Aiming to improve efficiency with internal financial reporting for the USF Physicians Group (USFPG), Teresa Deckard, MBA, developed several systems that ended up increasing accuracy, continuity and cross-analysis, and reducing costs.
The effort also means Deckard, senior accounting systems analyst in the USFPG Department of Finance and Accounting, is one of eight finalists for the UNIT4 Innovation Award, a national award provided by UNIT 4 Business Software.
USFPG uses several business products from UNIT4, including Coda financial management software. Deckard was able to customize the Coda XL product to provide three improvements to USFPG financial reporting: one for creating a unified process for loading journal entries from multiple file formats, one for translating income statement data from the Coda database to an Excel file that can be worked with, and one for loading balances within statistical tables in the Coda database that can be used with complex allocations and reporting.
Deckard’s ideas simplified processes and saved USFPG time and money, said Patrick Downing, controller for USFPG.
“Teresa is a tremendous asset to the USF Physicians Group and an expert in her field,” Downing said. “Her ability to think outside the box and develop systems that would typically be outsourced to outside developers and consultants has resulted in significant savings. Her expertise, professionalism and track record of success on difficult projects that are unique to our organization make her more than deserving of this award.”
Deckard will share her successful ideas at the UNIT4 conference in September in Las Vegas, where final winners within four categories will be named. As part of her finalist title in the Coda Financials category, UNIT4 will waive the conference registration fee of nearly $1,200 for Deckard.
Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications