GENERAL
Notice regarding backup cost center managers
Many of you have experienced delays with transactions involving cost center that lack a back-up Cost Center Manager.
Here’s an example:
Janie is the one and only Cost Center Manager for CC-12345678. She also holds the Requisition Requester role for the same cost center. Three weeks ago, Janie, as Requisition Requester, ordered five widgets from Widgets-R-Us. Since then, the transaction seems to have disappeared. Where did it go?
Answer: nowhere.
The purchase needs to be approved by a Cost Center Manager, and that Manager needs to be someone other than the requisitioner. Since Janie is the requisitioner, she needs requisition, she needs someone else to step in as a Cost Center Manager and approve the transaction so that it can move forward.
There are many other scenarios similar to Janie’s, all of which involve the separation of duties associated with the Requisitioner and Cost Center Manager roles.
To avoid this conundrum, please review the roles assigned to each of your cost centers. If you see only one Cost Center Manager for a given cost center, please request a second one through our Security Role Request form.
Note: If your unit lacks a second person who can act as Cost Center Manager, the role should be assigned to Linda Nelson.
Security Roles and You!
On the topic of security roles: the UWFT team has updated the Provision UW Academy/Enterprise Finance Security Access form for submitting Security Role requests in Workday as of November 9. The most notable change is that Sup Org Managers now have the ability to submit security role requests. We strongly recommend that you continue to rely on AST to help manage, submit, and support your security role needs, despite the new functionality. Visit our Security Role Services page for more information and send us your role requests through our Security Role Request form.
If you request multiple security roles for your unit on a weekly basis, you may consider having sup org managers take on this work locally. When doing so, be sure they review the job aid for step-by-step guidance and consult the new FT Security Role Updates help sheet when determining which roles should be requested and which hierarchy level they should be assigned.
PAYMENTS AND PROCUREMENT
REMINDER: Interim process for services invoices begins November 27
An important reminder regarding the interim process for auto-receiving on all invoices for services, AND invoices for goods with a Service Line. This will affect every order or purchase made through Workday (e.g., requisitions, catalog/roundtrip, non-catalog, BPOs, etc.).
Here are some examples of a service:
- A one-year consulting service
- Dry ice or gasoline – a good that you might have a dollar amount allocated for. This would be represented on the service line where you purchase the food with a dollar amount versus a unit of measure.
- A one-time payment for web design services
It is essential units review their outstanding service invoices immediately.
- Auto-receiving begins November 27, 2023, even if you don’t want it to. Note: invoices on grants auto-received will route to the PI and Grant Manager for approval before being paid out. All others will be paid without further review or approval.
- If you discover that an outstanding invoice is incorrect or incorrectly mapped in Workday, either submit a Procurement form to cancel the invoice OR contact AST right away. We will work with Accounts Payable (AP) to cancel the invoice. Note: A new invoice will have to be issued once the original is cancelled.
For more details, please see the November 15, 2023, notice sent out visa CAS-Admins mailman. Bring your questions to AST Pay/Pro’s daily receiving parties from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Zoom link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/91705362068).
In addition, we strongly encourage you to review the November 21, 2023, Tuesday Noontime Workshop recording that is now available in the CAS Finance & Administration Teams channel.
GRANTS AND ACCOUNTING
An important note on resource tags for revenue transfers
When you complete the AST Move Revenue (Formally Funding Transfer) form, you will see the following note regarding resource tags: “Resource tag must be the same for both current and transfer.”
This restriction is causing confusion. To explain, it may be helpful to think of a (admittedly boring) card game:
Imagine that you have three boxes of badly shuffled playing cards. One box contains purple playing cards; one contains gold playing cards; and the third contains cards in a dazzling shade of pink. You need to bring order to the piles of cards in each box.
There is one rule: While you rearrange the cards within a box, you may not move cards from one box to another. So: Gold cards can’t be moved to the purple box; purple cards can’t be mixed with the dazzling pink cards; and since mixing dazzling pink with gold gives you a headache, it, too, is prohibited.
Think of resource tags as the boxes, and each of your revenue dollars as the colored playing cards within each box. When needed, you can ‘rearrange’ (transfer) dollars, but you may not move dollars from one box (resource tag) to another. Just as you could not transfer gold cards to the purple box, you cannot transfer funds from the GOF box (RS100216) to the gift box (RS100203), or funds from a federal grant box (RS100077) to a DOF box (RS100001), or non-governmental funds (RS100027) to the course fee box (RS1000201), etc.
In other words, you cannot change the color, or type, or money (revenue dollars) you are having transferred. Please follow this one rule when submitting your revenue transfer requests. Thanks!
New Worktag Request Process
The UWFT team recently updated the excel template for requesting new worktags, and now required additional information for the creation of sub gifts. To ensure your new worktag requests are processed quickly and smoothly, be sure to fill out the excel template and send it directly to Robert Young at ryng@uw.edu for review. Once he has verified that all the required information is included, he will submit the Foundation Data Model (FDM) Data Element Management Request.
Access the new template on our website from the ‘Create New / Modify Worktag’ form on the Accounting page.
HR/PAYROLL
Deadline for Overpayment Requests
Please note that Overpayment requests for the 2023 calendar year, all required documentation must be received in the ISC Payroll Office by December 11, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. This will ensure that overpayments are processed at the correct tax rate. Forms not received by this date may be subject to higher federal taxes per IRS Federal Tax regulations.
For AST Payroll supported units: To ensure compliance with this timeline, AST asks that any overpayment request made through our office be submitted no later than December 5, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. Any requests not received by that time may not be completed in advance of the ISC due date.
Keep in mind that any Workday actions (e.g., FTE changes, timesheet adjustments, etc.) necessitating the overpayment request must be completed in Workday before the overpayment request is submitted.
For more information, check out the following links and resources:
Winter 2024 I-9 drop-in schedule is now available
Winter is coming… and so are our Winter I-9 drop-in hours! Our I-9 team will be at the CAS Dean’s Office from January 3-12, 2024, to assist new hires with the in-person verification of their I-9 documents. Administrators, please view and share the attached Winter 2024 I-9 drop-in schedule (PDF) with your new hires.
Since hiring is a year-round business, our team will continue to send out I-9 reminders to newly hired employees on a rolling basis. As always, we encourage you to keep on sharing the following resources with your newly hired employees:
- I-9 Journey Map: This resource helps guide new-to-the-university employees through the process of filling out Section 1 of their Form I-9 in Workday.
- I-9 Verification Appointment Link: If your new hires are unable to attend our I-9 drop-in hours, have them schedule an appointment to verify their original, unexpired documents with our team. We highly recommend this process be done within 3 business days of their hire date, as required by the USCIS.
Please contact teamcas-i9@uw.edu if you have any questions.
FOREIGN NATIONAL SERVICES
Update to prevailing wage practice for H-1B visas
As of October 1, 2023, the UW is no longer requiring a prevailing wage determination from the U.S. Department of Labor for H-1B visa sponsorship. This will significantly reduce the processing time and allow most cases to be processed within 2-3 months.
We ask that H-1B requests are submitted to AST at least 4 months in advance of the start date, particularly when the visa recipient is currently outside of the U.S. This will ensure sufficient preparation and processing time for the petition, as well as for acquisition of the visa at a U.S. Consulate abroad. Prevailing wage determinations will still be required to support permanent residence sponsorship for professorial faculty, and for certain cases that ISO identifies as high-risk.
Please reach out to our team at teamcas@uw.edu with any questions regarding this change and its impact on current or future H-1B petitions.
J-1 Incident Reporting Reminder
ISO has been recently alerted to a criminal scam that targeted a UW J-1 exchange visitor. The people conducting the scam impersonated foreign government law enforcement to extort money.
Below are some important reminders to help protect scholars from phone and email scams:
- Law enforcement and immigration agencies (both U.S. and foreign) do not solicit money over the phone or email.
- NEVER divulge personal or financial information (including credit or debit card information) to unknown callers; make note of the phone number, any pertinent details about the call/caller, and immediately hang up.
- Phone or internet scams can be reported to the relevant U.S. government agency.
Please take this opportunity to educate yourself and your scholars about other common scams. Please forward this email to international scholars in your unit for their information. Additional information on incident reporting is available on the J-1 incidents Reports page.
If you find out that a J-1 visitor has been a victim of a scam or fraud, please contact AST right away so that we can report the incident as a part of the University’s mandatory J-1 reporting obligations.
As always, please fill out our General Inquiry Form (preferred) or email teamcas@uw.edu if you have any questions or concerns.
Administrative Support Team
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 20, 2023