Security roles define a person's specific responsibilities and permissions in Workday. They:
- Determine who can initiate, approve, and act on business processes
- Determine what information an individual can view via reports, profiles, and other informational screens
- Can be assigned to any position, and positions can hold multiple security roles depending on their job function
- Sometimes require additional training, depending on their level of access
Administrative Support Team (AST) assists in the management of security roles in Workday, which includes the authority to grant, delegate, or remove Workday Finance and Human Capital Management (HCM) roles on behalf of the College.
On this Page...
- Resources
- Security Role Request Checklist
- Common Workday Finance Security Roles
- Common Workday HCM Security Roles
- Workflows
- Security Role Processing Time and Workflow
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Someone with a Workday HCM security role is will be on leave/temporarily out of office for more than a month, what do we do?
- How to create a Workday inbox filter for a specific security role?
- How do I find out which security roles I hold in Workday?
- How do I find out which security roles have access to this report?
- Which Workday reports can I run, based on my security role?
Resources
Back to TopTraining resources for Workday Finance security roles can be found in the UW Connect Finance Portal (UW NetID login required). HCM security role trainings are managed by Employee Workday Help (EWH) and can be found in the Workday Learning Library.
Security Role Request Checklist
Before filling out AST's Security Role Management and Delegation Request form — to request a security role change, ensure you have the following information:
- the NetID(s) of the individual(s) who needs security roles assigned or changed
- ensured the Assignee(s) has completed the required training for all security roles requested
Common Workday Finance Security Roles
| Role | What they do | What they can see |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Center Financial Analyst | Perform financial reporting functions for assigned cost centers; view-only, no approval authority. | Accounting adjustments, accounting journals, ad hoc payments, purchase orders, requisitions, supplier invoices and supplier invoice requests for assigned cost center(s). |
| Cost Center Manager | Approve purchases and manage cost center funds. | Transactions pending funding approval from the cost center manager for assigned cost center(s). |
| Expense Data Entry Specialist | Perform expense report data entry functions for assigned organizations such as creating expense reports for other workers. | Expense reports, CTAs in progress and to be approved. |
| Finance Analyst | View all financial setup and operational data for organization and subordinates. | Accounting adjustments, accounting journals, ad hoc payments, goods delivery, purchase orders and requisitions, expense reports, customer and supplier invoices and invoice requests, etc. |
| Internal Service Delivery Data Entry Specialist | Create, change, and edit internal service delivery documents. | Transactions associated with their unit’s individual ISP(s). |
| Grant Manager | Primary manager for assigned grants, serves as approver for associated financial business processes, and completes award tasks. | Transactions pending funding approval from the grant manager. |
| Grant Financial Analyst | Perform financial reporting functions for assigned grants; view-only, no approval authority. | Accounting adjustments, accounting journals, ad hoc payments, purchase orders, requisitions, supplier invoices and supplier invoice requests for assigned grant(s). |
| Procurement Data Entry Specialist | Perform procurement data entry functions for assigned organizations. | ProCard transactions and verifications for workers; authority to verify transactions. |
| Requisition Requester | Create and maintain requisitions and receipts, as well as create non-purchase order supplier invoices. | View access to purchase orders, PO acknowledgements and advance ship notifications. |
| Requisition Requester < $3500 | Create and maintain requisitions and receipts, as well as create non-purchase order supplier invoices. Requisitions up to $3500 do not need cost center manager approval. | View access to purchase orders, PO acknowledgements and advance ship notifications. |
| Unit Asset Coordinator | Responsible for asset maintenance at the unit level, including issuing, transferring, and reporting on assets | View asset adjustment, disposal, registration, removal, and useful life update. |
Common Workday HCM Security Roles
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| HR Partner* | Review and approve hiring and staffing processes for all non-academic personnel in assigned supervisory organization(s). |
| Academic Partner* | Review and approve hiring and staffing processes for academic personnel in assigned supervisory organization(s). |
| Time & Absence Approver* | Approve employee’s or team of employee’s timesheets and time off requests. |
*These listed roles all view the same information, including employee personal details, compensation details and worker history.
To learn more about HCM security roles, visit the EWH's resources on HCM security roles.
Workflows
Back to TopSecurity Role Processing Time and Workflow
The turnaround time for adding or modifying a security role is 1-7 business days.
The workflow image below links to a PDF where you can scale to your liking. This workflow is also available in a Word document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Back to TopTemporarily delegate their Workday security role. If someone is going on leave, delegate their Workday Security Role for the duration of their leave.
Delegation is a process in Workday that temporarily directs tasks from one individual’s Workday inbox to that of another person with the same assigned security role. AST manages the delegation of Workday Finance security roles via AST's Security Role Management and Delegation Request form. Please note that employees can independently manage the delegation of their HCM security roles.
Step by step instructions can be found in the ‘Workday Inbox Filtering’ page. This page also includes answers to some common Workday filtering questions, in addition to resources and helpful tips.
In Workday, search for the Role Assignments for Worker Position report. In the prompt, enter your own name in the Worker field, highlighted below, then select the OK button to run the report.
In the report results, the Assignable Role column will list your Workday security roles (as of the Effective Date you specified in the report prompt).
Alternatively, go to your profile, then open the Actions menu. Select Security Profile from the menu dropdown, then select View Role Assignments for Worker Position.
Note: Once in the report you can select any of the headers to filter and/or sort based on your needs.
Search for Workday Finance reports using the BI Portal Catalog or for Workday HCM reports search BI Portal Workday HCM Reports, filter for Reports under Sort and filter catalog, then search based on the report name or number. After you've selected a report, then select Security Information under Overview on the sidebar menu. Then you will see a list of all roles with access to this report.
Run Reports I Can Run in Workday to see what reports you can run based on your security role.
Note: Once in the report you can select any of the headers to filter and/or sort based on your needs.
For Further Support
Back to TopReach out and we will route your questions, comments, and/or ideas to the appropriate subject matter experts on our team and keep an eye out for monthly updates via AST's Newsletter.
Last Updated: Friday, June 13, 2025