Travel Survey Results What’s Changed and the Road Ahead Office of the Controller Financial Area Representatives Meeting November 30, 2016 Sheri Hardison, Asst. VP Financial Affairs & Controller Office of Financial Affairs (http://www.utsa.edu/financialaffairs/)

Travel Survey Piloted to more than 20 faculty and staff Sent to all faculty (1,400) and staff (2,800) Respondents: 497 staff (35%) + 207 faculty (7%) = 704 total Processes covered: Travel authorization Travel agencies/Concur Travel advances/TAC Travel Cards (CLIBA) Travel reimbursement Financial Management Operating Guidelines (FMOGs) Outreach & communication General travel Office of Financial Affairs

Who Took the Survey? * Some faculty and staff serve dual roles (e.g. traveler and approver)

Demographics – Staff

Overall Impression of Travel Processes - Staff Top 3 Survey Responses Improvements Implemented Since Survey Labor-Intensive/ Inefficient Removed duplicate processes (Shorter) hard copy documents only required for exception situations Slow Workflow approval routing faster than hard copy routing Workflow shows all users the status of a document – e.g. who hasn’t approved it DTS can more easily send back a document if there are issues Email notifications sent at each action step Difficult Complete TA  easier Expense Report Improved communication

Overall Impression of Travel Processes - Faculty Top 3 Survey Responses Improvements Implemented Since Survey Labor-Intensive/ Inefficient Removed duplicate processes (Shorter) hard copy documents only required for exception situations Rigid Prior guidelines required travel documentation within 30 days of trip Expense Report only requires supervisor review if expenses > $250 or 10% of Travel Authorization Small changes to travel plans do not require a revised Travel Authorization (e.g. travel period changes by a few days) Difficult Complete TA  easier Expense Report Improved communication

Travel Authorization Action Taken - Eliminated duplicate SharePoint process November 1, 2016

Travel Authorization PeopleSoft limits TA modifications to DTS  forced to use a supplemental process Action Taken - Shortened the Travel Authorization Form

Travel Authorization – Top Issues Redundant Process/Inefficient (Staff) Eliminated Interim SharePoint process Slow Approvals (Faculty)(S) Workflow enables user to see status of TA TA workflow/completion is fully front-office controlled PS Steps are Confusing (S) New online training for workflow processes Modified in-person training – recommend creators attend updated class Inadequate Dept. Financial Support (F) N/A – not under Financial Affairs’ control Encumbrance Issues (S) Previous systemic issues fixed Other issues address as identified – usually requires SIS (Arlington) assistance

Travel Advances Actions taken – Approvals for cash advance requests now uses PeopleSoft workflow Travel Advance Form not required unless amount is greater than $10,000 Action remaining – re-examine TAC processes and timeframes

CLIBA Card

CLIBA Card Action remaining – investigate options to make CLIBA reconciliation and payment processes easier Target – March 2017

CLIBA Card – Top Issues Difficult administrative process (S) PTCA to examine options to ease administrative processes (with FA user group involvement) Problems using cards (F&S) PTCA has obtained higher institution spending limit for our program Certain merchant codes are prohibited for control purposes – contact PTCA to see if there are options Delays in approvals (S) Approval status is visible in workflow Developing queries for DTS to monitor and report out slow points and areas for improvement Attachment takes time (S) For CLIBA charges, attachments only need to be attached to CLIBA payment (not Expense Report) Attachment guidelines provided online Eliminated paperwork that gets lost/cannot be tracked Documentation is redundant (S)

Expense Report Action Taken – TRS eliminated except: Traveler has delegated his/her PeopleSoft certification Expenses $250 or 10% higher than TA total amount When it is required, new form is shorter

Expense Report Actions taken – Requiring all expenses to be listed in TA Link Expense Report to TA for easy update/completion of Expense Report Updated creator training class New online class for approvers

Expense Report – Top Issues Redundant/ Inefficient Process (S) Eliminated TRS form except certain situations Retraining users to link Expense Report to TA to pre-populate Expense Report Requiring complete TA to eliminate extra approval steps Reimbursements Too Slow (F)(S) Workflow enables view of Expense Report status by traveler or creator; allows follow-up with relevant department DTS can more easily send back a document if there are issues Email notifications sent at each action step Improved processing time in FY2016 Customer Service Issues (S) Financial Affairs is rolling out centralized customer service standards to ensure consistent and professional service throughout all areas

Speed of Reimbursements Processing goal – payment within 10 business days of receipt Assumes completed, accurate Expense Report All items initially processed in that period but many require return Processing speed improved since FY2015 Fiscal Year Ended # Reimb. Processed % of Reimb. Processed < 10 Business Days FY2016 8,120 73% FY2015 6,776 57% FY2014 6,274 82% FY2013 6,767 86%

Speed of Reimbursements Initiatives to improve speed in FY2017 Workflow implementation Revised, enforceable deadlines Workflow-related queries will provide metric tracking: Slow approval points # of items returned by department Track improvement over time

Training and Outreach Action taken - Workflow communication Two FAR presentations Involved departments Testing Pilot training Chairs’ Council VPBA Communications Director disbursed info to each VP’s communication contact Two email communications to creator, approver and traveler lists Action taken – creation of Financial Affairs Users Group

Training and Outreach Action taken – online training rolled out with workflow Actions taken – updated in-person training for creators

What Else Still Requires Attention Financial Management Operating Guidelines (FMOGs) viewed as confusing and rigid Re-examine to find balance: Requirements – State Federal UT System Internal Control Ease of Process Easily Understood

Concur/Travel Agencies Faculty not satisfied with Concur Adds unnecessary bureaucracy Customer service issues Prices are too high Staff ratings were higher but average around a neutral response Prices are too high/price match process not easy Process mandated by UT System Provides centrally negotiated airline discounts and hotel/rental car rebates

Survey Participants’ Highest Commented Issues and Related Action Eliminate Concur/Agency Requirement (Faculty) Not under UTSA’s control Eliminate redundant entry/forms (Staff) Workflow eliminates excess forms/duplicate entry through SharePoint Streamline all processes (S) Workflow consolidates approval and data entry processes Continual focus – CLIBA will be examined next Faster reimbursement (F)(S) Eliminated paper routing Streamlined approval/denial processes Metric monitoring Be more flexible (F) Updated processes balance risk against efficiency

Anticipated Improvements in FY2017 Examine CLIBA processes to make more efficient Timing could be impacted by state procurement requirements PeopleSoft Change Requests Updated email notification process  no more DTS out of office automated responses Reorder the sequencing of travel encumbrance processing Worklist clean-up and improved functionality

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