Workday to Automate More Functions for Finance
By Jean Yeager
Every employee at Cook Children’s will see some changes in July when Workday replaces Lawson. The biggest changes impact the roles of Finance, Human Resources and Supply Chain.
Workday will be a big change for all of the financial teams including Payroll, Accounts Payable, Grants, and the various Finance teams. While change is always hard, we believe Workday will improve processes and efficiency, and put better and more timely data in the hands of the business.
The switch to Workday at Cook Children’s this summer brings an end to the paper trail of interoffice mail and original receipts for submitting expense reports. You’ll be able to use your phone to take a picture of receipts and upload those directly into Workday. Workday reads the receipts and fills in as many fields as possible.
“Completing the expense report will be easy,” said Myranda Miller, Corporate Controller, Finance Vice President. “Once you submit, it will automatically route for the required approvals, and you will be able to see the status all the way through the process.”
The mobile app will also enable leaders to approve invoices, and expense reports, and do many other tasks from anywhere with their smartphones.
One key difference for leaders: You should know that an invoice will stay in holding indefinitely until it is approved or denied. Workday won’t escalate to the next approver after four days, like the current system. For that reason, it will be critical to set up a delegate when you are away from the office for an extended period.
Myranda said her department started preparing in 2020 for the transition to a new enterprise resource planning system. Workday was selected as our partner of choice, and the full-scale implementation kicked off in January 2022. “We basically had to dissect all of our business processes and data; and then rebuild them in a new system, trying to adopt the new system’s methodology as much as possible, which changed the way we do some things,” she said.
The staff in Finance will still handle the same functions as before. Workday will make their tasks more integrated and the data easier to retrieve. Another advantage? Workday continually updates its tools. New hires will find Workday intuitive and user-friendly, Myranda predicted.
“Right now it’s a pretty big learning curve for anybody who gets hired on in Finance and doesn’t already know Lawson,” she said. “In Workday it will be easier for people to get up to speed.”
Myranda came to Cook Children’s right out of Texas Christian University and has worked here twice for nine years in total. She oversees System Finance (Accounting), Accounts Payable, Payroll, Tax, and Treasury. She approaches the job in a spirit of servant leadership and collaboration with her colleagues.
“The fabulous mission and responsible leadership make Cook Children’s an ideal place to work. The explosive growth and dynamic environment are exciting and keep me learning and growing.”
She anticipates Workday making many processes simpler and more efficient in the long run. “Change is always hard at first, and every system has its limitations; but I truly believe that on the whole, Workday is easier to use, has a lower learning curve, and will provide the business with better data.”
More about Myranda Miller
Myranda grew up in Fort Worth and earned her Master’s of Accountancy degree from TCU. She describes the traits that make a good fit for Finance: Servant spirit, logic, organization and attention to detail. When she’s not at the office, Myranda enjoys yoga, volleyball, concerts, and camping with her husband and two children. Go Frogs!