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Oracle financial and reporting applications to become PIN enabled top
As reported in the January e-News, beginning on Monday, February 28, you will be accessing the Oracle financial and reporting applications by logging on through the PIN authentication system. These applications include Web Voucher/ Web Reimbursement, PCard, Electronic Shop & Pay (ESP), General Ledger, Web ADI, Budget Tool, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Chart-Security Maintenance Application (CSMA), Cash Management (CMRA), as well as HUDINI and AWS2 for financial reporting.
Easier password management
Your one PIN number will not only provide you access to Oracle, HUDINI, and AWS2, but to any other PIN-enabled applications you may already have access to, such as PeopleSoft, CREW, and GMAS. Also, with PIN's more secure rules for creating passwords, you will no longer be required to reset your passwords every 90 days as you currently do in Oracle.
You will also no longer manage your Oracle password changes from within the Oracle applications. For more information click here.
Sharing of PIN passwords
Passwords are the keys that control system access, and because today's distributed computing environments are increasingly interconnected, password protection is in everyone's best interest. Sharing your PIN with another user will not only give them the ability to log into Oracle as you, but also into PeopleSoft, granting them access to portions of your HR information including the ability to view your paycheck, social security and date of birth information, as well as the ability to update address and direct deposit information. We strongly urge you not to share your PIN with other users.
For more information on password best practices, go to http://vpf-web.harvard.edu/rmas/best_practices.html - infosys_2.
Gateway pages
We will also be introducing new “Gateway” pages, which will provide useful information such as planned and unplanned system outages, and pertinent business schedules such as year-end closings, holiday breaks, etc.
Bookmarked links
If you have bookmarked any of the application login pages from the VPF Financial Applications web page, such as the logins to Oracle, HUDINI, or AWS2, please be advised that these bookmarks will no longer be valid beginning on Monday, February 28. You will need to enter the Oracle Financial and Reporting applications from the Financial Applications page at http://vpf-web.harvard.edu/applications/.
More information about PIN
To find out more about PIN authentication, check out the PIN home page at http://www.pin1.harvard.edu/default.asp.
If you currently do not have a PIN and would like to request one, or if you have lost or forgotten your existing Harvard University PIN, please complete the online request form at https://www.huid.harvard.edu/pin/pin_req.asp.
“How To” screen shots
The attached screen shots will show you what to expect when you log in to Oracle beginning Monday, February 28.
Upcoming Financial and Reporting system outages top
Financial applications outage
Scheduled outages of the financial applications will occur during the next two weekends. Outage details are as follows:
Friday, February 18 through Monday, February 21: The Harvard University financial systems will be unavailable from 6 p.m. on Friday, February 18 through 10 a.m. on Monday, February 21 to accommodate regularly scheduled maintenance. Systems include Web Voucher/Web Reimbursement, PCard, General Ledger, Web ADI, Budget Tool, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Chart-Security Maintenance Application (CSMA), Cash Management (CMRA), CoA Validator, Bottomline, and Windstar.
Friday, February 25 through Monday February 28: The Harvard University financial systems will be unavailable from 6 p.m. on Friday, February 25 through 6 a.m. on Monday February 28 to accommodate a scheduled FINDINI release. Systems include Web Voucher/Web Reimbursement, PCard, Electronic Shop and Pay (ESP), General Ledger, Web ADI, Budget Tool, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Chart-Security Maintenance Application (CSMA), Cash Management (CMRA), CoA Validator, Bottomline, and Windstar.Please note that this information will also be posted on the application login page. To ensure that you are viewing the most current version of this web page, please clear your system of cached or temporary files. To to do this in Internet Explorer:
- Select Internet Options from the Tools menu.
- In the Temporary Internet Files section on the General tab, click the delete files button. This will delete any cached copy of the page you are viewing and display the most current version.
Financial reporting systems outages
Scheduled outages of the
financial reporting systems will occur during the next two weekends. Outage details
are as follows:
Friday, February 18 through Monday, February 21: AWS2, HUDINI, and the
HDWPROD ad hoc environment will be down for scheduled maintenance between 6
p.m. on Friday, February 18 and 10 a.m. on Monday, February 21. The HDWUTS
and FinStar ad hoc environments will be up and available during this time;
however, queries executed against HDWPROD tables accessed through HDWUTS
will return an error until the HDWPROD database comes back up Monday
morning. CREW will be available for reporting throughout the weekend.
Friday, February 25 through Tuesday, March 1: The AWS2, HUDINI, and financial ad hoc reporting databases will be unavailable as follows for installations related to the scheduled release of patches, fixes, and enhancements to the financial reporting environments:
- AWS2 will be unavailable between 6 p.m. on Friday, February 25 and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1. Users wishing to run financial reports during the weekend may run them in HUDINI until HUDINI is taken down at 6 p.m. on Sunday, February 27.
- HUDINI will be unavailable between 6 p.m. on Sunday, February 27 and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1.
- HDWPROD ad hoc reporting will be unavailable between 6 p.m. on Sunday, February 27 through 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1.
- HDWUTS and FinStar ad hoc reporting will be unavailable between 6 p.m. on Friday, February 25 and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1.
- CREW will be unavailable between 6 p.m. on Friday, February 25 and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 1.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this message, please contact the UIS Help Desk at 496-2001.
CREW enhancements top
The CREW product and practice teams are pleased to announce the release of the following new application functionality to be available on Monday, February 28.
|
CREW Screen |
Brief description |
| Scheduling |
The Repeat (Daily, Weekly, Monthly) |
|
Report Parameters |
The HR departmental ID lookup will now “highlight” which values are being searched. If a user is searching for departments with %VPA% department, values meeting the search criteria will inherit a bold format while parents and children not meeting the search criteria will be grayed out. |
| Homepage |
|
| Report Library |
|
will now default to a date three years from the current date (a change from the two years currently allowed). Validations will prevent users from entering a date prior to, or greater than, 5 years from the current date. 
, 
, 
, or 
heading. 
(Reschedule/Resubmit) icon will now appear next to any submitted request. Users will be able to initiate a new request based on the parameters entered for a previous one, as long as the request has been scheduled or submitted. 
will allow users to filter reports by report category.
, 
, or 
column headings. Check the updated CREW tutorial (http://able.harvard.edu/crew) on February 28 for further details.
Financial reporting enhancements top
The Financial Reporting Support and the HDW teams are pleased to announce the release of the following enhancements, which will be available beginning Monday, February 28.
|
Report / Screen |
Brief description |
| HUDINI toolbar |
HUDINI's puttin' on a new top hat
|
|
Detail listing (regular) |
The transaction date formatting has been updated to include the two-digit year. Instead of DD-MON, the format is now DD-MON-YY as it is in the Detail Listing - Light and Detail Listing – Heavy reports. So instead of seeing a date like 01-JUL, you'll see 01-JUL-04. |
! For those with more than one reporting responsibility, the icon used to “switch responsibilities” has been updated. The functionality remains the same. 
Change to procedure for downloading comma-delimited (CSV) report output in AWS2, HUDINI, and Oracle financial applications (GL, Budget Tool, AR, AP, Cash Management, etc.) top
The FINDINI 3.1.1 release on Monday, February 28 includes a change to the way users download comma-delimited (CSV) report output to Excel from the AWS2, HUDINI, and Oracle financial applications (GL, Budget Tool, AR, AP, Cash Management, etc.).
What prompted this change?
This change has been prompted by an incompatibility between Oracle and Internet Explorer when a certain patch (Service Pack 2) is applied to the XP operating system. The result of this incompatibility is that users with this configuration receive their report output in a format that cannot be converted into a readable file type. A significant number of new computers purchased by the University reflect this configuration (and more existing XP users have the patch applied each week). This change ensures that those users can continue to have access to their CSV report results.
What is the change?
Currently, users follow these steps to convert comma-delimited output to Excel:
- Click the View button in AWS2 or the View Output button in Oracle/HUDINI.
- Select Save File from the Unknown File Type pop-up window.
- Save the file to your desktop with a meaningful name and the extension TXT.
- Launch Excel.
- Click File Open and navigate to the saved file location.
- Select Open to launch the Text Import Wizard and convert the comma-delimited data to columns.
- Save the file in the Excel format.
Starting on Monday, February 28, users should use the following steps to download CSV reports:
- Click the View button in AWS2 or the View Output button in Oracle/HUDINI.
- Excel will launch in a new browser window with all of the report results in Column A of the worksheet.
- Save the results to your desktop in an Excel file format. Close Internet Explorer and open the file in your desktop version of Excel.
- Highlight column A and select Data, Text To Columns to launch the Text Import Wizard.
- Once the text has been parsed into columns, you can save in whatever file types Excel allows.
ABLE's “Downloading reports to Excel” provides the step-by-step instructions described above and will be available by February 28. Please visit http://able.harvard.edu/aws/aws2_index.shtml.
Sponsored research update top
GMAS and CREW grants management reports have moved to the quarterly FINDINI release cycle. For more information on additional release information please visit: http://oas.harvard.edu/gmas/deployment.html.
Here are some systems outages to expect:
Monday, February 28:
- CREW-grants management reports unavailable
- GMAS financial data as of close of business on Thursday, February 24, 2005
Tuesday, March 1:
- CREW-grants management reports return to business as usual with new reports
- GMAS financial data returns to business as usual
Friday through Sunday, March 4-6:
- GMAS unavailable
Monday, March 7:
- GMAS returns to business as usual with enhancements
The following new reports will be available in CREW on March 1, 2005.
|
New report |
Brief description |
| Accounts |
The accounts report will provide information on all sponsored accounts. This report can be used to monitor income, expenses, allocations, and final figures and will provide an overall view into the accounts module of GMAS. |
|
Requests |
The requests report allows users to view all internal and external requests that have been created in GMAS. Requests include all proposals submitted to the sponsor, approval information, and the status of each request per GMAS. |
| Segments | The segments report provides high-level information about an award such as obligated dates and dollars, sponsor, sponsor type, title. The report is grouped by Responsible Tub, Org, and PI. |
| Subagreements | The subagreements report displays all subagreements in GMAS at the project level. Subagreement information includes issued dates, dollars, and expenses. |
The following enhancements will be availabe in GMAS on March 7, 2005.
|
Enhancement |
Brief description |
| Homepage Fund Search |
End users can now select a checkbox under the homepage search field to limit the search results to fund values only. |
|
Categorizing Subagreements in New Budget Periods |
End users will no longer be able to categorize subagreement money to newly created budget periods in the same segment revision. The boxes for specific subagreements will not appear editable until the revision establishing the new budget period has been committed. |
| Perm File Labels | The perm file label GMAS generates has been adjusted to fit a standard label size. |
New Web Voucher functionality for reimbursements top
A new option will appear on the Web Voucher reimbursement menu called Combined Reimbursement/GE Direct Pay. This feature will allow preparers to combine both out-of-pocket expenses and GE capital charges on a single expense report.
Preparers will save time by choosing this option. One expense report can be created for a reimbursee as opposed to processing separate reports for GE direct pay and out-of-pocket expenses. Please take note of the following when completing the new combined voucher:
For Preparers
- The supplier and the first line will default to GE direct pay. GE expenses should be entered first.
- When the GE section is complete, click the Add Out of Pocket Line button at the bottom of the screen.
- Select payment preference: e.g, direct deposit, etc.
- The invoice total will automatically update as you add more lines.
For Approvers
- The transaction type will arrive in your notification screen as a Web_GE_CC_Combo.
- If any portion of an approved report is found to be out of compliance with policy, the voucher will be returned. This will delay payment of all expenses on the report.
Questions regarding the use of the new report should be directed to the Travel and Reimbursement Office at 5-7760.
New "Next Action" feature in Web Voucher top
As of February 28, Web Voucher users will notice a new feature in the application. The "Next Action" button will appear at the bottom of your "submit" screen, rather than each different WV transaction type, and will allow users to select their next transaction.
On clicking the "Next Action" button a drop-down menu will appear, and you will be able to select your next transaction type. This enhancement will prove useful for users who are creating many web vouchers at a time.
Setting a default group or card in the PCard Settlement System top
As of February 28, PCard settlement system users will be able to set a default group or card on the "Review or Report on PCard Transactions" screen. This enhancement should make reviewing PCard transactions even easier for those users who primarily settle transactions for one PCard, or for one PCard security group.
To use the feature, select a group or card (or the "All Groups/All Cards" option) from the "group/card" drop-down list. After you've made your selection, click on the adjacent "Set as default" button. From then on that setting will be retained on your drop-down list, even after you've exited the PCard application. You can change your default setting at any time.
Unallowable cost disclaimer language added to web vouchers
and
expense forms top
During the A-133 audit process this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers noted
that Harvard does not require receipts for costs under $75. They believe
the potential exists for unallowable costs, e.g. alcohol, to be incurred
yet undocumented in the less-than-$75 transactions. They have allowed us a
certification remedy in lieu of requiring receipts for all costs. The
remedy will be a disclaimer printed on each expense voucher that requires
an employee's signature.
The following disclaimer language, in bold, will be added to Web Voucher
Reimbursement Receipt Reports & Universal Expense Forms (UEF) near to the
employee's signature line:
No unallowable costs may be charged to federal funds as specified in OMB Circulars A-21 & A-110. By signing this form you agree that no unallowable costs, including undocumented expenses under $75, are being charged to federal funds.
If there are questions about unallowable costs, you may contact John Bain in the Office for Sponsored Programs at 5-1520 or john_bain@harvard.edu.
Domestic / international air travel policy on sponsored projects top
All Harvard travelers using federal funds should abide by the travel policy on the Office for Sponsored Research website.
Please note that the Travel and Reimbursement Office's website is currently being updated to cross-reference the correct sponsored policy regarding international travel.
About the e-News top
The Office of Human Resources publishes this monthly electronic newsletter for users of Harvard University's financial, HR, and reporting systems, policies, and procedures.
It contains:
- updates on projects underway to build or improve University administrative systems;
- information about new University policies, procedures, and forms;
- reminders about upcoming deadlines and cut-over dates;
- tips and tricks for working more easily or productively.
We welcome questions and suggestions for improvement from readers. If your questions are of general interest, we will answer them in future issues.
Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement by email to us at: admin_systems_enews@harvard.edu