A lot has changed in UVAFinance in the past few years (understatement!). There are many new faces, changes to the organizational structure, and lots of differences in the way we do our jobs. When remote and hybrid work is added into the mix, it's easy to become unsure about which department does what and who works where.
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'll present readers with two team members to get to know. To understand how these colleagues are situated within the greater UVAFinance structure, check out this new resource on the UVAFinance website. (Keep in mind that it's not an org chart, but rather a map of what functions of central finance exist in which general areas.)
Let's get started!
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Song Song, Senior Sourcing Specialist in Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services
I am a senior buyer, covering the Scientific Discovery area in the IT&SD category in PSDS. I source scientific discovery orders over $10,000 and address any questions from the departments before and after issuing the order, through Salesforce and emails. My daily work scope includes contract negotiation and redlining, facilitating new vendor setups and invoice related questions, PO change orders, etc. I also do a lot of data analysis to help make decisions on strategic sourcing.
Other than the operational work, I make improvement wherever and whenever I can. I successfully managed the Quartzy punchout implementation with multiple teams of stakeholders involved. It streamlined the order process and made a stride in sustainable procurement as Quartzy provides the lab inventory system to minimize lab waste and duplication of ordering.
I have identified areas need to be improved in the sole source procurement process in the first month on the job and have been working on an overhaul for the whole process, as sole source is the most scrutinized area for auditors. Standardizing and improving the process can help to position UVA as a leader in higher education procurement.
Who do you work with on a regular basis?
I cover all the UVA labs, departments, and schools that are related to research and academics. The people I work with can be admins, managers at the departments, professors, graduate students, as well as people from different positions from our suppliers.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
I haven't felt much of a slow season for me yet since I started the position. Currently, most of my daily time is spent editing contracts and solving issues through Salesforce and emails, when there aren't meetings. I have a lot of ideas for how to do things better and I would like to spend more time on making improvements.
What might surprise people about the work you do?
The scale of the research community is enormous: I cover the procurement requests for orders and contracts for over 500 labs and over 2,300 researchers.
Sometimes the orders can have a high level of complexity. For example, there was a purchase with a conflict of interest. The situation demanded an extensive array of documentation and mandates from various tiers of leadership, including our president, Jim Ryan. It happened during the period when multiple levels of leadership in Finance were unavailable. I took the initiative and orchestrated the formation of a new process and a fresh team comprising leaders and University Counsel, successfully closed the case.
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
People are very helpful and professional. I feel we are all working toward one common goal.
How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance Values?
I am working diligently and striving to provide the best service to our internal and external customers. This includes upholding a demeanor of respect and patience in all interactions. I firmly believe in the value of ongoing training and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
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Kristie Sojka, Accounting & Financial Analyst in Financial Accounting & Reporting
What do you do as an Accounting & Financial Analyst?
My title indicates I do accounting and finance, but I think it might be more descriptive to say I do banking and reconciliation. Banking and reconciliation at UVA is more than just checking off transactions; it involves problem-solving and close monitoring of ad-hoc bank transaction approvals so that everything can be reconciled in a timely manner. In a perfect world, we get everything reconciled by the end of the month, and at the latest, by the end of the next month.
Every day at 1 p.m., the previous day's bank statements are integrated into Workday, and we have it set up so that there is automatic reconciliation of the transactions. For every bank statement line, there's an ad hoc bank transaction that the school or unit's Cost Center Depository Specialist must approve. If the transactions don't auto-reconcile and go to approval, I troubleshoot and manually reconcile them.
Who do you work with on a regular basis?
I work more intensively with departments that have heavy deposit activity, like cashiering, and also those that take in money, like the Virginia Film Festival, Athletics, and some units on the medical side. I also partner with Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Student Financial Services, and Treasury.
What seasons are busiest, or what rhythms exist in your job?
May through August is busy of course, due to fiscal year end, and throughout the rest of the year, I am busy keeping everything up to date. For central finance, even after June 30 comes and goes, we still have a month or two to wrap up any necessary adjustments.
What might surprise people about the work you do?
The volume of transactions! I reconcile and manage 9 bank accounts, 5 of which are higher maintenance, and it's not just reconciliation involved, but also the ad hoc transaction management.
What do you like best about working in UVAFinance?
I like being a resource for departments and other central finance teams. Even though at times my job is pretty solitary and behind the scenes, I have to reach out to other departments and they have to get in touch with me, and I like being able to help solve their problems.
How do you connect your work with the UVA Finance Values?
Obviously, all of the values are important, but if I had to pick one, I'd say identify most with 'impeccable source of information' and being accurate and accountable -- that one is very important to me in this role.
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Would you like to be featured in Introducing UVAFinance? Want to suggest a colleague to be featured? Email bv8h@virginia.edu