The Controller’s Office has updated spend and revenue category definitions for FY27. These changes are intended to:
- Promote consistent category usage across the university
- Improve data quality for reporting, analytics, and compliance
- Increase visibility into downstream impacts, including asset registration and 1099/1042-S tax reporting
Spend Category Definitions
Spend categories in Workday now include a definition in the Description field. Users can access these definitions by viewing the Related Actions icon while making the selection on transactions.
A complete list of spend categories and definitions is also available through the Spend Categories – FDM Values report.
Revenue Category Definitions
Because Workday does not currently support descriptions for revenue categories, revenue category definitions have been published and will be maintained on the Controller’s Office website.
Additional FY27 Changes
As part of this update:
- New spend and revenue categories were created to address operational needs identified through multi-year transaction analysis.
- Select category names were revised to better align with their intended use.
- Low-use and redundant categories are being decommissioned. Categories with no pending activity were inactivated. Categories with pending activity have been renamed with a "DO NOT USE_" prefix and will be inactivated once outstanding activity has been resolved. For these categories, review the Description field for guidance on the appropriate replacement category.
- Be aware there are still some commodity code mapping updates being made by the Health System Master Data Management team to align with these changes.
For a summary of notable changes and additional guidance, visit the Spend and Revenue Category Guidance page. Please review the updated definitions and category guidance when processing FY27 transactions to help ensure accurate classification, reporting, and compliance.