What's New August 2023

We are launching several initiatives in order to prepare campus for the launch of BruinBuy Plus in January 2024. These initiatives will ensure that both BruinBuy Plus users at UCLA, and vendors, are ready for the launch of the new system. We are also excited to offer a robust BruinBuy Plus demonstration video playlist on our Ascend 2.0 YouTube channel!

Training Update

Training is a major BruinBuy Plus milestone and will ensure UCLA BruinBuy Plus users are prepared to use the new system effectively. There are two components of the training program:

1. Train-the-Trainer (October 2023)
2. End-User Training (November 2023)

Want to learn more about Train-the-Trainer and End-User Training? Visit the new BruinBuy Plus Training page .

PaymentWorks Vendor Onboarding Continues

In order for BruinBuy Plus Purchase Orders (POs) to be processed and their associated invoices paid, all vendors must be registered in PaymentWorks. .

UCLA’s Vendor Management team is assisting the following vendor groups through the registration process: : 

• New vendors – vendors who had yet to conduct business with UCLA as of June 29 
• Existing vendors – vendors who  conducted business with UCLA prior to June 30

For questions, please contact the Vendor Management team at vendors@finance.ucla.edu.   

Concur Expansion

Concur’s first three expansion packs went live this summer, moving the following BruinBuy functions into the Concur system:

1. Monthly PCard Statement Reconciliation (launched June 16)
2. Non-Travel and Non-Entertainment (Non-T&E) Business Expense Reimbursements (launched July 10)
3. Cash Advances (launched July 10)​​​

Head over to the Concur Expansion website to learn more!

*Cash advances are only allowed in very limited circumstances.

A series of seven “sprints” are planned between June 2023 and February 2024. Sprints are a component of the Agile framework used to develop the technology for Bruin Finance, UCLA’s new finance system powered by Oracle Financials Cloud. The goal for each sprint is to develop, test, demo, and improve upon the functionalities of Oracle Financials Cloud.

After each six-week Sprint, campus subject matter experts (SMEs) participate in post-sprint demos. Post-sprint demos not only provide departments with an overview of how they will leverage the new functionality in the new system, they also provide an opportunity for SMEs to provide feedback. Wherever possible, this feedback is integrated into the design and development of the system.

SMEs from the following areas participated in the first set of post-sprint demos: General Ledger, Capital Projects, Cash Management, and Sponsored Projects. Over the coming months, additional functional areas such as Fixed Assets, Procure-to-Pay, and Budgeting will host post-sprint demos as well. We look forward to continuing to preview future Oracle functionality to campus over the coming months to ensure our new finance system meets the needs of campus users. 
 

Thank you to our Mapping Experts who have mapped over 2 million Full Accounting Values (FAUs) to the new Chart of Accounts (CoA)! This summer, the CoA Team is collaborating with campus partners to improve the functionality and educating campus on how to utilize the CoA.

FAU to CoA Mapping 

Mapping Experts are currently mapping newly-used FAUs every month until go-live. Mapping Experts’ contributions are critical to the project’s success by ensuring we have a complete mapping of all FAUs before go-live.  

Summer 2023 Ongoing Efforts 

Three main priorities are being focused on this summer to support the Bruin community in leveraging the new CoA.  

• Launched in June 2023, the CoA Education Series shares information about upcoming activities and different components of the CoA with Mapping Experts and financial leaders. The purpose of these sessions is to help participants better see the benefits and build understanding of the CoA which contributes to standardization and optimization.
• A CoA governance process is in development, which will include defining how campus will request new values of each segment, who will approve them, and how they will be maintained in various systems. This strong governance process will ensure the CoA can be efficiently and effectively maintained over time. 
• Collaborative discussions and work around the retrofitting of boundary systems which currently use the FAU to the new CoA continues. Retrofitting boundary systems to be compliant with the new CoA is essential to promote data consistency, increase functionality, and reduce security risks.