Foundation Data Model

In Workday, the Foundation Data Model (FDM) will serve as a single accounting structure for all UW institutions.

The FDM will replace the UW’s current chart of accounts in Shared Financial System (SFS), as well as the financial business requirements for UDDS. The FDM is the foundation of all financial transactions and supports finance and research business processes across the UW System.

About Worktags

Instead of using the values and funding strings within SFS, the Foundation Data Model uses Worktags — and each serves a unique purpose.

There are four Driver Worktags: Grant, Gift, Project, and Program.
Driver Worktags determine the primary funding string for a transaction.
Related Worktags populate automatically when a Driver Worktag is entered.

Transactions in Workday will be routed to the appropriate fiscal manager for approval based on the Worktags included in the business process.

Benefits of FDM

The FDM will help us standardize how we manage business processes at all UW institutions.
Worktags provide more information and specific details about transactions than SFS chartfields.
Entering and routing transactions will be easier with Driver Worktags, which indicate the primary funding string and auto-populate some required information for transactions.
Everyone involved will be able to see where a transaction is in the approval process. Tracking down people or forms will be the exception rather than the norm.
Extra details and capabilities will provide more consistent, accurate, and robust reporting at every level of an institution.