College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS)

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Unit Business Management Overview Reviewed: July 8, 2016

Overview Within units in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS), Business Managers and Accountants are responsible for all finance, operations, human resources, and business functions. Though local processes fall to unit business personnel, the College’s entire portfolio of resources is the responsibility of the College’s Assistant Dean, Business Finance, who is ultimately accountable for the completion of all business functions in a timely, accurate, efficient, and ethical manner. For this reason, supervision of Unit Business Managers and Accountants is shared between the Assistant Dean, Business-Finance and Unit Heads and Directors. The former reviews and approves most of the work performed, while Unit Heads and Directors (H/D) provide day to day supervision and ensure that business personnel have the information they need to make informed decisions in service to the Unit’s financial health.

Responsibilities Business personnel are responsible to both the unit (ensuring that all functions are performed accurately and in a timely manner) and to the university (ensuring that all functions are performed according to policy). Among their responsibilities at the unit(s) level:  All day-to-day business functions including, but not limited to, disbursements, account maintenance and reconciliation, procurement, fund transfers, and purchasing card transactions.

 Financial budgeting, forecasting, and planning.

 Personnel hiring, job and employee data changes, leaves and termination processing, etc.

 Payroll activities.

 UA Foundation financial activities.

 Timely and accurate financial reports to meet the needs to the Head, Program Directors, and Principal Investigators.

 Working with faculty and students on grants and other financial matters.

 Overseeing the flow of work for maximum cohesion and efficiency.

 Establishing efficient business practices and keeping informed on all rules, regulations, policies, systems, and procedures. Compensation & Titles Compensation and titling of business personnel are based on specific criteria:  Level of complexity of responsibilities.  Quality of work.  Quantity of work.  Education/Experience.  University compensation policies based on title.  Comparison to colleagues with similar levels of responsibilities.

Financial balances in local unit accounts, longevity, likeability, efficiency (or inefficiency), and comparative salaries to non-business staff are not variables that should impact compensation and titling.

Performance Reviews The University of Arizona requires that all personnel receive annual performance reviews. Input from the Assistant Dean, Business-Finance as well as from Unit H/D are important for these evaluations. The Assistant Dean, Business-Finance is responsible for evaluating the quality of the business work, the efficiency of its completion, and the timeliness of work, while the Unit H/D is responsible for evaluating the quality of service, the flow of information, and the overall quality of work.

Methods of Evaluation: Evaluations of business personnel can take one of three forms, depending on WHO DECIDES? Employee preference? Head preference? 1. The Assistant Dean, Business-Finance and Unit Head conduct one, collaborative evaluation. 2. The Assistant Dean, Business-Finance does one evaluation and the Head does a separate evaluation, which are then combined and sent to HR. 3. The Assistant Dean, Business-Finance does an evaluation with input from the Head.

Other Considerations for Heads and Directors:  Business personnel have specific responsibilities; they should not be given administrative or other non-business duties.  Please include unit business personnel in the dealings of the unit – including unit events and meetings – and avoid providing business personnel only “after the fact” information.  Expect monthly financial reports.  Trust but double-check.  Keep open the lines of communication with Assistant Dean, Business-Finance. Meetings every quarter or once a semester to discuss the financial health of the unit are strongly recommended.