - 13.3%

11.  President's Office - 11.1%
12. UVAFinance - 8.1%
13. Information Technology Services - 7%
14. Student Affairs - 6.9%
15. Academic Outreach - 5.6%

Top 15 UVA Areas by $ Amount Raised

1.  School of Medicine - $1119,668
2. UVA Medical Center - $77,481
3. College of Arts & Sciences - $31,930
4. Information Technology Services - $28,591
5. Advancement - $25,120
6.  Batten School - $11,500
7. School of Engineering - $14,270
8. School of Law - $13,358
9. Darden School of Business - $12,545
10. Operations - $12,189
11. EVP / COO - $10,575

12.  Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Partnerships - $9,223

13.  Facilities Management - $9,857

14. Communications - $9, 223
15. UVAFinance - $7,029

2023 Fiscal Administrators Meeting Schedule Posted

The 2023 Schedule for Fiscal Administrators Meetings has been posted online.  

These meetings will remain virtual to encourage the pattern of solid attendance.  A Zoom link will be distributed closer to the meeting date.  

See the 2023 meeting schedule on the UVAFinance site (under "For Fiscal Administrators). 

Add the meetings to your calendar now so you don't miss out!

November Monthly Close Deadlines have been posted

 Find important monthly close deadlines that impact your work on the UVAFinance website: https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/workday-financials/monthly-close-activities 

Five Things to Know about Finance: November 17, 2022

 

1.  Instead of holding Office Hours this November, UVAFinance trainers offer one-on-one time you can that can be scheduled individually.  Visit the Workday Finance Training page if you'd like to schedule some Time with a Trainer; just look for the area you need help with!

2.  Procurement has altered its payment schedule on November 23-25 to accommodate the Thanksgiving holidays.  on the 22nd the AP team will make all payments scheduled through December 2nd. Payments suitable for processing must be fully approved and ready for settlement by 9 am on November 22nd.  The daily stabilization payment schedule will reconvene on November 28th.

3.  The FST & UVAFinance Team are updating resources and processes related to spend, match exception, old purchase orders, and more on the UVAFinance website.  

4.  The process for submitting a non-catalog form changes on November 21, moving from Marketplace to Workday.  This should help decrease match exceptions and increase prompt payment.  Here's a quick reference guide that outlines the new process.

5.  VP for Finance Melody Bianchetto announced her retirement effective February 3, 2023.  A search committee is being convened to find her successor.  We will miss her deeply!

Five Things to Know about Finance: November 3, 2022

 

1.  Instead of holding Office Hours, UVAFinance trainers are offering one-on-one time you can that can be scheduled individually.  Visit the Workday Finance Training page if you'd like to schedule some Time with a Trainer; just look for the area you need help with!

2. UVAFinance is tracking deferred items and areas experiencing challenges post-go-live of Workday Financials (spend, account certification, fund balances, etc.) on the UVAFinance website.  Get resources and guidance, plus see the status of all deferred items on this page. 

3.  Reporting & Analytics has a new release, which includes RAD 2.0 and Fiscal Administrator Spotlight reports (all you have to do is search "Spotlight" in the Workday search bar).  View the full release notes.

4.  Budgeting Season has kicked off as of November 2!  From here schools and units will work on tuition/fee proposals before the BOV meeting on December 8/9.

5. FST is in the Stabilization Phase and set to close in 2022.  While the project officially ends in 2022, the continuous improvement focus will be ongoing.

October Monthly Close Deadlines have been posted

 Find important monthly close deadlines that impact your work on the UVAFinance website: https://uvafinance.virginia.edu/workday-financials/monthly-close-activities 

Five Finance Facts: October 20, 2022

 

1.  Remember your Workday resources: On the Workday Finance Training page, there are quick reference guides and demonstrations for transactions you need to do in Workday Financials.  Don't forget to use these resources and the WalkMe function within Workday itself.

2. New Reporting Resources:  The Reporting & Analytics team has built a "Day in the Life of a Fiscal Administrator FAQ" to list a few useful reports for everyday business transactions.

3. FY23 Budget Season kicks off on November 2.  Get into Adaptive Planning now and work on your budget!

4. The Finance Solution Center (Ask Finance Team) is working hard to answer your questions quickly and accurately, even as we all navigate a learning curve with our new systems and processes.  Read an update from team leader Joey Carls. 

5. Make changes to existing requisitions in Marketplace, not Workday Financials, to avoid lags in or failures in the purchasing process. 

Five Finance Facts: October 6, 2022

 

Time crunched?  Us, too.  Here are just Five Things to Know About Finance this week.

1.  Yes, the FST project is in the "stabilization" phase, but that doesn't mean we're lessening the availability of support.  The Team will continue to host office hours, work intensively on unresolved issues, and provide a high level of user assistance.

2. October Office hours are available, and if you're not sure which ones to attend, use our handy cheat sheet to pick the right sessions. 

3.  Take full advantage of the WalkMe tool inside of Workday Financials.  It provides guidance, walk-throughs, and links to our quick reference guides (all designed by our trainers).

4.  Self-paced courses are great refreshers for Workday Financials users.  Find links to these along with relevant quick reference guides, course slides, and demonstrations on our Workday Finance Training page. 

5. The Reporting & Analytics Team's latest release notes are available -- lots of report enhancements, corrections, and even new reports!

Policy Review in UVAFinance

UVAFinance's Senior Financial Controls Coordinator Christine Kennedy-Tyburski is working with UVAFinance departments on an important but often-overlooked task:  Policy Review.

Accurate policies are always a priority, but this year it will be especially critical to make sure their language and definitions align with Workday Financials and other FST-related improvements.  

Areas are reviewing their policies to find those that should be retired, those that require minor changes, and those that require significant changes.  Eleven finance policies were prioritized for revision and approved by the Policy Review Committee prior to Workday Financials' Go Live.

Review feedback will be gathered and compiled by October 15, after which we'll embark on a work plan for a regular three-year review cycle.  Thank you to everyone who is reviewing!

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.