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.

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!

“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.

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 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.