- Author: Elizabeth Bezark
The Business Operations Center (BOC) team gathered with county directors (CDs) from Cooperative Extension offices statewide on May 22 in the 2nd Street building in Davis.
To kick off the BOC's activities, CDs joined their BOC Business Partner Teams to compete in a game of BOC Jeopardy! Su-Lin Shum, BOC director, presented a range of skill-testing questions (in the form of statements) related to fiscal close, purchasing, travel and entertainment, contracts and grants, and even BOC's variety of training opportunities.
An example from the Travel and Entertainment category was "Business purpose and attachments of agenda and attendee list." If you guessed, "What additional documentation is needed when submitting business meeting entertainment expenses?” you'd be correct. Useful information for any ANR employee submitting work-related entertainment expenses.
Shum prepared the CDs and area directors for fiscal close, including important dates to pass on to UCCE office and program staff. She covered the new Aggie Enterprise Catalog Approval Routing Instructions, which BOC developed to streamline procurement efficiency for directors and their offices.
After answering questions, Shum updated the group on the ANR Credit Card Machine Program, and explained policies regarding retirement events, gifts and required purchasing processes/approvals.
Tracy Roman, BOC associate director, updated the CDs and area directors on the monthly trainings she offers for office managers and other UCCE staff. In addition, BOC staff discussed many top-of-mind topics with the directors in their portfolio teams.
“There were lots of smiles and laughter shared during this high-energy, interactive and educational session,” Shum said. “The BOC team is grateful to have had this face-to-face time with the people they work with and serve.”
- Author: Elizabeth A. Bezark
The ANR Business Operations Center met with Northern California UCCE staff on May 31 at the UCCE office in Shasta County for a day of professional development, workshops and engagement.
To start the training, BOC Director Su-Lin Shum led a BOC trivia activity quizzing participants on expense reporting, financial processes, funds and more. Tracy Roman, associate director of Business Partner Teams, and Kathy Hanke, financial services supervisor, explained when UCCE staff should use P-cards vs. travel cards and restrictions for both. Anne Marie Scott, payroll manager, gave overviews of payroll and time reporting systems. To round out the meeting, Shum gave a presentation on effort reporting and fiscal close processes.
“Who could have thought topics like P-cards and financial reports could spark so much discussion?” said Elizabeth Bezark, BOC customer service and project assistant. “It was as fun as it was informative. We're planning additional regional UCCE visits throughout the state this year as well.”
Participants included Yana Valachovic, UCCE Humboldt and Del Norte counties director; Cindy McClain, UCCE Tehama County office manager; Margaret Purdy, Modoc County CalFresh administrative assistant; Sam Clawson, UCCE Siskiyou County office manager; Janelle Hernandez, BOC financial services supervisor; Uvea Grace, UCCE Plumas-Sierra county office manager; Larry Forero, UCCE Shasta and Trinity counties director; Heather Waller, BOC business partner; Cassandra Knisley, BOC financial services assistant; Laura Snell, UCCE Modoc County director; Shawnice Fisher, Shasta and Tehama County CalFresh community educators supervisor; David Lile, UCCE Plumas-Sierra counties director; Cheryl Kunert, Modoc County office manager; and Sara Jaimes, UCCE Shasta County office manager.
Be on the lookout for communication from the BOC for a meeting in your region.
“The BOC team values their relationships with UCANR partners and we appreciated collaborating in person and learning from each other,” said Shum.
For more information about business practices, review the resources on the Business Operations Center Website, listed below:
BOC website: https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Business_Operations_Center_--_Davis/
Purchasing Forms, Instructions & Information: https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Business_Operations_Center_--_Davis/PURCHASING/
P-Card Procedures, Training & Process Information: https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Business_Operations_Center_--_Davis/TRAINING/
Account Management & Forms:
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
For UC ANR, that means UC systemwide assessment funds, which include state funds, cannot be used for travel to banned states.
Under Assembly Bill 1887, which targets states with laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, UC ANR employees are currently prohibited from traveling to Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. UC cannot require employees to travel to these states, regardless of funding source, and there can be no repercussions if an employee declines to travel to these states.
AB 1887 provides some exceptions, such as to participate in meetings or training required by a grant or required to maintain grant funding.
Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee are on the initial list of prohibited states, however, please check https://oag.ca.gov/ab1887 before planning out of state travel as California's attorney general will update the list of states as necessary.
If you have questions, please submit your inquiry via the Ask button at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Administration/Business_Operations/Business_Operations_Center_-_Kearney.
For more information, see these resources:
- UC Davis travel office http://afs.ucdavis.edu/our_services/travel-e-entertainment/travel/restricted-travel-law.html
- California Department of Justice https://oag.ca.gov/ab1887
- California Legislative Information http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1887