Category Archives: News

Upcoming Demo Days – May 14, 2013

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You may be familiar with Demo Days or have participated in one of more of these events, designed to introduce Workday and demonstrate its functionality. Over the course of our Demo Days in April, May and June, we will be highlighting three key benefits of Workday: auditability, inquiry function and the framework for security and workflow.

Our next Demo Day in this series will be held on Tuesday, May 14 and will display the inquiry function. Be sure to check this site for the upcoming agenda and use the Contact Us tab if you would like to participate.

Demo Days Recap – April 17, 2013

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The fourth installment of the Demo Days series was held on April 17th at the Alumni and Advancement Center Auditorium from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.  A crowd of over 90 University community members took part in the live demonstration of Workday’s functionality while 50 more attendees joined the event using the WebEx option.  An in-depth focus on Workday Business Processes was demonstrated by Michael Bonanno, Accounts Payable Business Analyst.  Mike showed how Workday can be used to potentially replace the current RFP process.  The focus and theme of the presentation was on auditability and was immediately followed by an active Question and Answer session.  It was great to see so many people and questions; your input will assist the growth and succes of the UR Financials project!

A copy of the presentation slides can be downloaded here:

UR Financials – Demo Days April 17, 2013

Demo Days are held at the Alumni and Advancement Center usually on the third Wednesday of each month.  Our next Demo Days is actually on a Tuesday, May 14th, 2013.  These meetings are ideal opportunities to witness Workday in action and to interact with the UR Financials project team.  Check this site for upcoming agenda items and use the Contact Us tab if you would like to attend the next Demo Day presentation.

Demo Days Agenda – April 17th, 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM

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Alumni and Advancement Center, East River Rd, Seminar Room (#101) – The UR Financials project team will demonstrate basic Workday functionality.  The following topics will be highlighted in the demonstration:

  • Invoice Creation
  • Efficient Electronic Processing
  • Process Audit Trail

Meeting invitations have been sent for our live audience while WebEx will be available for those who cannot personally attend the presentation.  Project team members will be on hand for your questions. Please contact amy.baker@rochester.edu to reserve a seat or for WebEx information.

Workday Highlight – The Integrated Glossary

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The Glossary provided for this project is a helpful tool that defines terms that are used in the project with special consideration for the upcoming Workday system.  Team Leads, who are experts in these concepts, vetted each definition and will continue to offer their insight.  Scroll through the Glossary to discover terms that are unique to the Workday system – such as “worktag” or a new definition for “cost center”.  Both of these terms (and there are others!) represent concepts that are brand new to the University’s financial data environment.  If you’re unfamiliar with how FRS concepts translate to Workday, the Glossary can help you untangle the terms.

Large, mutli-team projects like this one bring together people who are not familiar with the language of each other’s work.  For folks who do not have a technical background, the Glossary defines “financial data converter” and “bi-directional translation”.  For non-finance folks, “F&A rate” is conveniently defined. We aim for the Glossary to provide a common ground for the University community and future Workday users.

If you see a term that you’d like more clarification on or if you’d like to have terms added to our Glossary, please use the Contact Us tab to relay your requests.  The Glossary will grow and change throughout the project.  Your input is always welcome in the process.

Demo Days Recap – March 20, 2013

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The third installment of the Demo Days series was held on March 20th at the Alumni and Advancement Center Auditorium from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.  A crowd of over 110 University community members took part in the live demonstration of Workday’s functionality while 37 more attendees joined the event using the WebEx option.  An in-depth project progress report was delivered by project management with an active Question and Answer session.  A highlight of the presentation was the live demonstration of General Ledger-specific functionality including the creation of a Journal Entry and a Supplier Invoice.  It was great to see so many people and questions; your input will assist the growth and succes of the UR Financials project!

A copy of the presentation slides can be downloaded here:

UR Financials – Demo Days March 20, 2013

Demo Days are held at the Alumni and Advancement Center on the third Wednesday of each month (when possible).  These meetings are ideal opportunities to witness Workday in action and to interact with the UR Financials project team.  Check this site for upcoming agenda items and use the Contact Us tab if you would like to attend the next Demo Day presentation on April 17th, 2013.

March 20th Demo Days Update – Room Change

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The March 20th UR Financials Demo Day presentation will be held in a different room than previously communicated.  The event will be held in the Auditorium, Room 108 of the Alumni and Advancement Center building on East River Road from 1:30 to 2:30 PM.  This is just a few feet down the hall from the previous location (Seminar Room).

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Demo Days Agenda – March 20th, 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM

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Alumni and Advancement Center, East River Rd, Seminar Room (#101) – The UR Financials project team will demonstrate basic Workday functionality.  The following topics will be highlighted in the demonstration:

  • The UR Financials Project Scope
  • Creating a Journal Entry
  • Creating a Supplier Invoice
  • Create a “Budget to Actual” report

Meeting invitations will be sent for our live audience while WebEx will be available for those who cannot personally attend the presentation.  Project team members will be on hand for your questions. Please contact amy.baker@rochester.edu to reserve a seat or for WebEx information.

Workday Highlight – Technical Management & Integration

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The Technical Management and Integration team within the UR Financials team holds a special responsibility for the life of the project: to transition from the Financial Records System (FRS) to the incoming Workday system.  With this introduction are tireless efforts of research, testing, revising and documentation.  Over the forty years of its existence, FRS created hundreds of lines and links to auxiliary systems such as HRMS, Cognos, COEUS and FAMIS, among others.  Those links require careful attention to ensure that data is transmitted seamlessly and that all business processes may be maintained over the transitional period and beyond.  Once the links are created and tested, the Integration team will continue to support the Financial Data Converter to maintain the translation of information from FRS to Workday and from Workday to FRS.

Though often surrounded by the designs, architecture plans and risk-mitigation procedures, the UR Financials Integration team stands front and center with their meticulous and expert utilization of our data and we salute them for their efforts!

Workday Highlight – Reporting & Analytics

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“Delivering the right information at the right time and in the right format” is a general Reporting and Analytics mantra.  With the Workday application, users will be able to leverage a range of reporting capabilities to enable quicker and more informed decision making.  Workday calls this functionality “actionable insights” and the UR Financials Reporting Team has been working on a plan to translate the FRS and Cognos reporting methods into Workday’s “actionable insights”.

Since the onset of the project, the UR Financials Reporting Team has reviewed hundreds of Cognos reports, met with nearly twenty groups across the University and started to develop an initial reporting design for the Workday application.  With an exceptional amount of information already gathered, the team has immediate plans to incorporate more user feedback and data to evolve the design to match University needs.  Overall, with the primary goal of the UR Financials Reporting Team to improve the current reporting structure and enable Workday “actionable insights”, a great foundation has been established and we look forward to building upon it.

Demo Days Recap – February 20th, 2013

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The second installment of the Demo Days series was held on February 20th at the Alumni and Advancement Center from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.  Over sixty University community members took part in the live demonstration of Workday’s functionality while twenty more joined the event using the WebEx option.  A progress report of the Financial Data Model was presented before UR Financials project team leads displayed samples of Workday’s Grants Management and Accounts Payable capabilities.

A copy of the Financial Data Model presentation can be found by going to the Resources tab.

Demo Days are held at the Alumni and Advancement Center on the third Wednesday of each month.  These meetings are ideal opportunities to witness Workday in action and to interact with the UR Financials project team.  Check this site for upcoming agenda items and use the Contact Us tab if you would like to attend the next Demo Day presentation on March 20th, 2013.

 

Plan Phase Completed!

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The UR Financials project team has successfully completed the Plan phase of the project.  During this phase, the team completed the following deliverables:

  • Documented business requirements that the current system (FRS) can perform.  Based on our current knowledge of the new system (Workday), we identified each requirement as a “Fit” (Workday can satisfy the requirement) or as a “Gap” (Workday cannot satisfy the requirement).
  • Documented business process improvement opportunities.  Based on functionality available in Workday or based on best practices, the team has identified opportunities to improve process efficiencies or internal controls.  Business cases will be developed and reviewed with the Finance Advisory Committee to determine the path forward.
  • We have identified over 1000 reports that are used today.  We expect that 80% will be satisfied by standard Workday reports, and the remaining 20% will be custom Workday reports.
  • Today, there are over 100 interfaces into FRS.  We expect approximately 60% will convert to the new Workday Chart of Accounts (COA) with the remaining 40% continuing to send FRS COA format.  The 40% FRS COA formatted interfaces will be converted to the Workday COA format via an internal system.
  • Developed the strategy for change management as well as increased our communications to impacted audience via enhanced website content.

This was a concerted effort by all members of our project team.  The efforts spent on this crucial stage of the project will pave a solid path for future accomplishments and University benefits.

Workday Highlight – General Ledger / Chart of Accounts

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With the upcoming installment of Workday as the new Financial Records System, a thorough undertaking has been initiated regarding the University community’s usage of the Chart of Accounts.  The General Ledger / Chart of Accounts group within the UR Financials project is working collaboratively with other teams and consultants in the project to formulate the best solutions for account numbers and design for Workday and beyond.  Institutional, divisional and departmental reporting needs are being examined with great care and attention to the many aspects that go into creating the Chart of Accounts as well as its usage and upkeep.  Stay tuned for future updates regarding the UR Financials project team progress and, in particular, the General Ledger / Chart of Accounts group.

Workday Highlight: Accounts Payable & Preferred Payment Methods

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Workday allows for a preferred payment type for suppliers.  As Accounts Payable works with suppliers, available methods for payments are established.  For example, a given supplier may accept checks, money orders, electronic Automatic Clearing House (ACH) or credit card payments.  As a result of communications between Accounts Payable and this particular supplier, it’s determined that ACH would be the method of choice.  Workday’s flexibility allows Accounts Payable to set ACH as this supplier’s preferred payment option.  This method will be used for future payments unless an accepted alternative is specified on the invoice or payment request.  This added functionality creates a cooperative environment between the University and its suppliers and allows for smoother transactions.

 

Thank you for your participation and support.  Stay tuned for more announcements and updates.

Demo Days Debut!

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The UR Financials team presented the first Demo Days event on January 16th.  Over 60 individuals were on hand to witness some of the functionality of Workday.  Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and will aid in the effectiveness of future Demo Days:

  • Starting with the February 20th Demo Days, we will be hosting a WebEx for each session so that you can participate remotely.  We’d like to see you in person, but sometimes busy schedules don’t allow for the necessary travel time.  Please use the Contact Us tab if you require WebEx instructions.  A UR Financials project team member will be happy to assist you.
  • As mentioned at the first Demo Days event, we will be soliciting immediate feedback from the audience on the scenarios that we present.  The objective is to open up two-way communication so that the team can understand your unique requirements and provide live interaction.
  • Distribution lists for UR Financials are constantly evolving as the project progresses.  You may receive an introductory email acknowledging your presence on the distribution list.  If you have not received an email notification by February 8th and would like to be added to our communications, please use the Contact Us tab and request to be added.  A UR Financials project team member will verify your request.

Thank you for your participation and support.  Stay tuned for more announcements and updates.