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Columns::October 20, 2003
Russell Symposium examines homeland security issues
A legendary event: Homecoming celebration scheduled for Oct. 19-25
Benefits enrollment period under way for UGA employees, retirees
Four faculty members receive D.W. Brooks Awards
Coffee perks: Researchers find that caffeine lessens muscle pain during vigorous workout
New dual degree offered for UGA undergraduates
Campus Closeup
Update: Private Giving
Newsmakers
Making waves: Grady dean discusses media ownership requirements
A record of time
Campus News
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| Bob McGee (left), director of payroll, payables and expenditures; Jennifer Collins, document imaging administrator; and Chuck Moore, manager of accounts payable, worked with others to set up the electronic payment process. (Photo by Peter Frey) |
Great idea pays off
Accounts payable wins ‘best practices’ award
By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
With more than three million pieces of paper passing over their desks each year, the small staff of the university’s accounts payable department had become overwhelmed. The tedious paper shuffling had led to lost documents, missed deadlines, miffed vendors and frustrated staff members.
But though their work was monotonous and tiring, it was essential. The department pays for every item the university uses, from paper clips to multimillion-dollar scientific equipment. Last fiscal year the department wrote some 200,000 checks worth $450 million to pay about 400,000 invoices from agencies and vendors throughout the state and around the world.
Bob McGee, director of the payroll, payables and expenditure department, and Chuck Moore, manager of accounts payable, knew something had to be done to increase efficiency and productivity and boost staff morale. So they turned to technology.
Last year the department re-engineered its payment process by installing a Web-based digital imaging system that allows bills to be processed, approved and paid, electronically.
Purchase orders, invoices and receiving reports can be matched online using electronic images and mainframe data. Invoice images can be transmitted to UGA purchasers to obtain electronic payment approvals. The system creates an electronic communications trail, and enables multiple users to find and access images simultaneously.
The results: Almost everything that used to be processed on paper is now handled electronically, virtually eliminating the mountains of paper. Staff members can index and instantly retrieve documents at their desks and don’t waste time searching for filed or misplaced documents, writing thousands of memos or making endless phone calls.
With e-mail, invoices that once took 30 days to pay are now cleared in three days--sometimes on the same day. The system is so much more efficient that three vacant staff positions were eliminated, saving $105,000 annually in salaries and benefits.
And another nice result: the department received $10,000 for its initiative.
The department’s system is among eight winners in a new “best practices” competition introduced this year by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. Twenty-two institutions submitted 73 entries in the competition, which was started to encourage greater efficiency at the system’s 34 schools.
The competition had four categories: finance and business, academic affairs, student affairs and information technology. Judging was based on entries’ impact on operations; benefits provided to students, faculty, staff and others; and efficiencies created, including cost savings, cost avoidance and heightened productivity.
First- and second-place winners in each category received cash prizes ($15,000 and $10,000). UGA’s entry won second place in the finance and business category.
University System Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith says the winning projects “can serve as models to help all [system] institutions enhance their operations, which is a goal of the board’s strategic plan.”
President Michael F. Adams, who accepted the prize at the regents’ Oct. 8 meeting, said, “A university can succeed in its academic and research missions only if it can rely on timely and efficient support from its internal administrative systems. Using Web-based digital imaging to modernize our payment process was an innovative idea that saves time, reduces workloads, cuts costs and increases productivity. I commend Chuck Moore and Bob McGee and the staff of the accounts payable department for implementing a procedure that benefits every university department and employee, and greatly enhances our ability to accomplish our educational mission.”
McGee says a major benefit of the system is a less stressful office atmosphere.
“A year ago people were running around everywhere, phones were ringing off the hook. It wasn’t a fun place to work,” he says. “Now it’s quiet and professional. I’ve never seen an office turn around so quickly.” |
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