0. 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 (

1. Travel Survey Piloted to more than 20 faculty and staff
Sent to all faculty (1,400) and staff (2,800)
Respondents: 497 staff (35%) 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

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

3. Demographics – Staff

4. 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
notifications sent at each action step
Difficult
Complete TA  easier Expense Report
Improved communication

5. 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

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

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

8. 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

9. 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

10. CLIBA Card

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

12. 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)

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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
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

16. 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%

17. 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

18. 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 communications to creator, approver and traveler lists
Action taken – creation of Financial Affairs Users Group

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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

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

24. Office of Financial Affairs
QUESTIONS
Office of Financial Affairs

25. Your partner for successful solutions
Thank you!
Your partner for successful solutions
Office of Financial Affairs