Financial Services Office

FSO Monthly Newsletter Archive
 

The University of Arizona

March 18, 2005

In this edition:

  1. Business Community Open Forum - March 22nd, 1:00-3:00 pm, Gallagher Theater, Student Union.

  2. The Kuali Project

  3. Oracle Payroll Evaluation Project

  4. Check Request Scanning

  5. Printable W-2

  6. Bi-Annual Physical Inventory

  7. Positions Open in FSO

  8. Introducing FSO's New Employees


1. Business Community Open Forum - March 22nd, 1:00-3:00 pm, Gallagher
Theater, Student Union. The Business Operations Committee (BOC) has
been redesigned to improve communication between central administrative
units and the campus business community. The new structure will be an
open forum, the Business Community Open Forum (BCOF), and is open to
anyone who has an interest in the University's business policies and
processes.

The purpose of the Open Forums is to:

* provide information to and solicit concerns from members of the
business community, * give the business community an opportunity to
network with their peers and central administration, * assess education
and information needs of the business community.

The first Open Forum will consist of a panel with representatives from
central administration. Each panelist will spend 5 minutes reviewing
their role at the University and providing any updates for their area.
The floor will be then be opened to the audience to address the
panelists. We look forward to this opportunity for increased interaction
among the University's business community and hope to see you there.
 

2. The Kuali Project: On March 11, 2005, the Arizona Board of Regents
(ABOR) approved Arizona's participation in the Kuali Community Source
Project. Coincidentally, Cornell University also received approval from
their trustees and joined the same day.

Over 75 representatives from campus have been participating in
NetMeetings hosted by Indiana University to bring the partner schools
(Arizona, Hawaii, Cornell, San Joaquin Delta and Michigan State) up to
speed on the functionality of Indiana University's current Financial
Information System (FIS). FIS will serve as the basis for Kuali and
these meetings and knowledge transfer about FIS will help to determine
enhancements and priorities. The NetMeetings will be completed April 1st
and next steps will be assessed and communicated at that point.

Kuali information, including NetMeeting handouts is available on the
Kuali website, at http://www.kuali.arizona.edu/.

3. Oracle Payroll Evaluation Project - The Oracle Conference Room Pilot
(CRP) team charged with evaluating the feasibility of replacing our
current Payroll Engine with Oracle's Payroll Engine have completed the
following major deliverables:

-Compiled a list payroll transactions of varying complexity to
be used to test two mini payrolls,
-Developed a Feasibility/Testing Methodology to compare UA's
Payroll Engine with Oracle's Payroll Engine, and
-Provided KBACE with data requirements to build the database for
use in the Conference Room Pilot.

What's Next?

-April 4th: The final database to be delivered.
-April 4th and 5th: The Conference Room Pilot team to receive
training on Oracle Payroll and Discover, Oracle's reporting tool.
-April 6th through April 22nd: The CRP team to run two mini
payrolls (2/18 and 3/4), create reports, and process a year end.
-April 29th: Recommendations to be made to FSO Senior
Management.
-Mid May: Demonstrations to campus.

For more information, visit the Oracle Payroll Evaluation Project web
site:  http://www.fso.arizona.edu/fso/oraclepayroll/

4. Check Request Scanning - FSO Operations is pleased to announce that
Check Requests and supporting documentation are available for viewing
online in Information Services Web (ISW) using the "Check Request
Images" icon, formerly, the "Check Request Log" icon.
http://www.fso.arizona.edu/isw/

If you do not have access to this feature, please contact your ISW
Department Administrator. If you're not sure who your ISW Department
Administrator is, contact Computing Support - 626-3072. For detailed
instructions on how to view Check Requests on line, go to
http://www.fso.arizona.edu/reports/help/checkreq/checkreqinstructions.pdf

5. Printable W-2 - Your W-2 is now available on Employee Link. Go to
https://emplink.arizona.edu/ and log in using your Net ID. Click on
"Payroll Information" and choose the appropriate year under "Form W-2
Wage and Tax Information. The form will open in Adobe Acrobat to view
and/or print.

6. Bi-Annual Physical Inventory - The University's biennial physical
inventory is underway and must be completed (taken and keyed into FFX)
by this fiscal year end (June 30, 2005) to coincide with the issuance of
the University's financial statements.

Timeline:

March 3: Campus Wide Inventory Kick-Off Meeting.
March 7-21: FSO-Property Management distributes inventory
listings to department contacts.
March 14-May 20: Departments conduct inventory and return
information to Property Management.
April 1-May 27: Property Management keys inventory results in
FFX (University's Fixed Asset System).
May 16-June 24: Property Management conducts on-site
verification of selected inventory items.

This inventory is particularly important because it will be used for the
F&A Cost Proposal base year which determines the University's Indirect
Cost Rate. It will also be examined in the next ONR (Office of Naval
Research) Property Audit.

If you have any questions, please contact Alan Blumberg, 621-5090; Diane
Dobbs, 621-8612; Connie Huber-621-8611; or Mike Mitchell-621-8610.

7. Positions Open in FSO:

Job Title: Assistant Comptroller for Tax and Compliance (Repost)
Department: FSO - Financial Management
Job Number: 32294

To review the posting, go to https://www.uacareertrack.com/, click
"Search Postings" on the bar on the left, and search for Job Number
32294.

8. Introducing FSO's New Employees - The following employees have joined
FSO since the beginning of the year:

Adam Broyhill, Office Automation Specialist, Information Technology Services
Melinda Collins-Knick, Office Specialist, Senior, Bursar's Office
Nhora Forst, Office Specialist, Senior, Operations
Joseph Moreland, Office Specialist, Senior, Operations
Cecelia Perez, Office Specialist, Senior, Operations
Melissa Rios, Accountant, Senior, Financial Management
Lorraine Ruelas, Office Specialist, Senior, Operations
Matthew Stevenson, Office Specialist, Senior, CatCard Office
Karen Van Winkle, Office Specialist, Senior, CatCard Office
 

Contact: Kymber Horn