FST Updates: May 12, 2022

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Workday Finance Training 

At this point, folks have been assigned their security roles within Workday Financials and know what training they need to take.  The training team has been holding instructor-led sessions on Zoom for weeks, and we have a selection of web-based, self-paced training you can take advantage of, too. 

In the instructor-led classes, you can ask questions, and do hands-on exercises to get yourself familiar with the system, and in those web-based courses, you’ll see demonstrations and you can share questions with our Finance Solution Center at askfinance@virginia.edu  

Read this week's full training update on the blog.

Cutover from Oracle to Workday:  Mind the Deadlines

Cutover is a complicated thing!  There are dates at which some functions cease in Oracle, to be picked back up when Workday Financials goes live.  Because there are so many areas of work to consider, we’ve built a whole section of the FST website dedicated to cutover to help you plan for the deadlines and prepare so things move as smoothly as possible for you and your team.  We're adding to the Cutover Resource page regularly.   You’ll notice when you visit the site that we’ve broken things down into the months of May, June, and July.  May walks you through things you need to do to prepare for the cutover, June gives you all the various deadlines to note, and July gives some post-go live cleanup information you’ll need to know.

Read the full cutover update on the blog.

FST Friday Recordings and Materials are Available

The recordings and materials from all of our FST Fridays sessions are posted on the FST part of the UVAFinance website (scroll through the list of resources to find them).  In that section, you’ll also find the demonstration of reporting that Mark Anderson did for Fiscal Administrators in the first week in May.

Read the full update on the blog.

Future State Finance Considerations

Fund balance ownership:  In the future state, you’ll see funds in actuals that didn’t appear there in the past, as they were only managed through budget allocations.  IN this new way of doing things, it will be much clearer who owns the funds, and they’ll show up in any fund balance reports you run. 

Read the full update on fund balance ownership on the blog (link to video resources as well)

Fund balance realignment: The conversion to Workday Financials from Oracle means that we’re going from a 2-ledger system where we have GA and GL, to a flat ledger system, where we just have GL.  This definitely makes things easier for us, but it does mean there will be some data clean-up after your funds transition from Oracle to Workday. Units are preparing for fund balance realignment to take place in the first two months of the fiscal year – which means that fund balances in Workday will be changing while the realignment takes place.  During this time, we won’t have access to detailed balances or budgets, but there are workarounds and bridges in place to get us through this time.

Read the full fund balance realignment update on the blog

Click image for a larger view

 

UVAFinance Spring Fling 2022

 Spring on Grounds: sun shining, flowers blooming, birds singing and the UVAFinance team gathering in-person. 

April 26 was a great day for our team to celebrate progress, review goals, and further focus on the upcoming Workday Financials go-live. The team learned more about Workday support, FST projects, among other priorities and also got the chance to connect in person. Complete with food trucks, Cav Man, and remarks from UVA President Jim Ryan - it was a fun day.

The Fall Fling/All Staff Meeting will be on Sept. 29 and we look forward to it!

Talk about focus! We're ready!

Our team keeps each other motivated.
We love all the kind words shared among colleagues.

There is no doubt our upcoming go-live will have excellent support before, during, and beyond.
What a great panel session!

We have such supportive leadership!
Many thanks to Melody and Jim for continuing to motivate us. 

Is it a party if Cav Man doesn't make an appearance?

FST Fridays: Final Stats

In April, the FST Change Team held six FST Friday sessions that offered stakeholders an early glimpse of some financial transactions in Workday. 

Over 1,265 participants attended these sessions which focused on the Foundation Data Model, Employee as Self, and Procurement. In addition to topic-specific information, each session also featured an overview of the FST project, the benefits of switching to Workday, and live transaction demos. 

FST Fridays received an overall positive response. Here's what a few people had to say about the sessions: 

      

If you weren't able to attend a session live, or would just like to review what you saw in a live session, you can find all session recordings and slides on the UVAFinance FST Resource page (scroll all the way to the bottom of the page).  You can also check out the bonus FST Friday session held on May 6 -- an overview of reporting capabilities in Workday Finance!

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Ready to start training now that FST Fridays are over? Click here to read more about training on the blog!

Tim Welsh Joins the UVAFinance Team

Tim Welsh has joined UVAFinance as Senior Contract Negotiator and has already noticed one of the best parts of being a part of the team is the diversity of the work and the supportive environment.

His new role according to Welsh, ". . . in a nutshell, means I’m reviewing and helping in the preparation and negotiation of complex (multi-year procurements for the sourcing of enterprise-wide goods and services as required by Academic departments) procurement documents and agreements."

Tim Welsh (left) and family

Part of that review and drafting includes determining if and when to bring in senior management or the Office of University Counsel. Welsh is also part of the effort to standardize and streamline the procurement process, which includes updating processes, documents and so on that are used on a daily basis.

Prior to joining UVA, Welsh was Senior Counsel for Fiserv, a global financial services company for nine years and a practicing attorney for over 25 years, primarily in corporate work and also trying cases at the federal court level.

"While there are many similarities in the work I’m doing, and will be doing, when compared to my previous experiences, this is the first time I’ve worked in higher education and for a state entity," he says. " I’ve found there is a learning curve involved, particularly concerning the open-book policy of UVA when compared to the efforts of private companies to keep everything confidential."

Thus far, Welsh especially enjoy two things about being a part of UVAFinance—the people and the scope of the work.

"I’ve found, without exception, that the people I’ve had an opportunity to work with, particularly those whom I work with regularly, are incredibly smart and talented, while also being kind and engaging," he says. "As to the work, I’m finding it much more diverse and interesting than some of what I was doing as part of a corporate legal team. Rather than dealing with a limited scope of products or services, I’m getting the opportunity to work on something different nearly every day. It's challenging and, as I mentioned, I have a lot to learn, but its also very enjoyable."

 
Welsh's favorite activity, though curtailed lately, is travel. He also enjoys spending a lot of time with his kids. "They’re all starting to leave the nest, so I’m enjoying it while I can!"

 

UVAFinance Welcomes Susanna Huang to the Team

Susanna Huang is no stranger to working in higher education. Before joining UVAFinance, she worked as a Finance Analyst at the University of Notre Dame’s Procurement Services Office under the Finance Division. She supported the department with data analysis, forecasting, systems enhancement, and continuous improvement projects. The projects helped create a strategic sourcing methodology that streamlined the internal purchasing process.

Huang started a new chapter of her life in November 2021 at UVAFinance’s PSDS as a Business Systems Analyst. She provides functional support and stabilization to various university software, such as Jaggaer (Marketplace), PaymentWorks, Oracle, and Workday. She is also on the FST team, assisting with the test configuration of Workday, validating data conversions, and designing training documentation. She blends her interest in research and technology into everyday tasks.

“I am super lucky to be part of this large, vibrant team. With supportive team members, I hope to make a positive difference for our department and the university.” 

Huang is particularly impressed by the customer service-oriented and mission-driven mindset of the team.

“I hope everyone embraces the significant change from Oracle to Workday and sees it as an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of UVAFinance.”

Huang graduated from Mount Holyoke College in May 2017, majoring in Economics, and minoring in Business. Having lived in several states, she has a deep understanding of diversity and the distinct cultures of different regions. Her hobbies include listening to music, watching historical dramas, keeping up with world affairs, and going to the gym. She believes that continuous learning and improvement are crucial to staying ahead of the curve.

Artaga Carey joins UVAFinance, Provides Support to UREG and SFS

Artaga Carey has been a part of UVA for almost 17 years, bringing her institutional knowledge and experience to UVAFinance after working in Student Health and Wellness.

As an Administrative and Front Desk Assistant, Carey is expertly supporting the Carruthers' Student Financial Services and University Registrar teams.

She says any challenges she may face in her role will be overcome with the help of the teams she supports.

"The teams I work with are so gracious in explaining processes," Carey says of getting up to speed in her new role.

Her favorite part of her new role thus far is "everyone's willingness to help and the sense of community."

Outside of work, she is usually listening to music, hanging out with her little people, reading, and enjoying time with her friends and family.

 

Cutover: Preparation Checklists and Deadlines

May is the time to prepare for the cutover from Oracle to Workday Financials.  

Although the calendar says we still have forty-something days until launch, June 2022 contains many deadlines for common business processes to be completed in Oracle before the transition begins.  

We've put together Cutover Resources on the FST webpage to help you be aware of the deadlines and prepare for them as soon as possible.  

Here are some things to note when you visit the page: 

• The May 2022 Section focuses on preparation.  You'll find checklists for areas of work like payroll, expense, grants, and more. Use this section to think about what your area needs to do to be ready and have what you need by the time the cutover is in full swing.
• The June 2022 Section gives you the deadlines for each area of work.  We've built a chart of cutover deadlines that you can sort by area.
• The July 2022 Section shares checklists related to cleanup, after Workday Financials goes live.  

We ask that you please review these affected processes and start preparing so you can manage them appropriately before each process deadline. Many processes may take several weeks to administer, therefore they should be addressed now.

These resources have been and will be updated continually.  Questions or concerns?  Let us know by emailing askfinance@virginia.edu

A Note for New Folks

If this is the first time the UVAFinance blog digest has made its way into your inbox: hello and welcome!  

You may be wondering how you got on the mailing list.  The answer is related to Finance Strategic Transformation (the implementation of Workday Financials). You were added because you have a business role in Workday Financials.  

In the past, UVAFinance had no consistently reliable way of identifying folks across Grounds who did finance work and needed updates from central finance.  We sent the blog digest to those who worked with us in groups like Fiscal Administrators and Business Officers Council, and of course many opted in to the mailing list on their own.  

With the advent of Workday Finance, it's possible to identify those who are doing finance transactions across Grounds, and so we have added you to our mailing list.  The blog digest comes out every other week and has information related to all finance functions: procurement, financial reporting, budget, treasury, risk management, travel and expense, and more.  The news we share is pertinent to the job you do.

We're glad you're here!  If you have questions or concerns about finance news, the Workday Finance implementation, or anything else finance-related, please reach out to us at askfinance@virginia.edu -- we'll be happy to help!

Attention UVAFinance: Come to Yoga on Thursdays!

UVAFinance will be offering a Zoom yoga class (Yoga Flow) each Thursday, May 23 – July 30, from 12 - 12:45 pm. 

If you are back in the office and would like to participate, you are welcome to do so in Carr-2. To ensure we have enough space, please RSVP if you plan to attend in person, and don’t forget to bring your yoga mat!

Contact Carrie Crosby to RSVP and obtain the Zoom link and password.

Priscilla Slaughter Joins the FST Team as Administrative Support

With go-live quickly approaching, the FST team is busier now than ever before. Luckily, the team also has more administrative help now than ever before because Priscilla Slaughter has recently joined the project as an Administrative Assistant.               

Slaughter knew right away that being part of UVA and the FST team was for her. “[Everyone during the interview process] made me feel as though I fit right in,” she says.

After quickly learning her new responsibilities, Slaughter has already scheduled several meetings and helped with other important tasks. “When I first started, things were a little challenging,” she explains. “Until I learned more about FST and learned the system.”

As she is in an administrative role on the project, Slaughter interacts with many people throughout her day and supports the entirety of the FST team. However, she works most closely with Anthony Pearson, the other Administrative Assistant on the project (Jamie Wilson is also still providing administrative support part-time). She also works closely with Angela Knobloch, the Change Management Team Lead, and with the project’s PMO team members.

Slaughter is a mother of three and a grandmother of one. She loves to be outgoing, have fun, and joke around with her children, family, and friends. Several hobbies keep her busy outside of work, including cooking, baking, and writing poems. She also enjoys exercising every day, which she does through activities like taking on her son in basketball, bowling, playing pool, and miniature golf.

Glad to have you on the team, Priscilla!

Fund Balance Ownership: Budgets vs. Actuals

For funds that come into the University in FY23 and beyond, there will be a difference in where they appear and who is the owner of the funds.  For those units who have worked with BudgetUVA, you'll notice that funds will appear in actuals that didn't appear there in the past, as they were only managed through budget allocations.  

In the future state, you will own all the funds that you expect to own, and they will show in any fund balance reports you run.  Funds will be consistently transferred and it will be clear who "owns" the fund balance, as well as where the funds have been transferred and how much has been spent. 

Read more about fund ownership visibility on the blog. 

Here's how BUDGETS will look after go-live: 

• Your budget will come over from Workday daily starting August 17.  If someone in your team makes a change in the budget in Adaptive, it will come over to Workday the next day.
• The budget will tell you the plan, and only the plan.  Units will be responsible for ensuring that funds are available to support the expense.
• The budget (plan) allows you to monitor your spending against expectations using budget vs. actuals reporting (instead of the BBA report). 
• Budgets may be adjusted for a variety of reasons (new information, new initiatives, permanent adjustments, etc. )

Here's how ACTUALS will look after go-live:

• Actuals will be in Workday and will show the results of transactions made in Workday.  Actuals are pulled back into Adaptive after each month-end.  Operational reporting is in Workday and UBI.
• As a general rule, funding from central will be budgeted and then transferred in actuals to the recipient unit.  You will have both the budgeted and the actual transfer.  We will work with units on how to implement this. 
• Units will choose the extent to which they will transfer funding to subunits. 
• If units have both the funds transferred, along with any revenues received directly, they can utilize fund balance reporting. 

Want to see how this works in practice?  Check out Katie Walker's recent presentation to Fiscal Administrators in this video, starting at the 1 hr 10 min mark.  In this video, we walk through examples of undergrad tuition, professional development funds, and faculty start-up funding, and what reporting you use for each (fund balance reporting or budget to actuals reporting). 

Remember, the FST team will be working with units before the Workday Financials launch on how to implement this change, so you can expect to receive more guidance from your own leadership.

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Read about the GL Fund Balance Realignment Exercise (the transition of funds from Oracle over to Workday)

Fund Balance Realignment after Go-Live: What to expect

Conversion to Workday Financials from Oracle means that we’re going from a 2-ledger system (GA and GL) to a flat ledger system (GL).  While this is a welcome change that makes things easier for us in the long run, we still have to clean up the data after the transition and change the way we think about things going forward.

In practice, the most notable effect of this change is that fund balances won’t be in the right places when we go live with Workday Financials on July 1, 2022, and will definitely require attention to get them re-aligned.

The FST Team is working closely with stakeholders and fiscal professionals across UVA to make this part of the transition as smooth as possible.  

Here's how things will look at go-live: 

• Fund balances will be available in Workday at a Cost Center, Fund, Gift, and Designated level. Optional worktags will not be on balances.  Cost center and designated values  may not be where the unit wants to keep the balances.
• Schools/Units will work over the course of the summer to plan the attachment of optional worktags (Project, Program, Activity, Assignee) and corrections needed for cost center and designated worktags.  
• These entries will be made in the prior year and rolled forward so FY23 transactional reporting will not be impacted by this work. 
• FY23 Budgets from Adaptive will not be available in Workday until mid-August

The FST team has been working with our partners across UVA to mitigate the difficulties resulting from this change. Units are preparing for fund balance realignment in the first two months of the fiscal year.  Fund balances in Workday will be changing over the first couple of months after go-live as realignment is taking place. During this time, we won't have access to detailed balances or budgets.  Oracle balances as of June 30, 2022, will be available through UBI, and the structure of the current "BBA" report will change to reflect both the Fund Balance Available and Budget Variance. 

Specific direction on this realignment activity and process will come from each school's Dean's Office. 

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Read more about budget vs. actuals and fund ownership visibility on the blog

Register for Workday Financials Courses: Here's How

 May marked the launch of training for Workday Financials.  Both instructor-led courses (offered virtually) and self-paced training are available through Workday Learning.

Courses are assigned to users based on the finance security roles they will hold when Workday Financials goes live in July 2022.  Although there are several sections of each instructor-led course available, we encourage users to register for a course as soon as possible, since seats are limited for each session.  To see calendars of instructor-led training sessions for May and June, visit the UVAFinance website here.

Ready to register?  Here's a helpful quick reference guide to show you how!

Don't forget, the self-paced course Introduction to Workday Financials is a pre-requisite for all other learning, and can be accessed and completed in Workday Learning (just search on the bolded title name in Workday).

Have questions or concerns?  Reach out to us at askfinance@virginia.edu 

Everyone's Asking Finance!

Contact the FSC team
at askfinance@virginia.edu

Ever since its launch on March 14, the Finance Solution Center has been working hard to learn the answers to common finance questions, keep up with the changes that Finance Strategic Transformation is bringing, and get our stakeholder's questions properly triaged for correct and timely answers. 

As training for Workday Financials has begun, you may notice the User Success Agents attending a variety of training sessions so they are prepared to assist you at go-live.   This dedicated team has already logged over 1500 cases as of May 3.

Thank you to everyone who has contacted the Finance Solution Center!  The team is continually learning, growing, and improving, and they're excited to be one of your first lines of support at go-live in July!

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Read more about the Finance Solution Center on the blog.

Payroll Services Welcomes Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos & Andrea enjoying one
of their favorite hobbies, traveling.

Carlos Rodriguez is no stranger to new beginnings.  

On the UVA Payroll team for just about a week, the Payroll Cost Allocation Analyst likes to be a driving force behind building things, whether that's in the form of teams or businesses.  He has not only built a successful career in payroll services at such organizations as PayPal, Intel, and ADP, but also, he has started up three businesses of his own.

His most recent new role gives him an opportunity to be involved in higher education, something he'd had his eye on for quite some time.

"My mother worked for the University of Central Florida for fifteen years, and she always wanted me to be a part of that.  And one of my own passions is helping others achieve their goals and helping make things happen, so it's a great choice for me," he says.

Rodriguez has both a bachelor's and a master's degree from the University of Central Florida, is Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified, and holds a Project Management Professional certification.

When he isn't absorbed with his professional pursuits, Rodriguez enjoys riding motorcycles, spending time with his three dogs (Thor, Captain, and Mila), and most of all, traveling with his partner Andrea.

"My time in the military introduced me to travel, and I've really never stopped.  I like seeing new places, meeting new people, and eating new foods," he says.  "When Andrea and I travel together, we enjoy branching out and going behind the scenes to immerse ourselves in the culture of the places we visit and making connections with people."