Report by interim Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Kurt Schnier:
Our DFA teams have been working very closely with your research administrators (RAs) to assist you and your RAs with the management of your contracts and grants. To improve efficiency in the management of your funds, we encourage all researchers to review expenditure activity on your contracts and grants (with your RAs) on at least a monthly basis to ensure that the spending aligns with your expectations. The sooner you and your RAs are able to notify DFA about discrepancies in your expenditure activity, the quicker we are able to process invoices for the related sponsor. This collaborative process will ensure that the reports being provided to you by your RA are consistent with your expectations.
Currently, our team is spending a considerable amount of time unpacking expenditure discrepancies that are identified very late in the process, in some cases six months later (or longer). Late notification of discrepancies has a ripple effect and is generating significant delays downstream in the invoicing and reporting processes. We look forward to a more proactive grant management process where, with the help of you and your RA, we are able to address these discrepancies earlier. We look forward to your partnership in this process and providing a more holistic support hub for you and your RA to effectively manage your funds.
To support collaborative and proactive grant management, DFA and CGA began hosting weekly Sponsored Billing Office Hours in September 2022. All RAs are invited to bring forward questions, issues, and other billing-related matters for resolution.
We will hold the next Oracle Town Hall on Oct. 10 from 3-4 p.m. to discuss the improvements we have made over the recent months and to outline our directions for the upcoming year. In addition, we will hold our third Oracle Reboot Camp for staff members who support the campus’s use of the Oracle system from 9-11 a.m. on Oct. 13. We strongly encourage all staff who regularly interact with the Oracle system to attend as these reboot camps are critical to your understanding of the Oracle system.
Meet New Fisher Scientific Account Manager: The longtime account manager of Fisher Scientific, one of UC Merced’s major suppliers, has been promoted to regional sales manager for Northern California and Nevada. Joti Dhillon will be on campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, to meet with faculty and staff and to introduce the university’s new account manager, Esther Park. If you have limited availability that day and want to schedule a time to meet with Joti and Esther, please contact them at joti.dhillon@thermofisher.com or esther.park@thermofisher.com.
