UVAFinance: Test your Laptop for Remote Work Readiness!

To ensure we are all able to work remotely should the need arise, we are asking each of you to take your laptops home this week and perform the following tests:

1. Power- Plug in your travel power adapter and verify it is charging the laptop battery. If you have lost your adapter or need a replacement, please submit a request immediately so we can provide you with another. 
2. HSVPN Access- Verify you can connect to the HSVPN at home and access essential data. Submit a request immediately if you experience any issues. 

Note- remember you have access to software which allows you to meet and collaborate virtually. You can use either ZOOM or TEAMS. You can install these applications without assistance from a LSP. 

ZOOM Install Links & Instructions

Create a Zoom Account & Download the Zoom Client

Alternate Link to Obtain Zoom Software

Alternate Instructions for Installing Zoom Add-In to Outlook

UVA Zoom Home

TEAMS

You can access TEAMS by logging into your UVA webmail account and selecting the dotted cube in the upper left

From here you can right click and open TEAMS in a new tab or window

Once you are in TEAMS, if you prefer to have the desktop version you can download and install it by selecting the following icon from the bottom left column. 

You will be prompted to associate the account with your work email and authenticate through Netbadge & DUO in order to complete the TEAMS client set up. 

If you experience any issues with installing either ZOOM or TEAMS, please submit a request

If you have a question you can speak to us in person or send an email to lsp-uvafinance@virginia.edu

New Business Intelligence Director in Town: Mark Anderson Joins Finance

Mark Anderson

This month Mark Anderson joined the UVAFinance team as the Director of Business Intelligence as well as the Finance Strategic Transformation (FST) Reporting and Analytics Lead. Anderson came to UVA in 2014, serving in several roles related to data and analytics. Most recently Anderson was the Associate Director of Institutional Research and Analytics (IRA) and worked extensively on the University Business Intelligence (UBI) project.

“I see FST, and specifically the reporting and analytics workstream, as an opportunity to build on the work that the UBI team has been doing for the last few years,” says Anderson.

Indeed, Anderson’s work on UBI and previous experience, working for companies such as General Electric sets him up for success in his new role in Finance and his team lead duties for FST. He specifically has experience working in finance on technology projects and states he embraces the challenge of learning new things in order to help improve people’s work.

Anderson says, “I often tell people that I’m neither an accountant nor finance professional nor am I a programmer/technology infrastructure expert. What I’ve always enjoyed, and been successful at, is working at the intersection of the two to translate and generate solutions. The FST project is perfect for me.”

During UBI, Anderson and the team forged strong partnerships across Grounds and helped solve or improve issues for users. According to Anderson, he hopes to build on that foundation with Workday Financials and Finance Transformation.

When asked what factors contributed to him joining the FST team, Anderson says, “I really like the focus and energy that comes with working on projects like this where we will have a lasting impact on the organization. This really can be transformative if we stay focused on the long-term goals.”

In his FST role, Anderson will partner closely with stakeholders to capture reporting and analytics needs and collaborate with his team to develop the necessary reports and dashboards.

“I’m really excited that leadership has acknowledged the importance of thinking about data, reporting, and analytics from the very outset of this project because so often it is an afterthought. By having conversations about how we want to use the data upfront, we can better ensure we’re capturing information we need in ways that will be useful.”

According to Anderson, stakeholder input was important during the UBI project process, and it will be again for Finance Transformation. He’s already hearing questions about how Workday Financials will impact or interact with other systems.

He says, “We’d like to keep people working in a single system whenever possible, but wherever Workday may not meet all our needs, we’ll look to the data warehouse and UBI to fill any gaps.”

With his other hat on as Director of Business Intelligence, Anderson will be working with Associate VP for Financial Strategy Bill Ashby and University leaders to help ensure the Finance Transformation supports a more comprehensive approach to reporting and analytics for the institution. The intention is to put the data and information necessary for decision making in easy reach for leaders. To achieve that end, he looks forward to continuing to collaborate with colleagues from IRA and UBI on data governance and an integrated data and reporting approach.

While Anderson only formally started his new roles on March 3, he’s already been involved in Finance Transformation in meaningful ways. He has been a member of the FST Advisory Group since the earlier project phases, as well as participating in a number of the Foundation Data Model (FDM—the Workday Financials term for chart of accounts) and Cost Center planning discussions. By attending data gathering sessions, Anderson acknowledges he’s got a greater understanding of the ins and outs of finance work at UVA in more detail.

“I think I understand the challenges that teams are facing as we start on this journey,” Anderson says.

While he grew up in California, Anderson has a history as Hoo because he earned his bachelor’s degree from UVA and has remained in Virginia ever since. Outside of work, Anderson is an avid UVA sports fan.

“I enjoy attending all the home football and basketball games,” he says, “especially when we beat Duke and Tech!”

Anderson takes in the view during a summer hike in Colorado

Anderson and his wife Margaret reside in an old house on a farm and manage quite the menagerie, with four goats, three dogs, and a cat in their care. For vacations, he frequently heads to his former stomping grounds out west and enjoys skiing in winter and hiking in summer.

Installing the Zoom Add-in for use in Carr-13 & 16

When using Zoom in the new conference rooms on the first floor of Carruthers, you'll find it helpful to have previously installed the Zoom Add-in on your laptop (it makes hosting your meeting a lot easier once you get to the room!)

Instructions for downloading the add-in on both the Outlook Desktop Client and Outlook Webmail are copied below.

See instructions for using Zoom and AirTame in the new conference rooms.

Questions?  Concerns?  Contact your LSP! lsp-uvafinance@virginia.edu 

Zoom Add-in for Outlook Desktop Client

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Zoom Add-in for Outlook Webmail Client

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Tech Instructions for New Conference Rooms

Technology in our new conference rooms on the first floor of Carruthers is different than what you're used to upstairs.

In Carr 12-16, the wireless projection hardware/software is called AirTame.  It works in a similar fashion as WiPS.  Carr 13-16  are also equipped for Zoom.  You'll find instructions in each room, and we've also provided information below on connecting in each room.

See instructions for downloading the Zoom Add-in to your email.


Questions or concerns?  Contact your LSP!  lsp-uvafinance@virginia.edu 

Using AirTame in Carr 12-16

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Using Zoom in Carr 12-16

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Parking charges return to pre-tax deductions

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 required the University to switch employee payroll deductions for parking charges from pre-tax to post-tax payments. This change occurred on April 1, 2018, and remained in effect through the end of 2019.

On December 19, 2019, Congress passed legislation repealing the nonprofit parking tax. As a result, deductions for parking charges will again be made on a pre-tax basis effective March 1. The switch back to pre-tax deductions is automatic and will modestly lower your tax withholding for 2020 and the foreseeable future.

Please note that any employees who previously elected to pay parking charges at the time of purchase instead of by payroll deduction will not be able to benefit from the switch to pre-tax deduction until the next time they purchase an annual parking permit.

Finance Strategic Transformation Updates

Want to listen to this update instead of reading it?  Head on over to WFST Radio for all the news!

Data Gathering Sessions

The Workday functional team is pulling together a series of data gathering sessions with our stakeholders -- these sessions are focused meetings with key UVA stakeholders in order to gain an understanding of current state processes, approval workflows, systems and integrations, security and reporting requirements, and more. Participants in the sessions will help answer questions and pull together current state material that will adequately prepare the implementation team for successful architecture workshops. Invitations are being sent now!

If you’re invited to one of these sessions on behalf of your school or unit, please make the time to come. Your representation, expertise, and feedback are vital to ensuring that we build a robust and effective financial management approach for the University.

The Project Team is Growing!

The Finance Transformation project team is still growing, and we have new positions available. You may know someone who’d be perfect for one of these roles. Check out current openings on the Finance Transformation website.

We're pretty excited about the great people joining the team:

• Mark Anderson, who will shortly be joining UVAFinance as the Director of Business Intelligence, will have a dual role as FST’s Reporting & Analytics lead
• Urmila Bajaj and Vonda Durrer are co-leads in the Grants Management Workstream
• Supporting Grants Management will be Shenika Knox, Darcy Rugar, and Sairam Praneeth Vegesana
• Bill Click will help support the Budget and Customer Accounts/Contracts work
• Expense work will be supported by Justina Duncan, Gareth Evans, and Jason Davis
• Michael Priddy will help support Payroll work
• Jacob Mair and Catina Seitz will support the Financial Data Model work.
• Beverly Smart and Kelli Craddock will help support the Business Assets/Projects workstream.

See more updates on our team on the Community.

Adaptive Insights Pilot Update

Budgeting & Planning Lead Elissa Morton and her team have assessed the readiness of other potential areas at UVA to implement the pilot, and our governance groups are reviewing that summary and making some decisions on the expansion of the pilot.

UVAFinance welcomes Sarah Fleming

This January, the Office of the Vice President for Finance welcomed Sarah Fleming into the role of Special Assistant to the Associate Vice Presidents for Finance. In this new position, Fleming provides administrative support for AVPs Bill Ashby and Augie Maurelli, as well as assistance on special projects, material for the Board of Visitors, and the quarterly financial reporting process.

Fleming’s background at UVA makes the marriage of project work and administrative organization this role requires a good fit. As she puts it, she “grew up” at UVA, beginning with executive assistant role in Student Affairs, and then moving into event planning and eventually an HR generalist role within that department.

The Flemings (photo by Adam Mohr,
 asm photography.  https://asmphotography.smugmug.com/)

Her 16 years in varied roles allowed her to grow as a professional, both in giving form and process to key administrative tasks that aren’t always simple, as well as getting into the details with the human side of work, filling staffing needs and giving candidates a good experience.

Fortunately, Fleming is also familiar with change. She recalls her experience with the Ufirst project as an important learning moment in her career. The transition, she says, ended up being a pivotal time for her to cultivate confidence in her skills and develop her voice as an advocate for good processes.

“Change is an emotional ride,” she acknowledges.

“There are definitely stages we all go through with change, and although I’m a realist, I tend to have a hopeful, big-picture view,” she says, adding “and I get some satisfaction from accomplishing something difficult.”

As special assistant to two executives who are themselves new, Fleming’s experience with change and complex issues will likely come in handy, especially as UVA heads into Phase 3 of Finance Strategic Transformation.

Fleming has found her new team to be warm and welcoming, and not afraid to ask questions (she notes this as a good thing, since she has lots of those herself).

When she isn’t settling into her new role, Fleming and her husband Drew and their two daughters Meredith (10) and Caroline (13) enjoy outdoor pursuits such as camping, hiking, and a nice fire. The family’s time outdoors has health benefits other than physical, Fleming notes.

“A little time outside tends to dissolve a lot of internal friction, too.”

Finance Strategic Transformation Welcomes Lisa Shuler

Lisa Shuler

Lisa Shuler is transitioning from her role in Student Financial Services to join the FST team as the Team Lead for Revenue. Shuler, a 32-year UVA veteran, is eager to lend her institutional knowledge to the project and build on her existing strong relationships with colleagues across grounds.

During her tenure, colleagues have shared their pain points with current systems and processes. One of the many things that excites Shuler about joining FST is that she can help build understanding and work collaboratively as, she says, “we all enter into the world of finance transformation.”

As the revenue lead, Shuler will work with schools and units to identify their needs in the areas of grants management, customer accounts, and customer contracts. She wants to advocate as well, to bring a customer-service orientation and willingness to improve processes.

Shuler says, “Colleagues have been saying for years that they want to have one truth related to reporting.” She believes that Workday Financials will enable UVA to have a modern and reliable source of information while reducing the administrative burden.

As a revenue functional team member, Shuler is aware of the importance of the Foundation Data Model (FDM), which is the new chart of accounts in Workday. She expresses excitement about our new chart of accounts and exploring all the new Worktags that Workday offers. Worktags are descriptors assigned to transactions that provide information for analysis and reporting purposes. She says, “Stay tuned for more on Workday terminology at a later date.”

Outside of work, Shuler enjoys camping adventures with her family.

“We have two wonderful grandchildren. I love taking them on adventures and exposing them to things outside of Virginia,” she says. “Home is where we park our RV because life is always an adventure.”

Joshua Breeden Joins FST

Joshua Breeden

Joshua Breeden joined the Finance Strategic Transformation (FST) project team on February 3 as a Business Process Analyst. He transitioned to the project from UVAFinance and previously assisted on the Ufirst project with the transition to and stabilization of Workday Payroll.

Breeden enjoys being an analyst because it enables him to learn about a lot of different topics and how things work. He has a history of process improvement, which will serve the UVA community well in his new role on the project team.

For FST, he will be learning about how we currently do things, gathering requirements, and learning about processes from stakeholders. This understanding will help him ensure the future setup in Workday Financials and updated processes best meet stakeholder needs. Additionally, he will partner with the change management team to develop training that will enable users to be successful in adopting new functionality.

“I want people know to why they’re doing things in a new way instead of just telling them ‘press here, press here’,” Breeden said.

Outside of work, Breeden has been working towards an MBA from Liberty University, which he will earn this May. He also enjoys visiting breweries and loves a good murder-mystery podcast.

FST welcomes Kristie Smeltzer

Kristie Smeltzer

Before joining the Finance Strategic Transformation project team in early February, Kristie Smeltzer already had quite a bit of experience with large-scale change initiatives at UVA. 

 Both in her role as a communicator in UVA HR during the Ufirst project and later in her communications role on the Organizational Excellence staff, Smeltzer had gained valuable experience in collaborating with others to move projects forward. 

An opportunity to join the project’s Change Management Team was attractive to Smeltzer as a natural next step to take, and a place where her experience and talent could have a wide impact.

“I’m excited about capitalizing on my experience at the University, both as a stakeholder and as a communicator, to collaborate with the good people already working on this project,” she says.

Smeltzer brings both her experience and considerable skill as a storyteller to her new communications role. Outside of her work at UVA, she has also served as Manager of Guest Studies and Services for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, is Burke Institute certified in Qualitative Research and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida. 

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For Smeltzer, writing and reading have been paramount in her professional, personal, and educational pursuits.

When she isn’t writing to share information with the UVA audience, Smeltzer is often at work on her own creative pursuits, including novels and short stories (her work has appeared in several literary magazines and journals) and teaching writing classes at Writer House of Charlottesville.

“As a teacher, my focus is often on listening. A good teacher listens to be able to meet people where they are and help them learn what they need to in order to get them to the next step closer to their goal,” she comments.

That focus, she acknowledges, is not unlike the support she provides to audiences affected by a transformative change initiative, shining a light on stakeholder stories that impact processes and translating technical terminology into layman’s terms to provide clarity and understanding.

“As a communicator who gets to delve into many different areas, I’ve really enjoyed absorbing the expertise people in those areas have, and listening to and learning the language that will be meaningful for our audience,” she says.

News from your Wellness Champs

Your wellness champions keep the HoosWell corner updated
with the latest wellness info.

Boost your physical, emotional and financial wellbeing with the following Hoos Well offerings. UVA Health plan participants can also earn awards for participating! 

Be sure to check out the Hoos Well Corner in the Carruthers Hall Café area for the latest offerings and news.

See a full listing of HoosWell Spring 2020 programs and services. 

Questions?

Contact Linda Leshowitz, Wellness Champion.

Type	Description
Physical	Participate in the upcoming Physical Activity Challenge – March 2 – May 11, Registration starts Feb 17th
	Join a free drop-in exercise class (Zumba, Yoga & others).
	·         Take advantage of special pricing for UVA employees for Wellness that Works (formerly Weight Watchers) – click here for more info. ·         Also a special WW Starter Kit is being offered this month --Employees who purchase a WW (Weight Watchers® Reimagined) membership plan between 2/3 and 3/6 can redeem a FREE Starter Kit* (over $100 value!). New members will have until 3/20 to redeem this kit.  See attached flyer for more info.
Emotional	Attend an Emotional Wellness Webinar such as the upcoming Flourishing in Your Life, (3/12 & 3/14).
	Register for free access to eM Life, an online mindfulness platform open to ALL employees (UVA Health plan not required).  Registration starts Feb 24.
Financial	Attend a Financial Wellbeing Webinar such as the upcoming Within Reach: Transitioning from Career to Retirement (3/4) or Quarterly Market Update (3/19).

Do you use Chrome to access the UVA Marketplace?

Google's Chrome browser released an update on February 17 that can affect how the browser handles cookies, and consequently, might affect the punchout catalogs in the UVA Marketplace.

The change will be temporary, as each supplier updates internal technology.  For more information, visit PSDS's Chrome Update and UVA Marketplace Information page.

Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services is working diligently with our suppliers to monitor the functionality of their catalogs in the UVA Marketplace with the new Chrome settings and is testing several ways for our users to have an uninterrupted shopping experience in the UVA Marketplace.
If you use the Chrome internet browser to access the UVA Marketplace, please review the instructions below.

To continue using Chrome to access UVA Marketplace punchout catalogs:

1) Review the list of suppliers with catalogs compatible with the Chrome updates.
2) If you would like to shop a punchout not compatible with the updates, you can try to open the punchout catalog in a new window.
3) If the punchout does not work, or if you cannot open the punchout in a new window, use a different browser.


To use a different browser to access UVA Marketplace punchout catalogs:

1) Review the ITS Supported Browsers for Integrated System.
2) Contact your Local Support Partner (LSP) for assistance choosing the right browser.
3) PSDS will send a notification when all punchouts are fully functional with all browsers.

Please continue to use Chrome to access the Integrated System (Oracle).

________________________________________________________________
For assistance with using the UVA Marketplace with Internet Explorer or Safari, please contact Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services at (434) 924-4212 or at buy-pay@virginia.edu.

For assistance with installing new internet browsers, please contact your Local Support Partner (LSP), or the ITS Help Desk at (434) 924-4357.

MOVE IT! Learn a quick, easy process improvement approach

Event Date: Feb. 26, 2020 - 2:30-4:00 p.m.
Location: Newcomb Hall, Commonwealth Room
Presenter: Angela Knobloch - Team Lead, Change Management & Continuous Improvement, Finance Strategic Transformation

Presented by Organizational Excellence as a Quality CORE Network event

Looking for quick wins and a way to tackle less complex process problems efficiently? Participate in this session to gain skills to share with your team to identify challenges, prioritize what can be resolved quickly, and plan how to achieve the solution.

Consider participating with colleagues; it’ll make it even easier to implement the approach in your area soon.

REGISTER on the Organizational Excellence website

If you register but become unable to attend, please let OE know by emailing orgex@virginia.edu. We appreciate you letting us know of such changes as far in advance as possible. We look forward to seeing you at the session!