Tagged: NewsLink

Ohio State Data Stewards and Tableau Project Leads recently convened to discuss the importance of metadata. This post shares key points discussed and reveals five surprising truths about metadata that will help solve efficiency problems, benefit the newly released Ohio State Data Catalog, and make the work of data professionals more efficient, discoverable, and impactful.

This post shares information about key dates for Spring 2026 tuition assistance (or fee authorization) processing as well as links to more information about the tuition assistance programs at the university.

Have questions about Workday financial reports? Join the Controller's Office for the first Quarterly Financial Reporting Office Hours at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 19. See the full post for details on how to join. Specific instructions are included for both the Wexner Medical Center and university communities.

Beginning with the November 2025 sales month, there are important changes related to the sales tax process, as shared in the full post. Units must ensure that accrued sales tax (ledger account 20500) for the November sales month is recorded/approved in the general ledger for the November accounting period no later than 4 p.m. on December 5, 2025. This new deadline ensures the tax liability is recorded in the proper period (the month of sale or invoice) and aligns with the monthly fiscal close deadline (business day 5). See the full post for more details including a download link to the Sales Tax Reporting form that must also be submitted by close of business on December 5.

On Friday, December 5, new prompts will be added to the "Payroll Accounting Adjustment Status" report to replace several existing prompts. Changes include one new "Worktags" prompt (for both current and proposed worktags) to replace the "Current Expense Worktags" and "Proposed Expense Worktags" prompts. Also new is an "Active Grant Hierarchies" prompt to replace the two current checkbox prompts for active grants called "Filter Option: Proposed or Current Uses a Grant" and "Filter Option: Proposed or Current Uses an OSP Grant." Lastly, the "Further Filter Options Below" will be removed, as it will no longer be needed to search using Cost Center Hierarchies or Active Grants. Note that end users with saved filters or scheduled reports with values in the prompts to be replaced will need to re-save filters and schedules once updates are made.

Have questions about Workday financial reports? Starting Wednesday, November 19, join quarterly office hours hosted by the Controller’s Office to receive updates, ask questions, and share feedback directly with the reporting team. The Office Hours will be open to all consumers of financial reports and will initially be held on a quarterly basis.

The "OSU - Find Assets" report prompts will be updated to include a new "Grant Hierarchies" prompt as well as a "Worktags" prompt. The "Cost Center," "Grant," and "Project" prompts will be removed as the new "Worktags" field allows users to search for those three types of worktags, as well as all others. Additionally, to allow users more flexibility in prompting, the "Cost Center" prompt on the report group "Financial Transactions Awaiting Action" will be replaced with a "Worktags" prompt. See the full post for more details and a list of affected reports.

On Friday, October 23 a new custom validation was put in place to restrict the usage of OSP Grants on cash sales. For refunds or repayments of grant expenditures, please contact ERIK Grants Accounting (ospgrantsaccounting@osu.edu) for guidance.

Due to the Academic Winter Recess (December 26 - January 1), several updates have been made to the FY26 Period Close Department Fiscal Payroll Processing Calendar. See the full post for details.

There are two new updates regarding Ohio Senate Bill 1 (SB1) compliance tracking. Update #1 - It has been clarified that if the university pays for external speaker fees or honorariums on behalf of student organizations, the payments are not subject to SB1 tracking requirements. To align with this clarification, two new spend categories (and corresponding expense items) have been created. See the full post for details. Update #2 - Any expense (e.g., transportation, lodging, etc.) paid to or for a guest speaker must be tracked for SB1 Compliance per the terms, also listed in the full post.