In Workday Financials, a Cost Center represents a fundamental element of financial planning and analysis within an organization. It serves as the foundational unit for annual budgeting activities, which are conducted in Workday Adaptive Planning and subsequently published into Workday Financials and becomes the “Budget.” The College of the Environment at the University of Washington has implemented a standardized structure for its cost centers to streamline planning, manage security roles, and enhance reporting capabilities. These cost centers are organized into a ten-level hierarchy, with the entire university represented at Level 1. Schools and colleges typically begin at Level 5 in this hierarchy, including the College of the Environment. Analysts seeking to review the college’s financial data can filter reports by the Cost Center Hierarchy (CCH) code ‘Environment’ at Level 5 to access the desired information (i.e., type CCH Environment and select level 5 in the filter for worktags or cost center hierarchy) Each school, department, or unit within the college starts at Level 6, such as the School of Oceanography, which can be viewed entering CCH OCN and selecting the level 6 hierarchy. The hierarchy further divides into three primary business lines: Academics, Research, and Special Operations, each with designated cost centers. For example, the Research line includes cost centers for Research Administration and Support, which encompasses various funding sources like Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR), gifts, start-up packages, and retention packages, all tagged with specific additional worktags for granular tracking. Another cost center under Research is for Research Engagement Activities, which captures all sponsored awards and direct research funding. Special Operations covers auxiliary activities, including fee-for-service contracts, recharge and service centers, and the management of vessels, providing a comprehensive framework for financial management within the institution. Each Cost Center is at the level 10 of the hierarchy.
What a Cost Center is Not
A Cost Center is NOT a single person (that is what the assignee or program worktag can represent). In the context of the College of the Environment, other Financial Data Model (FDM) elements are utilized instead of creating individual Cost Centers for faculty portfolio management. This approach aligns with the institution’s broader financial strategy and accounting practices.
A Cost Center is NOT a single source of funds (that is what the Fund Worktag and Resource Worktag represent)
A Cost Center is NOT a single activity (that is what the activity worktag in conjunction with other worktags such as programs can represent)
What Does a Cost Center Drive?
In the College of the Environment, each Cost Center will drive a Function Worktag. You can enter in a cost center into a business transaction in workday and function should auto populate. You may overide it as necessary. UW uses the following Functions in accordance with the functional expense classifications developed by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) to indicate the mission-related purpose of expenses.
How to Find a List of Cost Centers for Environment
Those will the right security role can run R1325 Extract FDM Financial Cost Centers because the College of the Environment is not part of UWM. You can see an extract here.