Introducing UVAFinance is a recurring blog feature created to introduce our team to our team, a couple of members at a time. Every other week, we present readers with a team member or two to get to know. To understand how these colleagues are situated within the greater UVAFinance structure, check out this resource on the UVAFinance website.
NEW Resource: UVAFinance by Department
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| Wanda Breeden |
What do you do as Senior Financial Analyst?
I manage the UVIMCO Long Term Pool investments, including the monthly unitization process, endowment distribution, and the reconciliations related to that process. Additionally, I manage the gift and endowment accounts in Workday. Another big part of my work is performing year-end reconciliations of the endowment/investment balances and investment earnings that appear as line items on the financial statements.
Who are the people/departments you work with regularly?
I work most closely with Gift Accounting for the creation of new gifts and questions related to posting of gift activity, Treasury for LTP investment activity, OFPA for endowment-related budgeting issues, and Schools and Units for questions related to gifts and endowment.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
I would say that July through January is the busiest time for me because I am juggling the following: fiscal year end activities, the creation of gifts and endowments as we get closer to calendar year-end (donors making gifts for tax purposes), monthly LTP investment activity, and quarterly endowment distributions.
What might surprise people about the work you do/this role/your department or area?
I have been in UVAFinance my entire UVA career, which is 38 years. I started as an intern and the rest is history! Of course, systems, processes, and people have changed over time. However, I still love what I do and there is always something new and different when keeping four systems in balance (UVIMCO, Mellon, Workday, and Fundriver), which can be challenging at times. It's like putting a puzzle together.
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
The people. Everyone here is so friendly and always willing to collaborate and offer assistance when questions arise.
How do you connect your work with the UVAFinance Values?
I connect my work with the UVAFinance values by constantly striving to always provide accurate, consistent, and reliable information.
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| Sue Clements |
What do you do as Director of Finance Systems and Data Support?
I oversee a team that provides functional and configuration support for the Workday Finance system.
Who are the people/departments you work with regularly?
Our primary stakeholders are right her in Finance. However, when Workday functionality is impacted or implemented that touches users across the University, we often work with representatives from schools and departments to test and provide feedback.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
We are generally busy year-round, but responsibilities that the team has related to fiscal year end certainly makes that time of year a bit busier.
What might surprise people about the work you do/this role/your department or area?
It might be surprising that just a few years ago, many of my team members, myself included, didn't have any Workday Finance knowledge. It's amazing how far we've come, and how much we've learned!
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
Really there are two things - the people and the way we all collaborate. We work together to identify the root cause of issues, problem solve together, and look for opportunities together that can lead to more effective and efficient processes.
How do you connect your work with the UVAFinance Values?
The Workday Support team is constantly working to provide innovative solutions to our stakeholders, and to partner with them to streamline our business processes through system tweaks and new functionality implementation. We are constantly reviewing newly delivered fixes and functionality releases to determine what might add value for our business partners. As a result, I feel like the team is always working on relationship building. The one thing I know is that every person in Finanace has something to offer, and we try to take advantage of as much as we can!
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UVAFinance Mission & Values / UVAFinance Organizational Structure / Past Introductions can be found on our site under "Resource Shelf"
Would you like to be featured in Introducing UVAFinance? Want to suggest a colleague to be featured? Email bv8h@virginia.edu