March 28, 2003 - UFO Survey Results Those of us in the University Finance Office would like to thank all of you who took the time to respond to our "How Are We Doing" survey. The input you provided was invaluable in helping us evaluate our service and tools we provide to assist you in performing your responsibilities. Following is a summary of the results of the survey and work we are going to be doing over the next few months to improve our service and resources available to you. The Web Site: The most valuable information provided on the site was Forms. They were followed by the PeopleSoft Manual, Available Chartfield values, Updates and General Information. What you would like to see added to the Web site was first of all the PeopleSoft URL. You would also like a Bulletin Board/Newsletter, archive of emails, a way to link the Organizational Chart to the "Who to Call/responsibilities" page. Other suggestions included a consolidated Controller's Office Policy and Procedures Manual, Purchasing Card allowable charges, Endowment Terms and Conditions, a Vendor or at least an ACH Vendor Listing, and forms requirements to pay Independent Contractors. We will be working to update the Web page to incorporate these suggestions. It was mentioned that you would like email notification when the Web Site is updated and we will do so from now on. Who to Call For the most part, you indicated that you were clear about "Who to Call". We will be adding the link from the Organizational Chart to a listing of responsibilities to make locating the correct person and their phone number easier to find. We will also prepare a listing for the Staff Faire and have the list available at the Cashier Desk. Office Responsiveness Most of you felt a return call between the same day (unless late in the day) or next day was acceptable and that for the most part we usually meet or exceed your expectation. A few requests were made to contact departments when problems arose with Payment Requests or Expense Transfers rather than returning them. We could also improve providing Interim Feedback when research takes longer than expected. Most felt that transactions were processed in a reasonable amount of time with consistent accuracy. Two exceptions were identified related to Activity and Class value errors and Tax issues and we will be working to improve in these areas. Forms Most of you like having the forms on the Web. The number one concern was related to the missing form number and the need for departments to develop their own numbering system. "Bring back autonumbering!". With the on-line payment request, you will again receive an auto-generated number" For the forms on the Web, you will need to continue to create your own numbers. These will be used for Cash Reimbursements and Advances. Reports There were no negative responses for the Transaction Detail or Balance Sheet Reports. Simple Budget Summary reports received positive comments. The more complex Budget Summary report appears to give more difficulty both in running the report and reading the report. Few were aware of the new Management Report or the Fund/Department Income Statement Report. If you do not know about these reports, please give us a call for information. Suggestions for improved information on the reports included more consistent descriptions on Vouchers, Internal Charges and Expense Transfers; DPO Reference number; AP Dates; Vendor Name; sorting report by Alpha Prime Account value rather than the Account Number Grouping; timely chargebacks; differentiation of Web deposits from over the counter deposits; larger/bold DeptId/Fund#. Over the next few months we will be reviewing all of our reports and report delivery and will keep you informed of changes. In the near term, we will be review our descriptions and ensuring those entered are clearer for those entered in AP and Cashiering. Training Fairly consistently through out the responses were identified training needs. These included
*Using our web site
*Reports-how to run, which to run, how to read
*Forms-which is correct, how to fill out, what else do I need
*Basic Accounting knowledge/understanding chartfields
*Controller's Office Policies-petty cash, advances, travel, etc.
*Budgeting-how to monitor, how to reconcile We are in the process of developing some additional training that we hope will fill these needs. Other Comments Clean up Speedtypes and delete/inactivate old ones
Some delay in notification after checks printed
Improve the organization of Pick-up checks
Ensure the Cashier Desk is consistently covered
Problems with back up/reconciliation with sub-system chargebacks and interfaces.
Improve Signature Authorization Process/Update list We understand these are important to you and we will be working on improving our processes to address these issues. New Initiatives On-line payment requests-For the most part, responses were extremely positive. Concerns about the approval process, Timeout, Difficulty in use were expressed. We will be providing training. Direct Deposits for Reimbursements-Responses to this were more varied but some concerns expressed will be addressed. --Payments will be processed through AP, not Payroll and will be on an AP Check Cycle basis, not Payroll Cycle; there is no risk of reimbursements being reported as compensation.
--Cash reimbursements will still be available up to $250
--You will have the option of choosing the bank account to which the payment will be made
--Notification will be sent via email at the time the payment is processed
--A Business Expense Report and original receipts or invoices will still be required for payment. I apologize for the length of the email but we wanted to ensure all of your concerns were addressed. Space does not allow for detailed solutions to all of the issues mentioned but please be assured that all of them are important to us and over the coming months we will be devising solutions to improve our service to you. Please do not hesitate to call or email should you wish to discuss any part of this email or provide additional feedback you may have forgotten. Thank you, Sarah Gatenby Dennis Roberts
x4642 x5406
sgatenby@scu.edu droberts@scu.edu back to top | 
