FICO Configuration Series – Part 2
Financial Accounting Enterprise structure
The FI Enterprise structure is the backbone of the organization. Most other modules build upon the FI organizational elements that are created in the enterprise structure. This is also the basis on which all other FI CO configuration would follow. A consultant would need to gather the existing structure from the Business Analysts in the project. She/he would also have to carefully analyze the organization structure provided to him before setting up the FI configuration. Also keeping in mind the future plans of how the organization would look in the future will also help.
FI and CO – essential difference
It would be prudent for the consultant to explain the difference between FI and CO to the project management team and business associates at the very beginning of the project.
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FI |
The main reporting purpose of FI is for external reporting – Securities exchange commission, Internal Revenue Service, etc |
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CO |
The main reporting purpose of CO is for internal managerial reporting |
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Chart of Accounts
Settling on a chart of accounts with the users in the client sites is one of the big hurdles to overcome in a project. End-users may be used to having a long chart of accounts with it serving the reporting needs of internal and external purposes. The internal and external account numbers depended on the G/L account numbers.
First step for the consultant would be to review the existing list for deletions. Copy an existing chart of accounts (SAP delivers chart of accounts for US – CAUS). Use the following IMG menu path:
Financial accounting >> General Ledger Accounting >> G/L Accounts >> Master Data >> G/L Account Creation >> Copy (alternative 1) >> Copy Chart of Accounts
Transaction Code OBY7
Some of fields used in this screen are explained below:
Chart of Accounts:
Enter the four-digit alphanumeric identifier of the chart of accounts you wish to create. There is no right or wrong way to come up with a chart of account identifier, but usually the entry is all characters.
Chart of Accounts Name: Enter the description for your chart of accounts. The field is alphanumeric and can contain up to 50 characters.
Financial Stmt Vers: Enter the four-digit alphanumeric identifier of the financial statement version you wish to create. The financial statement version is used by SAP to form your company’s standard Balance and Profit and Loss statements. For now, you only need to enter a placeholder to be used later.
Fin. Stmt Version Name: Enter a descriptive name for your financial statement version. The entry is alphanumeric and can contain up to 50 characters.
Chart of Accounts: Enter the four-digit alphanumeric identifier of the chart of accounts you wish to copy from. A listing of all available charts can be seen from the drop-down box on this field.
Financial Stmt Vers: Enter the four-digit alphanumeric identifier of the financial statement version you wish to copy from. A listing of all available financial statement versions can be seen from the drop-down box on this field.
Generally, each SAP delivered chart of accounts has a corresponding financial statement version already created. Make sure you select the financial statement version that goes with your chart. For US, use CAUS as the chart of accounts and use BAUS as the sample financial statement version.
After you complete configuration in this screen, Chart of Accounts is copied and ready to use.
Assignment: Saks Apparel will utilize a single chart of accounts to be used by all of its company codes. The Mexican subsidiary company will utilize a country chart of accounts in addition to the standard chart of accounts. Because Saks Apparel is a US based company, CAUS was used to create SACA (Saks Apparel Chart of Accounts) and BAUS was used to create SA01 (Saks Apparel Financial Statement version).