Before configuring any part of the FI Enterprise Structure, it is vital to have already drawn out and agreed upon what the Company’s structure will look like. Settling on a chart of accounts with the users in the client sites is one of the first big thing challenge to overcome in a project.
Before beginning design sessions on the chart, it is essential that both the consultant and the client personnel responsible for design decisions have a clear understanding of the differences between Financial Accounting (FI) and Controlling (CO) in SAP. The main purpose of FI is for external legal reporting purposes to outside authorities (SEC, Bureau of Internal Revenue, etc.). Whereas, the main reporting purpose of CO is for internal management reporting. This is often a very difficult nuance for usres to grasp and understand.
With SAP, you don’t need thousands of accounts or any logic other than grouping logic (e.g. all Cash accounts are in the 100000 to 199999 range) built into the G/L account number. The easiest way to configure a chart of accounts is to copy an existing chart of accounts:
IMG > Financial Accounting (New) > General Ledger Accounting (New) > Master Data > G/L Accounts > G/L Account Creations and Processing > Alternative Methods > Copy G/L Accounts > Copy Chart of Accounts.
Transaction Code: OBY7
Alternatively, you can create your chart of accounts from scratch. First, you need to create your chart of accounts name and properties with the path below:
IMG > Financial Accounting (New) > General Ledger Accounting (New) > Master Data > G/L Accounts > Preparations > Edit Chart of Accounts List.
Transaction Code: OB13
Then create your G/L accounts manually:
Menu Path: Accounting > Financial Accounting > General Ledger > Master Records > G/L Accounts > Individual Processing > In Chart of Accounts.
Transaction Code: FSP0.