March 2025 Special Edition - Approval requirements for transactions moving forward

Note: This page has been archived as of March 27, 2025.

March 2025 Special Edition Newsletter Content Overview

• AST Update
  • Note from Heidi
  • Payments and Procurement: Forms now requiring approval
  • HR/Payroll: Forms now requiring approval
• Addendum
  • 3/27/2025: Updated guidance for Pay/Pro transactions on research grants

AST UPDATE

Note from Heidi

It has been a wild two weeks since we received the first missive regarding the University’s financial situation. As you (of course) know, we have been asked to rein in our spending significantly.

AST has been working hard to develop straightforward ways to ensure the Provost’s and Dean’s mandates are being met and proper approvals are in place for expenditures. We have referred to Dean Harris’s Financial Risk Mitigation FAQs in developing the following approval requirements for our Pay/Pro and HR/Payroll forms.

Cara, Amy, Robert, Linda, and I (Heidi) have various roles in Workday compliance approval. If we do not see the appropriate approval or confirmation on a transaction, we will send the transaction back.

We will get through all of this together. Thank you for your help and patience.

Payments and Procurement: Forms now requiring approval

For units participating in AST’s Payments and Procurement (Pay/Pro) services, we have updated the following Pay/Pro forms to include room to attach the appropriate approval:

• UW Reimbursements (all dropdown options)
• UW Travel Reimbursements (all dropdown options)
• UW Advances (all dropdown options)
• Guest Payments and Reimbursements (all dropdown options)

The ‘Approval Confirmation’ section, which is required, looks like this:

Remember that Chair or Director approval is required for all one-time expenditures, and Divisional Dean approval is required for longer-term initiative spending.

A final note: Chair or Director approval is required for all CTA transactions as well. Please attach approval when you reconcile your CTA.

HR/Payroll: Forms now requiring approval

For units participating in AST’s HR/Payroll services, we have updated the following HR/Payroll forms to include room for you to confirm Divisional Dean approval:

• Compensation (all dropdown options except Overpayment/Underpayment)
  • Administrative Supplement
  • One-Time Payment
  • Period Activity Pay
  • Request Compensation Change
  • TPI/TSI
• Hire/Create New Position (all dropdown options)
  • Create Job Requisition
  • Create New Position
  • Hire/Add Job
• Update/End Employment
  • Reappointments
  • FTE Change

As with the Pay/Pro forms, the approval confirmation is required. Unlike Pay/Pro, however, you are not required to attach the full text of the approval.

The ‘Approval Confirmation’ section looks like this:

Addendum

3/27/2025: Updated guidance for Pay/Pro transactions on research grants

Hello all,

Thank you to all of the grant managers who have spoken up about perils of requiring documented PI approval on all research-grant-funded reimbursement, travel, and guest payment transactions in Workday.  This, of course, is part of the Provost’s mandate to rein in expenditures as we move through these uncertain budgetary times.

Here’s the obvious logic that we missed in the rush to comply with the mandate: While the requirement for Chair/Director or Divisional Dean approval on all other resources remains unchanged, expenditures on research grants should not need extra, explicit justification or approval because this already exists in the grant documentation (e.g., proposal, budget, etc.).

This is what we’ve decided to do: For the units in the College (most of you) that send reimbursements, travel, and guest payments to AST for processing in Workday, we have updated the new approvals section of our intake forms:

1. If your expenditure is funded by a research grant (as opposed to a Stand-Alone grant):
   1. Select “Yes” in answer to our question: “Is the expense for a research grant?”
   2. Once you select “Yes,” you will no longer be asked to provide a benefit-to-the-grant statement.  Instead, you will proceed directly to the next section of the form.
2. If you select “No” to the research grant question, you will be asked to provide Chair or Director approval in line with Monday’s instructions.

For the five units not included in AST’s Pay/Pro portfolio, please add the following statement to the comments box on your Workday transaction: "The benefits of this transaction to the research grant are documented in documentation available in the department."

Contact teamcas@uw.edu to let us know what is/isn’t working with this change.  In these times, it takes a village.

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