-What training were you able to complete during the last 30 hours of training?
I read and understood all the policies and guidelines for all departments before starting working on any task.
Ms. Asma, accountant in the sub-section, instructed me on how the Oracle system is functioning with the Payroll transactions.
I learned how to process salary transactions to employees, terms and qualifications for each employee, and how the payment process is done.
I was trained on how to insert elements from the Payroll system into Oracle Labor Distribution system and also how to extract the end date of the project, the area and the date employees start working each month to process the payment.
I learned that the principal investigator (PI) of each research project can hire post-doctoral fellow and research assistant. These employees will be paid through the system if they are located in Qatar.
Ms. Asma helped me to understand the difference between the post-doctoral fellow and the research assistant, as each position has different terms to deal with in paying. A post-doctoral fellow has wider range of benefits than a research assistant, for example housing, transportation and education.
Trouble Shooting Skills
-Did you face any problems or difficulties? If so, how did you solve them?
Did you receive any compliments and/or criticisms during the last 30 hours? If so, what were they?
The accountant Ms. Asma was the only one present in the sub-section. She was about to get her vacation and I noticed that it was very hard for her to spend her time training me while meeting the deadlines of her own tasks.
New Skills Learning
Did you learn any new skills? Explain
I learned to use the Oracle Labor Distribution system (OLD), a part of the Oracle Grant System (OGS) to input the important information, such as task, organization, project, expenditure and award states of each project.
I learned how to make thoughtful decisions on the case I'm handling.
As most salaries are recurring, I understood that they have to be processed automatically each month.
I learned to check the papers left at help desk of finance department, to process the payment.
Ms. Asma instructed me that when I receive the paper I need to find the end date from the Oracle system to see if payment exceed the end date and also I have to calculate the amount for that month.
I learned how to prepare the supporting documents related to the payroll and file them.
Work Environment Assessment
-What were some of the advantages and disadvantages you found in the work environment during these 40 hours?
-What contributions did you make to the organization?
Extracting the information from the database using the Oracle system helped to save a lot of time.
I helped the accountant in answering phone calls from the employees.
I made a conclusion that management has to be present in the office to make sure all the problems occurred are solved on time.
I saved Ms. Asma's time with her paper work and I also have completed the calculation of salary payment for this month.
Summary of Learning and Benefits Achieved
-Overall, what did you learn during these 40 hours? And how are you benefiting from these 40 hours of training?
I definitely became more responsible and professional during the period of training. I obtained experience in handling rather difficult and demanding tasks. I learned how to multi-task and how to work under pressure of deadlines. I began to feel more confident while performing any given task. The training helped me to make sure the accountant's office is the right place for me.
Now I have a good grip on all procedures an accountant has to perform in order to issue a salary payment. I can easily extract data from Payroll database and insert it in Oracle system. I learned that different employees have different payment terms and all of them have to be taken into account during the payment process. I learned the difference between job permission form and job offer form. First one is basically to accept an employee, it states the position, salary and employment period. Second one, in addition to all aforementioned, states also the benefits that this position is offering.
I found out that the work of an accountant could be very stressful sometimes. One has to always look for discrepancies in salary payments, as if something can possibly go wrong, it will. I encountered a number of such problems, e.g. payment after the due date, and learned to overcome them. I had to manually check the payments with the data on paper to make sure everything matches. Also sometimes the salary exceeded the budget limit and we had to ask the office of research to adjust it.
I also learned not to be afraid to express my opinions on any matter regarding the work. I feel free sharing my thoughts with co-workers and asking for advice from more experienced colleagues. I believe that there is always something very special and valuable that one can learn from every person around. I am constantly trying to do my best to become a better worker and a better person.
