Overview: Approving Financial Transactions in Oracle – About Workflow

Most transactions generated in the Oracle Financial System must be financially approved by a person(s) with appropriate financial authority before they are considered complete. Oracle uses workflow to manage the transaction approval process.

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To learn how financial authority is assigned at Stanford, see About Financial Authority @ Stanford.

Workflow Defined

Workflow is the automated process of electronically sending a transaction initiated in one of the Oracle Financial System modules to the correct person(s) for approval and in some cases FYI notification.

Generally, there are four potential participants in the workflow process for a given transaction:

  • The Originator initiates the transaction which starts the approval workflow process.
  • The Approver provides an official financial "OK" for the transaction, attesting that the transaction is necessary, correct, allowable, and allocable for the PTA, correctly coded and documented.
  • FYI Recipients receive an email notification informing them that the transaction has been initiated. FYI Recipients are not responsible for approving the transaction. For example, an FYI notification is automatically sent to the Task Manager when a labor distribution adjustment occurs. The FYI Recipient can follow up with the transaction originator as required.
  • An End-Route is added to specific transactions based on business rules. End-Route transactions route per the workflow to central office staff (i.e. Controller's Office, Procurement, or Office of Research Administration) for additional review and approval. For example. iBudget journal entries will end-route to all Budget Officers responsible for the award-owning organization.

Depending upon the type of transaction and the financial authority of the originator, workflow may begin and end with the originator, or it may route through any combination of the above participants before it is considered complete.

Workflow differs slightly among the Oracle modules (iBudget, iJournal, iOU, iProcurement, Labor Distribution, and PCard). For specific details, refer to Workflow Variations by Oracle Transaction Type.

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Oracle Authorized Approver Hierarchy

If the originator of a transaction does not have adequate financial authority to fully approve the transaction, it will be routed to an authorized approver for review and approval. The Oracle Financial System uses the PTAEO or PFOO account structure [link to PTAEO and PFOO Defined] to identify authorized approvers. The majority of transactions (expenditure type) use the PTAEO hierarchy to assign approvers. Some transactions in iJournals and iBudgets (i.e. revenue journals and fund transfers) use the PFOO hierarchy to assign approvers. Email notifications are sent to the originator and approver(s) to confirm both the transaction initiation and the approver list. Tana - Does the originator receive subsequent emails throughout the approval process?

PTAEO Approver Hierarchy

For expenditure type transactions, Oracle workflow starts looking for an approver at the specific task (Level 1 below) and then continues to subsequent levels as needed until it finds an authorized approver. If the system finds more than one authorized approver, it will route to the approver with the lowest dollar limit which is greater than the total dollar amount of the transaction.

Level 1 – The specific Project-Task combination
Level 2 – The parent Task, if one exists
Level 3 – The Project
Level 4 – All Tasks owned by a Principal Owner
Level 5 – The Task Owning Organization
Level 6 – The Tree of the Task Owning Organization (?????)

PFOO Approval Hierarchy

For every transaction requiring the PFOO hierarchy (i.e. revenue journals and fund transfers), Oracle Workflow starts looking for an approver for the specific Fund (Level 1 below) and then continues to subsequent levels as needed until it finds an authorized approver.

Level 1 – The specific Fund (corresponding to the Award)
Level 2 – The Award Owning Organization
Level 3 – The Tree of the Award Owning Organization (?????)

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Oracle Workflow Notification and Approval System

The Workflow Notification module of Oracle provides a consolidated work list containing all transactions requiring approval action, regardless of the Oracle module they originated in. Using Oracle Workflow, approvers can:

  • Review notifications for transactions awaiting approval
  • Approve or reject transactions
  • View approval history and current routing lists

Email notifications signal approvers when a transaction is awaiting their approval.

Getting Access to Oracle Workflow

All University employees with a SUNet ID receive authority to access the Workflow module in Oracle through the responsibility "SU Workflow Notifications". Prior to receiving access to use the Oracle Workflow Notification and Approval system approvers must:

  • Take and pass the online test component of ORA-1101: Cost Policy & Chart of Accounts [link] training.
  • Sign and submit a confidentiality agreement [link] to the Central Office contact listed on the form.

Authorized approvers are expected to follow University policy when reviewing and approving financial transactions. Reference Policy Notes: Financial Authority and Policy Notes: Code of Conduct.

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