Taking the mystery out of gifts and endowments

Gift & Endowment ImageNow system available now

Nearly 6500 files have been scanned and moved to a new system that can be accessed and searched electronically, providing unprecedented access for schools and units into their own gift and endowment accounts.

In the past, when departments or units had questions about restrictions relating to an endowment or a gift, they’d have to ask Wanda Breeden in investment accounting for help. Then Wanda would get her keys and head down to the Carruthers Hall basement (the “dungeon”) to research the question.

“SFS was only one of many units that called inquiring about gift and endowment accounts. We’d call and ask her for clarification of the endowment’s requirements or the donor’s intent, and she’d have to search the paper files to find the pertinent information. Some files could be several inches thick,” explained Lisa Shuler of Student Financial Services (SFS).

UVAFinance Procurement Analyst Represents UVA at a National Conference

Stage selfie- from Left to Right: Ron Moraski,
Director of Procurement Services,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Shannon Wampler,
Director of Strategic Operations, University of Virginia,
Lauren Leonard, Sourcing Analyst, University of Pittsburgh,
Dan Traub, CEO / Founder, FinVantage Solutions LLC

A standing-room-only panel session at the recent National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) Annual Meeting had a familiar face – Shannon Wampler, Director of Strategic Operations in Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services. The panel, “Getting Results through Data-Driven Procurement,” compared and contrasted the approaches three different higher ed institutions were using to solve procurement problems using data analysis.

“Most large institutions are using data analyses to support big changes,” said Wampler, “but that can be difficult for smaller schools to wrap their heads around."

"I tried to focus my points on small steps any college or university could take to make incremental changes with either their suppliers or their departmental clients.”

What data-driven procurement means to you

If you'd like an analysis of what you're spending in your department or unit, PSDS is happy to help.

One thing the data has already told analysts in PSDS is that remanufactured toner equals big savings.  Get in touch with Shannon Wampler if your department wants to be a part of a pilot program switching to remanufactured toner in return for a free printer!

Register now for Lean Fluency

We’re excited to announce the second Lean Fluency class, which will be held on June 7, 1:30-4:30, in Carruthers Hall, Conference Room 2. 

This class will be limited to 15 participants due to the size of the room, and is open to all, although UVAFinance employees have priority.

Description:  Many people in UVAFinance and across Grounds have completed the Lean Certification program. If you don't understand the concepts of Lean or know the terminology, it may seem like they are speaking a different language. If you feel like the intent of process improvement initiatives is being lost in translation, then register for Lean Fluency! 

This is a 3-hour workshop (with some pre-work which you will get by May 31^st) designed to familiarize learners with the basics of Lean principles, vocabulary, and tools. 

Register HERE by May 30th, 2018. 

If you have questions, please contact the training team at foc-training@virginia.edu.

New Recon Site Launched

http://recon.vpfinance.virginia.edu/

The newly refreshed site for Recon@ went live last week, sporting not only a new look but also easy-to-navigate content and information on both GA and GL!

What else is new? 

You're invited to go check the site out -- take it for a spin and share your feedback with the team at recon@virginia.edu 

UVAForward: Register now!

Registration for UVA Forward 2018 is now open!

UVA Forward will be held on May 24th, at the Darden Business School. We hope that you will find many of the sessions inspiring and useful to your personal or professional development. To read more about the sessions and the speakers and to register, please visit the UVA Forward website at forward.virginia.edu.

Only a few tickets left!  Register now!

New Payroll Website

Payroll calendars, forms, policies and procedures, and other resources are available on the new Payroll site.  This site will be updated with helpful information as the Payroll team continues to UVAFinance.

We welcome our new colleagues in Payroll, and we welcome your feedback on the site.  Please share any thoughts/suggestions with Lori O'Connor.

Resources for those who communicate in UVAFinance*

* That means everyone! 

Everyone communicates, even though for most of us, it's not our primary job function.  And the better we are at communication, the better and more successful we are at our jobs.  

UVAFinance team members have a whole host of resources available to them to help in the pursuit of more effective communication:

• UVAFinance Brand Resources on Box:  Email bv8h@virginia.edu to be added to this folder, which contains:
• Logos, stationery, presentation templates
• a bank of UVAFinance photos
• guidelines for communicating within UVAFinance most effectively
• walkthrough of communication channels within UVAFinance
• many other helpful communication tools and resources
• brand.virginia.edu:  You can view most of the assets compiled here by University Communications, but it's easy to create a login in order to download an array of great resources:
• UVA photography (searchable by keyword)
• print resources, including word templates for one-pagers
• examples of great communication pieces done by schools and units across UVA
• and much, much more!
• Finance Outreach & Compliance's "Effective Communications" playlist.  All of this Lynda.com content has been vetted by FOC, and covers a wide range of topics including:
• grammar
• writing email
• communicating across cultures
• having difficult conversations
• business writing
• overcoming fear of public speaking
• and much more! 

And one more thing:

Don't forget the April 25 Lunch and Learn session, "Successful Communication 101" from 12-1pm in Carr-1 & 2. 

Financial Planning & Analysis Welcomes Rick Johnson

Rick Johnson has joined the Financial Planning & Analysis team as a Senior Financial Analyst. In this role, Johnson will coordinate the process of budgeting tuition and fees across the University, in addition to working with UVA’s multi-year financial plan.

Johnson, a 2013 graduate of Liberty University, has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration: Finance. He comes to UVA most recently from Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he wore multiple hats in his role as a staff accountant.

That position combined with his previous experiences in accounting and finance inspired him to further explore the analytical side of the profession.

“Numbers tell a story, and what I most enjoyed in my previous roles was using my analytical abilities to clearly and creatively convey that story to our stakeholders,” he said, adding that he saw a move into higher education as a great opportunity to develop that skill.

Collaborative effort produces a targeted class to help UBI users

As the sun went down on Discoverer for Finance, a few UBI users in UVAFinance began to worry that some of their colleagues might get lost in the shadows.

Josh Breeden of Financial Reporting & Operations and Danielle Hancock of Finance Outreach & Compliance were concerned that accounts receivable billing specialists might not be comfortable transitioning to the new tool for their reporting needs.

I encourage UBI users to say what they’d like to see in the tool. The UBI team is very responsive to information from our users that will make the tool more helpful. – Josh Breeden

With his inside knowledge of the AR process, Breeden began working with Hancock on a training session for his colleagues, tailoring his UBI knowledge to fit their needs.

As UBI Trainer Linda Leshowitz points out, accounts receivable is a smaller audience with specific needs. “I was thrilled to learn that Josh and Danielle were putting this session together,” she said.

Upcoming Finance Training: April - June

 

Following are the upcoming courses, workshops, labs, and Brown Bag Sessions for April-June, 2018.

We hope you will take advantage of these professional development opportunities for finance professionals. Links to enroll via Employee Self-Service are available from the Events section on the Finance Outreach and Compliance website at http://foc.virginia.edu/.

Read on for all the offerings!

Finance Strategic Transformation Updates

Consultant Update

Deloitte and Accenture presented to the Finance Project Advisory Council (FPAC) this week, and we’re moving toward making a decision soon.

Other Activities

We’ve begun preliminary planning activities in partnership with internal audit for a project to revise financial internal controls as part of Finance Transformation.

In a related project, we’re working with OSP and the VPR to begin a process improvement project related to GA reconciliation and effort reporting on research programs.

Lean

The first Lean Fluency class was held on April 11, with great reviews from participants. Lean practices will be a big part of Finance Strategic Transformation -- opportunities are numerous for everyone in Finance to make a contribution. We hope everyone will take advantage of Lean Fluency classes (watch for more dates soon) to get familiar with Lean concepts as we think about how our work impacts others and how we can do our work better. 

Share your thoughts and questions about Finance Strategic Transformation:  Questions and comments are always welcome via our physical suggestion box in the Carruthers lobby or online suggestion box  Another option?  Email us at financetransformation@virginia.edu 

"Finance Matters," a podcast from UVAFinance, now available on iTunes

Finance Matters, a podcast featuring thoughts, stories and inspiration from the financial world at UVA, has just been released and is available to listeners for subscription on iTunes or on Podbean.

Let us ride along with you on your commute!

Finance Matters is focused on professional development, process improvement, and the Finance Strategic Transformation initiative at UVA.

Fans of the podcast can contact hosts Brandi Van Ormer and Patty Marbury to provide feedback and ideas for the podcast.

Listen now!

Get ready: A new and improved site for Recon is coming!

The next time you log onto the "Recon@" website,  you could be greeted with an entirely different experience.  The site, currently undergoing a content overhaul and refresh of its look, is set to go live in its new form by the end of April or early May.

A glimpse at the homepage of the new,
not yet live, ReconUVA webpage.

What will be different?

• A new look.  The ReconUVA site will look much different in Drupal format, and content will be organized in a way that makes things easy for you to find (see image above).
• New content.  The site will include both expenditure (GA) and revenue (GL) tabs.
• Fresher content.  Expenditure (GA) reconciliations will contain the same kind of information you're used to, but with better navigation and more up-to-date content.
• Easy launch of Recon@.  Look at that big orange button!
• Access to revenue (GL) info.  Procedures, forms, FAQ, we'll have it all right there.

We look forward to bringing you a new, improved site that makes your experience better.

After the site launches and you've had a chance to take it for a spin, please feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions with us at recon@virginia.edu 

Food Truck Friday Schedule

In the Michie Parking Lot

April 20: Yum Yum

May 4:  BBQ U

May 11:  Tako

May 18:  BBQ U

Using the Travel & Expense App in UBI

The recent Travel & Expense Expo showcased a day’s worth of travel and expense-related information to a large contingent of UVA travelers and travel planners in just its second year running.

Matt Douglas explaining the new Travel & Expense App

Attendees visited with dozens of partnering vendors in the travel, expense, and business logistics sectors to learn more about their respective product and service offerings. Breakout seminars throughout the day also offered attendees a preview of new and upcoming travel and expense-related projects at the University.

At one of the Expo seminars, Matt Douglas, Training Developer with University Business Intelligence, presented a brand new module for the UBI data reporting tool: the Travel & Expense App. The demo session offered attendees a unique, first-hand look at the module that helps analyze data sourced from their submitted and approved expense reports and expenses.