New General Ledger in SAP® ERP Financials

11

Introduction

The aim of this book is to familiarize you with the design and config-uration of New General Ledger (New G/L) in SAP ERP Financials.New G/L brings together solutions that were previously distributedacross multiple applications in SAP R/3, and fulfills requirementssuch as reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), flexibility, fast close,transparency, segment reporting, and parallel valuation.

The general ledger in SAP R/3 is highly heterogeneous. Currently,R/3 customers have to implement several SAP components in orderto fulfill international and industry-specific accounting require-ments. To ease this problem, SAP has created a new, flexible generalledger solution in SAP ERP. New G/L merges the classic general led-ger with profit center accounting, special ledgers (including cost-of-sales ledger), and the consolidation-staging ledger (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 New General Ledger — A Unified Environment

Also, New G/L uses a broad, unified data basis, so that G/L account,functional area, and profit center are contained in a single data

SAP ERP A Unified Environment

New G

ener

al L

edge

r

R/3 Enterprise

Special Ledgers(Multidimensional;Customer-Specific)

Reconciliation Ledger

Cost ofSales

AccountingLedger

FI Classic (Legal

Requirements)

EC-PCA

(Management and Segment

Reporting)

ConsolidationStaging Ledger

107.book Seite 11 Mittwoch, 5. September 2007 10:21 10

12

Introduction

record. This enhances data quality and obviates the need for recon-ciliation measures (previously, the reconciliation ledger had to beused to reconcile CO with FI). The period-end closing now can becompleted more quickly.

Thus, using New G/L removes the need to use several separate com-ponents, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2 New General Ledger — A Unified Approach

About this Book

Target audience ofthis book

This book is intended for readers with a good knowledge of the SAPapplication Financial Accounting and of general-ledger accounting. Itsgoals are to provide recommendations on the design of New G/L andto explain its configuration in detail.

Download fromwww.sap-press.com

The book uses screenshots and practical examples from existing real-world customer systems along with offline demonstrations in orderto better explain individual scenarios. These offline demos are avail-able to you on the publisher’s website at www.sap-press.com.

Structure of thisbook

This book is divided into six chapters.

Chapter 1, New General Ledger in SAP ERP — An Overview, demon-strates the differences between the classic and the new general led-ger and explains the motivation behind the new solution.

Cons.Staging

EC - PCA

Accounting Interface

General Ledger

in SAP ERP

Online Document Splitting: Accounting based on

freely selectable characteristics

FI - SL CO - OM

CO - PA

Profit CenterDetermination

CoGS Ledger

CurrencyConversion

ZeroBalancing

Derivation ofCharacteristics

ReconciliationLedger


13

Introduction

Chapter 2, Design and Features of the Ledgers, presents the architec-ture of New G/L. It describes the features of the ledger and ledgergroups, discusses various scenarios, and explains how to include cus-tomer-specific fields.

Chapter 3, Integration in Financial Accounting, deals with the conse-quences of closely integrating or merging the functions of the classicSAP R/3 modules FI and CO. It focuses on the profit center account-ing scenario and new options for integrating CO and FI in real time.

SAP R/3 provided three options for mapping a parallel valuation pro-cedure: accounts, special ledgers, and company codes. New G/L nowrepresents a fourth option. Chapter 4, Parallel Valuation, focuses onthe design and configuration for asset accounting, stocks, receiv-ables, securities, and provisions.

It is possible to activate document derivation when New G/L isupdated. The aim is to project account assignment objects to docu-ment line items in which they were not originally assigned; forexample, to project the profit center from the revenue lines to thereceivables line. These options increase the transparency of postingsand enable you to create additional internal balance sheets. Thismeans that you no longer need to create a collective posting in orderto adjust the balance sheet and profit-and-loss statement, because allthe information is already available at the document level. This is thesubject of Chapter 5, Document Splitting.

The transition from the classic G/L to New G/L can be either straight-forward or very complex, depending on the initial situation and thedesired outcome. Chapter 6, Migration, describes the migration pro-cedure, the Migration Cockpit, and the relevant services provided bySAP. Reports of real-world scenarios from SAP Consulting, ConVista,and J&M describe completed projects and contain Lessons Learned sothat you can benefit from these experiences.

The book concludes with an Appendix that provides succinctanswers to some frequently asked questions.

Special Icons

To make it easier for you to use this book, we use special icons toindicate information that may be particularly important.


14

Introduction

AttentionThis icon warns you about a potential problem. Take extra care whentackling this task or using the function in question.

ExampleThis icon indicates an example. We use examples frequentlythroughout the book to illustrate the topics and functions under dis-cussion.

NoteThis icon indicates a note. We use this icon to draw your particularattention to important information that can facilitate your work.

Acknowledgements

Writing a book is not easy; writing a technical book in particularrequires great commitment, and not just from the authors. Manyfriends and colleagues supported us with this book project by pro-viding advice, information, and corrections. We would like to takethis opportunity to thank them all sincerely. Rather than risk forget-ting one by listing them all, we have decided not to make a list. How-ever, one name that must be mentioned is that of Jörg Hartmann.With his passion for technical detail and his pioneering work in thearea of migration tools, he was a great support to us and providedvaluable input for this book.

Of particularly special importance to us was the support of our fam-ilies: Myriam and Smilla Schlude, and Eva and Jennifer Siebert. Thework required for this book meant that they had to do without ourpresence on several occasions and not just on weekends. It is safe tosay that without their patience and tolerance, the book would nothave been written. They deserve our heartfelt thanks, and we dedi-cate this book to them.

Eric Bauer and Jörg Siebert


37

Improvements rather than inventions provide true satisfaction. — Henry Ford

2 Design and Features of the Ledgers

New General Ledger (New G/L) has all the functions of the classicGeneral Ledger but has been enhanced with special ledger functionsto create greater flexibility.

Flexibility of the general ledger

The following analogy serves to illustrate this flexibility: Picture thebinding of New G/L as an extendible book cover and the individualledgers as chapters in the book. In contrast to a book with a hardcover, new chapters can simply be added as required. This option ofadding new chapters — i.e., ledgers — is a defining feature of NewG/L. Once all of the chapters/ledgers have been put together, theresult is a single thick bound volume.

This chapter discusses the features of the individual ledgers and theledger groups. It also examines how the various scenarios are man-aged and the new “segment” entity as well as the option of addingcustomer-specific fields to the coding block.

2.1 Features of the Ledgers

Separate ledgersThe principle of using different ledgers to meet different require-ments was implemented in SAP R/3. These comprised the classicGeneral Ledger (General Ledger 00) for legal requirements, the cost-of-sales ledger (Ledger 0F for cost of sales accounting, the profit-cen-ter ledger (Ledger 8A for management and segment reporting, andother special ledgers for multi-dimensional, customer-specificrequirements. The number of individual ledgers was reduced withthe release of SAP ERP, which also alleviated the problem of recon-ciling different sets of figures.


38

Design and Features of the Ledgers2

This section deals with defining, assigning, and posting to the lead-ing ledger and the non-leading ledgers. Using several ledgers allowsyou to apply different accounting standards. Using non-leading led-gers also allows you to use different fiscal year variants within thesame company code.

2.1.1 Basis of the Ledgers

Standard totalstable FAGLFLEXT

Ledgers for saving and analyzing values are based on a totals table.As a rule, SAP recommends that you use the standard totals tableFAGLFLEXT (the industry solution for Public Sector Managementuses FMGLFLEXT).

Ledgers for generalledger accounting

You begin by defining the ledgers you want to use for general ledgeraccounting in the Customizing settings via the navigation path:Financial Accounting (New) � Financial Accounting Global Settings(New) � Ledgers � Ledger � Define Ledgers for General LedgerAccounting.

The database table in Figure 2.1 shows the standard extension of thedata structure of this table. In contrast to the classic General Ledger,the FAGLFLEXT table contains new fields, including Profit Center,Segment, and Functional Area. Customer-specific enhancements arealso permitted. In addition, a distinction is made between leadingand non-leading ledgers.

Figure 2.1 FAGLFLEXT Totals Table

Classic General LedgerTotals Table GLT0Selected fields available:

… … …

… … …

… … …

… … …

… … …

... … …

… RBUSA

Account Number… RACCT

Fiscal Year… RYEAR

Company Code… BUKRS

... … …

Short Description… Field

SE11_OLD

New General LedgerTotals Table FAGLFLEXTSelected fields available:

… … …

Segment f. Segm. Report… SEGMENT

Business Area… RBUSA

Functional Area… RFAREA

Profit Center… PRCTR

Cost Center… RCNTR

Company Code… BUKRS

Cost Element… COST_ELEM

Account Number… RACCT

Fiscal Year… RYEAR

... … …

Short Description… Field

SE11_OLD

Business Area


39

Features of the Ledgers 2.1

2.1.2 Leading Ledger

One leading ledger per client

In New G/L, there is one leading ledger for each client that is validfor all company codes. An important decision to make is whichaccounting standard to use in the leading ledger. This assignmentcannot be deactivated once it has been defined.

Leading ledger 0LYou can define only one ledger as the leading ledger (see Figure 2.2).SAP provides the leading ledger 0L as standard.

Figure 2.2 Defining a Leading Ledger

Similarly, Figure 2.3 shows the IAS ledger in client 800 as an exam-ple of a leading ledger for company codes 1000, 2000, 3000, and4000.

Figure 2.3 Leading Ledger in a Client

Company Code1000

Client 800

Company Code2000

Company Code3000

Company Code4000

IASLedger

Leading Ledger


40


You define the leading ledger in the IMG via the following Custom-izing navigation path: Financial Accounting (New) � FinancialAccounting Global Settings (New) � Ledgers � Ledger � Define Ledgersfor General Ledger Accounting.

Accountingstandard

The leading ledger normally follows the same accounting standardused to draw up the consolidated financial statements. For moredetailed information, see Chapter 4, Parallel Valuation.

Integration withsubsidiary ledgers

The leading ledger is integrated with all subsidiary ledgers (see Fig-ure 2.4). For example, document splitting is based on integrationwith accounts payable accounting and accounts receivable account-ing (FI-AP or FI-AR) or Asset Accounting (FI-AA), where the post-cap-italization of cash discounts on assets occurs in real time.

If parallel valuation is mapped with the accounts approach, only oneledger is normally used; i.e., the leading ledger. As an alternative tothe accounts approach, you can use the ledger approach in New G/L.

Figure 2.4 Integration of the Leading Ledger and Subsidiary Ledgers

There is thus one leading ledger, which by default posts its values toControlling (and is the only ledger to do so).

Integration withCO

Therefore, only the leading ledger is integrated with CO. Only valuesfrom the leading ledger are sent to CO. Parallel valuation approachescan only be mapped in CO if you use the accounts approachdescribed in Section 1.2.2.

SD

CO

GeneralLedger

FI - AA

FI - AP

FI - BL

FI - AR

MM

Financial Statement

P&L

...

... ...

IASLedger


41


Integration with FI-AA

A similar principle applies to integration with Asset Accounting (FI-AA). The leading area in Asset Accounting (depreciation area 01)must be posted to the leading ledger (see Figure 2.5).

Figure 2.5 FI-AA — Depreciation Area 01 Posts to the Leading Ledger

We’ll now explain the settings you need to make for the leading led-ger. In each company code, the settings made for the followingparameters are automatically applied to the leading ledger:

� Currencies

� Fiscal year variant

� Posting period variant

These three parameters are discussed in more detail in the followingsections.

CurrenciesIn New G/L, three additional (local) currencies can be mapped inaddition to the transaction currency. The leading ledger uses the(additional) local currencies assigned to the company code. Forexample, the leading ledger and company code shown in Figure 2.6have a company code currency (the Japanese Yen), a group currency(the Euro) as a second local currency, and a hard currency (the USdollar) as a third currency.

Asset xy in 2007

Parallel Valuation

ConsolidatedFinancial Stmnt. Depr. Area 01

Asset Balance-SheetValues

Depreciation Net Book Value

100,000

100,000

25,000

12,500

75,000

87,500

IASLedger

Leading Ledger


42


Figure 2.6 Leading Ledger Uses Additional Local Currencies

Currencies of theleading ledger

You define the currencies of the leading ledger in Customizing viathe navigation path: Financial Accounting (New) � FinancialAccounting Global Settings (New) � Ledgers � Ledger � Define Curren-cies of Leading Ledger. Here, you specify the currency to be used inthe leading ledger. The following settings must be made for eachcompany code:

� Local currency 1 (as company code currency) This is defined in the company code settings.

� Additional local currenciesYou can define up to three additional local currencies, which areused in parallel with the first local currency.

� Parallel currenciesFor the additional local currencies, you must define the currencytype and the exchange rate type for each company code (see Fig-ure 2.7).

Currency type The currency type reflects the “role” of the parallel currency. We candistinguish between the following currency types:

� Company code currency

� Group currency

Company CodeABCD

Company Code Currency Group Currency Hard Currency

USD USD EUR EUR JPY JPY

Local Currency 1 Local Currency 2 Local Currency 3

Leading Ledger


43


� Hard currency

� Index-based currency

� Global company currency

Exchange rate type for currency translation

The exchange rate type determines which exchange rate defined inthe system is to be used to calculate additional amount fields. In theexample shown in Figure 2.7, this is exchange rate type “M — Stan-dard translation at average rate.”

Figure 2.7 Additional Local Currencies for Company Code

Exchange ratesYou can define various exchange rates with different exchange ratetypes for each currency pair. Different exchange rates may be usedfor the following purposes:

� Valuation

� Conversion

� Currency translation

� Planning


44


Average rate,buying rate, bank

selling rate

For the first local currency, you can select currency type M (averagerate), G (buying rate), B (bank selling rate), or another rate type ofyour choice.

Base currency forcurrency

translation

This means that three local currencies plus a transaction currency areavailable for balance-sheet evaluations. In classic General Ledgeraccounting, this was only possible with an additional special ledger.

After you define the currencies as the first parameter for the leadingledger, you must configure the remaining two parameters for thisledger; i.e., the fiscal year variant and the posting period variant.Here, you apply the three-step variant principle, familiar from SAPR/3:

1. Define variant

2. Define values for the variant

3. Assign objects to the variant

Variant principle The variant principle is a procedure whereby certain properties areassigned to one or more objects in the system. It applies, for exam-ple, to the following three variants:

� Fiscal year variant

� Posting period variant

� Field status variant

Fiscal year variant The first two of these are discussed in greater detail in the followingparagraphs. We begin by looking at the fiscal year variant for theleading ledger.

Posting periods In order for business processes to be assigned to various periods, afiscal year with posting periods must be defined. In doing so, youmust define the number of posting periods and the start and enddates of these periods and special periods. The fiscal year variantthus simply defines the number of periods and the start and enddates of these periods. In this way, the fiscal year is defined as a vari-ant and the company code or company codes are assigned to thevariant.


45


Posting period variant

The fiscal year variant does not specify whether a posting period isopen or closed. This data is managed in a separate SAP table anddefined in the posting period variant.

To prevent documents from being posted in incorrect posting peri-ods, the relevant posting periods can be defined as closed, and thecorrect posting periods defined as open in the posting period vari-ant.

The leading ledger uses the fiscal year variant and the posting periodvariant of the company code. Figure 2.8 shows the assignment of afiscal year variant that corresponds to one calendar year to the IASledger. Figure 2.9 shows the assignment of posting period variant0001 to various ledgers.

Assigning variantsVariants are assigned in Customizing via the navigation path: Finan-cial Accounting (New) � Financial Accounting Global Settings (New)� Ledgers � Fiscal Year and Posting Periods. Exceptions to this princi-ple are discussed in Chapter 3, Integration in Financial Accounting.

Figure 2.8 Assignment of the Fiscal Year Variant

This allows you considerable freedom with regard to the fiscal yearvariant and posting year variant. You are restricted only by the use ofAsset Accounting (see SAP Note 844029).

Fiscal Year Variant

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

JunJul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

01 02

03

04

05 06 07

12 11

10

09

08

IASLedger


46


Figure 2.9 Assignment of the Posting Period Variant

One special feature must be noted in relation to the open and closedposting periods in the representative ledger. The representative led-ger can be seen as the ledger with the most senior ranking within agroup of ledgers. A ledger group combines ledgers that are to be han-dled in the same way in terms of functions and processes. If the post-ing period of the representative ledger is open, postings are alsomade in all other ledgers in the ledger group to which the represen-tative ledger belongs, even if the periods in these ledgers are closed.The representative ledger is discussed in detail in Section 2.1.6.

2.1.3 Non-Leading Ledger

The non-leading ledgers are used as parallel ledgers together with theleading ledger. You don’t need parallel ledgers in order to map theGLT0, GLFUNCT and GLPCT totals tables you may be using. In thefuture, you will be able to combine these in a single ledger in NewG/L.

Complete ledgers Parallel ledgers are always managed as complete ledgers. This meansthat all postings without valuation variances are shown in the evalu-ations for the leading and non-leading ledgers.

Valuation postings that do not apply to a specific accounting stan-dard are explicitly made in the ledger defined for that purpose. This

Posting Period Variant

IASLedger

Ledgerbased on local

accounting standard

US-GAAPLedger

LedgerXYZ

Var K from Account to Account from Per 1 Year to Per 1 Year from Per 2 Year to Per 2 Year

0001 + ---- ---- 012 2006 012 2006 001 2007 002 2007

0001 S ---- 9999999999 001 2007 002 2007

0001 S 0000140100 0000149999 012 2006 012 2006 001 2007 002 2007

0001 S 0000140150 0000140150 001 2007 002 2007

0001 D ---- 9999999999 001 2007 002 2007

0001 K ---- 9999999999 001 2007 002 2007


47


subject will be discussed again later on in this book when wedescribe the data concept.

Parallel ledgersParallel ledgers are ledgers managed in parallel within a general led-ger. These can be used to apply different accounting standards, suchas IAS/IFRS or US-GAAP (see Figure 2.10).

Figure 2.10 Ledger Features

You can define the non-leading ledgers (see Figure 2.11) in theImplementation Guide (IMG) via the path: Financial Accounting(New) � Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) � Ledgers � Led-ger � Define Ledgers for General Ledger Accounting.

Figure 2.11 Defining Non-Leading Ledgers

Activating non-leading ledgers

However, unlike the leading ledger, non-leading ledgers must also beactivated for each company code. You can do this in the IMG via thepath: Financial Accounting (New) � Financial Accounting Global Set-

Non-Leading Ledgers

IASLedger

(LeadingLedger)

Ledgerbased on local

accountingstandard

US-GAAP Ledger

Ledger XYZ


48


tings (New) � Ledgers � Ledger � Define and Activate Non-LeadingLedgers. In this IMG activity, you must make the following settingsfor the non-leading ledgers for each company code (see Figure 2.12).

Figure 2.12 Settings for Non-Leading Ledgers

With this setting, you activate the relevant non-leading ledgers foreach company code (for example, the non-leading ledger L6 asshown in Figure 2.12).

Currencies of thenon-leading

ledgers

You can define additional currencies that deviate from those used bythe leading ledger. The currency of the leading ledger — i.e., the cur-rency of the relevant company code — is always used as the first cur-rency. As a second and third currency of a non-leading ledger, youmay only use currency types that you have already assigned to therelevant company code for the leading ledger.

You can define a fiscal year variant that differs from the leading led-ger. If you do not specify a fiscal year variant, the fiscal year variantof the company code is automatically used. This means that a com-pany code can have various fiscal year variants. For example, theleading ledger may use fiscal year variant K4 (fiscal year correspondsto the calendar year), while the non-leading ledger uses fiscal yearvariant V3 (a fiscal year that does not correspond to the calendaryear). This option is also available in the special ledgers but not in theclassic General Ledger.

In addition to an alternative fiscal year variant, you can also define aposting period variant that differs from the leading ledger.

Tax assessment New G/L also allows you to map tax assessments in a separate, non-leading ledger.


49


DART data extraction

If you want to use this function, note that you must specify the led-ger containing the tax data for data extraction with DART (see alsoSAP Note 873125 from December 31, 2006). Before you can use thisfunction, you must implement the corrections and follow the manualsteps in this Note. To implement the corrections, you must firstinstall DART Version 2.4.

In the selection screen of the extraction program, you can select aledger for which the data is to be extracted. If you do not explicitlyselect a ledger in the selection screen, no alternative ledger isselected and the leading ledger is used for the evaluation.

If you also use the function for account balancing in segments inNew G/L, certain documents may be split to ensure a balance of zerowithin the segments.

Postings are made to special clearing accounts for these documents.Because these clearing accounts are also selected when you useDART, but the technical document line items from document split-ting are not, a difference will occur in the control totals. You canignore this difference if the total of the differences amounts to zero.Each of the differences is expressed between the item total and theaccount balance but in most cases result in a total of 0.

2.1.4 Data Concept

Design of New G/LDue to the high degree of flexibility in New G/L, it is particularlyimportant to design the new general ledger itself and the projectassociated with its implementation in such a way that New G/L canfulfill all of your business and technical requirements and achieve itsfull potential.

Both the scenarios and fields to be mapped and the number of indi-vidual and totals records in each table and ledger are key factors in asuccessful and sustainable design.

Ledger 0LThe BKPF (document header) and BSEG (document line items/item)tables — see Figure 2.13 — are also available in New G/L, withslightly modified functions. Additional fields include:

� Ledger group in BKPF

� Segment in BSEG


50


Tables BKPF andBSEG

Individual transactions are reflected in the following three tables:

� BKPF (document header file)

� BSEG (document segment file — leading)

� BSEG_ADD (document segment file — non-leading)

The following section explains how these tables are used. Docu-ments that are relevant for the leading ledger are written to the BKPFand BSEG tables (see Figure 2.13).

Figure 2.13 Table Names — Document Header and Document Item

Ledger group Documents without valuation differences are posted to all ledgers(see Figure 2.14). If there are no valuation differences — i.e., if theLedger Grp. field remains blank — the documents are posted to allledgers. The document header data in BKPF and the document lineitems in BSEG are updated.

Field RLDNR The value Initial in the RLDNR field in the document header (seeFigure 2.15) indicates that this document is relevant for all ledgers.

However, if the data is only posted to the leading ledger, the ledgerinformation is stored in BKPF. The value 0L in the RLDNR field in thedocument header (see Figure 2.16) indicates that this document isonly relevant for the general ledger.

Additional Data

Item 1/ PK

DT Document HeaderBKPF

Line Items/Document Items

DocumentHeader

Account

AmountTax Code

Business AreaCost CenterText. . .

Detail

AdditionalFields:

RLDNRLDGRP…

AdditionalFields:

Segment…


51


Figure 2.14 Posting to All Ledgers

Figure 2.15 No Valuation Differences; Posting to All Ledgers

Figure 2.16 Valuation Difference — Posting to Leading Ledger 0L Only

The next section explains the document structure when additionalledgers are used.

Table BSEG_ADD: Posting to additional ledgers

The BSEG_ADD table (see Figure 2.17) is only updated if additionalledgers are used and if the documents to be posted are not relevantfor the leading ledger. However, BSEG_ADD does not contain anydocument splitting information. The table is irrelevant from thispoint of view.

No ledger specified during document entry: Posting to all defined G/L ledgers

Transactions: e.g., Incoming Invoice, Outgoing Invoice, Payment

Ledger A (IAS)

(Leading Ledger)

Ledger B (US-GAAP)

Ledger C (Local

Accounting Standard )

BKPFBUKRS BELNR GJAHR RLDNR LDGRP BSTAT0001 0017 2003 ______ ______ ______

BSEGBUKRS BELNR GJAHR BUZEI 0001 0017 2003 0010001 0017 2003 0020001 0017 2003 003

BSEG_ADDBUKRS BELNR GJAHR BUZEI

BKPFBUKRS BELNR GJAHR RLDNR LDGRP BSTAT0001 0017 2003 0L ______ ______

BSEGBUKRS BELNR GJAHR BUZEI 0001 0017 2003 0010001 0017 2003 0020001 0017 2003 003

BSEG_ADDBUKRS BELNR GJAHR BUZEI


52


Figure 2.17 BSEG_ADD — for Posting to Additional Ledgers

Ledger group In a standard posting transaction, which is merely “enhanced” with afield for entering the ledger (or, to be precise, the ledger group, seeFigure 2.18), you explicitly specify which ledger is to be filled duringposting.

Figure 2.18 Posting to a Single Ledger

BSEG_ADDNot relevant forleading ledger,only for postings to oneor several additional ledgers

Additional Data

Item 1/ PK

DT Document HeaderBKPF

Line Items/Document Items

DocumentHeader

Account

AmountTax Code

Business AreaCost CenterText. . .

Detail

AdditionalFields:

RLDNRLDGRP…

AdditionalFields:

Segment…

Ledger A (I AS )

(Leading Ledger )

Ledger C (Local

Accounting Standard)

Ledger B (US- GA AP

Ledger )

Ledger specified during document entry: Posting to the specified ledger only

Transaction: Valuation Postings, Period End Closing Postings

L6


53


The value L6 in the RLDNR field in the document header (see theexample shown in Figure 2.19) indicates that this document is rele-vant for non-leading ledger L6. In this case, values are written exclu-sively to table BSEG_ADD. The BSEG table is not filled at the sametime.

Figure 2.19 Valuation Difference — Posting to Non-Leading Ledger L6

Principle of the leading ledger

As you can see, using an additional ledger does not automaticallymean that additional documents are saved. If the valuation basis isidentical, the storage technique that follows the leading-ledger prin-ciple is very economical, which offers an advantage over theaccounts approach. Even so, evaluations are designed as though onecomplete ledger was selected in each case. Documents are collectedfrom the three tables in the background and displayed together in aunified way. In the FAGLFLEXT standard totals table, individualpostings are displayed together in aggregated form for later evalua-tions.

Transactions FB50L/FB01L: Authorizations

Authorization for posting transactions must only be granted toexperts with the requisite specialized background knowledge inorder to ensure that the correct postings are made in the correct led-gers. Examples are FB50L (Enter G/L Account Document for LedgerGroup), Enjoy transaction, or FB01L (Enter General Posting for Led-ger Group).

The next section examines how the system responds to postings inspecial periods if you use (at least) one other ledger in addition to theleading ledger in New G/L and if this ledger has a different fiscal-yearvariant that contains special periods.

Special periodsIf you post to a special period and the period calculated from theposting date is the last “normal” period in the fiscal year, then valuesare similarly posted to a special period in the additional ledger.

BKPF BUKRS BELNR GJAHR RLDNR LDGRP BSTAT 0001 0017 2003 L6 ______ L

BSEG BUKRS BELNR GJAHR BUZEI

BSEG_ADD BUKRS BELNR GJAHR BUZEI 0001 0017 2003 001 0001 0017 2003 002 0001 0017 2003 003

Postingto Ledger

L6


54


The first special period in the fiscal-year variant of the leading ledgeris transferred to the first special period in the fiscal-year variant ofthe non-leading ledger; the second special period is posted to the sec-ond, and so on. If there are not enough special periods in the addi-tional ledger, postings are made to the last special period available.

Figure 2.20 Special Periods in Fiscal-Year Variant K4

In the company code (and thus also the leading ledger), you have fiscalyear variant K4 (see Figure 2.20) with periods corresponding to calendarmonths and four additional special periods. In the additional ledger, youhave a fiscal-year variant with 53 periods as calendar weeks and two addi-tional special periods.

If a posting is made to period 13 (with a posting date of December 31),this is posted in period 54 in the additional ledger, and periods 14, 15,and 16 are copied to period 55. However, if you had a non-calendar fiscalyear variant (such as V3 in Figure 2.21) in the additional ledger, this post-ing would not be copied to a special period because the posting date ofDecember 31 falls in period 9 rather than in the last normal period (12) offiscal-year variant V3.

15 14 16 13

01 02

03

04

05 06 07

12 11

10

09

08

Open


55


Figure 2.21 Non-Calendar Fiscal-Year Variant V3

2.1.5 Changes to the Definition and Assignment of the Ledgers

Fixed valuation view

While you can add new, non-leading ledgers, you are not permittedto change the definition of the ledgers from leading to non-leading orfrom non-leading to leading. In contrast to other applications, theleading ledger represents the fixed valuation view (see Section2.1.2).

SL/profit center ledger versus ledger

In contrast to the special ledger or the profit-center ledger, subse-quent changes to the ledgers of New General Leger are not planned.Auditing is required.

Audit requirementAs a result, careful consideration must be given to the possible busi-ness effects of any changes made in the Customizing settings notonly of New G/L in terms of documents that have already beenposted.

2.1.6 Defining Ledger Groups

For each ledger you create, a ledger group with the same name isautomatically generated. You can change the name of the ledgergroup, which is simply copied from the ledger.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

MayJunJul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

10 11

12

01

02 03 04

09 08

07

06

05

Start: April 1, 2007 End: March 31, 2008

15 14 16 13

Open

As at February 2007, no tools are available for migrating data from “NewG/L to New G/L.” Therefore, the importance of a well thought-out designcannot be overemphasized.


56


Combining ledgers A ledger group is a collection of ledgers used for joint processingwithin the functions and processes of general-ledger accounting. Tosimplify the use of the individual functions in general-ledgeraccounting, you can combine any number of ledgers in a ledgergroup.

Posting via ledgergroup

Creating ledger groups allows you to post values to more than oneledger in one posting. In the example shown in Figure 2.22, a post-ing to ledger group B updates the values in the two ledgers “IAS led-ger” and “US-GAAP ledger.”

Figure 2.22 Posting to Ledger Group B

If, for example, IAS/IFRS and US-GAAP are identical in many cases interms of valuation, it makes sense to use a shared ledger group.

Representativeledger

The system uses the representative ledger to determine the postingperiod for a posting and to check whether this posting period isopen. If the posting period for the representative ledger is open, thesystem posts to all ledgers in the ledger group. However, when therelevant ledgers are posted, their individual fiscal-year variants aretaken into account in each case.

IASLedger

Ledger basedon local

accountingstandard

US - GAAPLedger

Ledger XYZ


57


You define your ledger groups by using the IMG path: FinancialAccounting (New) � Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) �

Ledgers � Ledger � Define Ledger Group (see Figure 2.23).

Figure 2.23 Defining Ledger Groups

The following configuration options are available:

� Select the leading ledger as the representative ledgerIf the leading ledger is contained in the ledger group, the leadingledger must always be selected as the representative ledger.

� Assign a representative ledgerIf the leading ledger is not contained in the ledger group, youmust assign one of the ledgers as the representative ledger (seeFigure 2.24). If the ledger group contains only one ledger, this isalso the representative ledger.

� Check the selection of the representative ledgerIf the ledger group contains more than one ledger, a check is per-formed when posting occurs by means of the fiscal year variant ofthe company code to determine whether the representative ledgerof the ledger group has been selected correctly.

In order to avoid misunderstanding, it is worth repeating our commentabout the posting period variant for the representative ledger. If the post-ing period of the representative ledger is open, posting are also made toall other ledgers in same ledger group, even if the periods in these ledgersare closed.


58


� Fiscal year variant of the representative ledgerIf a fiscal year variant that differs from the company code isdefined in all ledgers of the ledger group, you can select any led-ger as the representative ledger.

If the same fiscal-year variant defined for the company code is alsodefined for one of the ledgers in the ledger group, this ledger mustbe selected as the representative ledger.

Figure 2.24 Assigning the Representative Ledger

2.2 Scenarios

The earlier sections have described some general settings for ledgerdefinition. Below you will find a more detailed discussion of the var-ious scenarios.

2.2.1 Defining and Assigning Scenarios for Ledgers

Scenarios You can use scenarios to define which fields in a ledger are to beupdated during posting. Figure 2.25 shows the standard scenariosprovided by SAP. You cannot define your own scenarios, but you canuse customer-specific fields (for more details, see Section 2.3).

A single datasource

Separate data sources (for example, in the form of separate ledgerswhen using the special ledger approach) are no longer required inorder to map the various scenarios. You will find the available sce-narios in Customizing via the path: Financial Accounting (New) �

Financial Accounting Global Settings (New) � Ledgers � Fields � Dis-play Scenarios for General Ledger Accounting.


307

Index

Index

A

Account assignment block 23, 31Account assignment field 22, 31Account determination 146, 150

G/L accounts 156Posting specification 156

Accounting code 153Accounting interface 17Accounting standard 40Accounts approach 40, 84Accounts payable accounting (FI-AP)

40Accounts receivable accounting (FI-

AR) 40Activation date 209Active (document) split 169Activity allocations 35Additional account assignments 76Architecture of New G/L 26Archived documents 238Assessment 101Asset Accounting (FI-AA) 40, 129Asset acquisition 124Asset Explorer 126Asset retirement with revenue 127Asset under construction (AuC) 125Assigning scenarios 58Audit requirement 55Authorizations 89Average rate 44

B

BAdIFAGL_DERIVE_SEGMENT 32, 73,

230FAGL_MIGR_SUBST 230, 255FAGL_UPLOAD_CF 230

Balance carryforwards 251Balance display 26Balance sheet 20Bank selling rate 44Basic component DMIS 220BDIFF logic 239BI Business Content 82

Business Add-In (BAdI) → BAdl 32Business area 21, 32Business Area balance sheet 65Business Area scenario 65Business consolidation 19Business planning 19Buying rate 44

C

Capitalization versions 131Cash Generating Unit 265Changes in Financials 16Changes in provisions worksheet 79Classic general ledger 19Classic totals table (GLT0) 30Clearing account 185Clearing line items 171Company code 38Company code currency 41Company-wide controlling 24Complete ledger 46Compliance 17Consolidated financial statement

27, 40Consolidation staging ledger 19, 79Consolidation system 19Consolidation transaction type 19,

79Constant 187Consumables 134Controlling area 87Corporate governance 25Corporate Performance Manage-

ment (CPM) 19Cost center 30Cost Center Accounting 87Cost center category 87Cost center standard hierarchy 87Cost Center Update scenario 87Cost element 30Cost of Sales Accounting 21, 84Cost of Sales Accounting ledger 19Cost of Sales Accounting scenario

83Cost of Sales ledger 21, 84, 85


308

Index

Cost type 35Costing sheet 137Currencies 41Currency type 42Current assets 133Customer fields 88Customer-specific account assign-

ment fields 88Customer-specific fields 30, 35

D

DART data extraction 49Data backup 90, 248Data concept 172Data entry view 61Data structure 26, 30, 38Data transfer from general ledger

accounting 82Database indexes for totals tables

92Database table 30, 38Data-entry view 173DataSource 0FI_GL_10 82DataSource 0SEM_BCS_10 82Default account assignment 184Defining scenarios 58Delta posting 125Depreciation area 01 of Asset

Accounting 123Depreciation posting run 126Deriving a segment 69Distribution 101Divisions 65DMIS 220Document display 78Document entry 74Document simulation 78

Expert mode 174Document splitting 25, 34

Activation 192Document splitting characteristics

34Document-splitting rule 191

E

Enjoy transactions 95European Union (EU) 27

Exchange rate 43Exchange rate type 42Expense account 35Expert mode 174Extending the coding block 88External activity 124Extraction 82

F

Field status 74Field status group 74Field status variant 76FIFO 135Financial Accounting 16Financial statements for segments

169Financial supply chain 17Financial Supply Chain Management

(FSCM) 17Finished products 137Fiscal year variant 41, 44Fixed assets 123Fixed valuation view 55Flat-rate individual value adjustment

141Follow-up costs 113Foreign currency conversion 239Foreign currency valuation 141,

146, 149Fragmentation 24, 35Functional area 21, 30, 38, 85

G

General Ledger 37Flexibility 37

General Ledger 00 37General ledger view 61

Simulation 174German Control and Transparency

in Business Act (KonTraG) 18Global company currency 43Governance 17Greenfield approach 264Gross procedure 115Group currency 41


309

Index

H

Hard currency 41Heterogeneous ledger environment

24

I

IFRS 121Increased efficiency 16, 17Index-based currency 43Individual financial statement 27Industry solutions 30Industry-specific fields 30InfoProvider 0FI_GL_10 82Inheritance 188Integration with CO 40Interfaces 26Internal order 124International accounting 27International Accounting Standards

(IAS) 27, 68International Accounting Standards

Board (IASB) 27International Financial Reporting

Standards (IFRS) 27Inventory costing 137Inventory valuation 133Item category 178

L

Leading ledger 39Ledger 0F 37Ledger 8A 37Ledger approach 30, 40Ledger comparison 245Ledger group 55, 159Ledger Grp. field 50Legal reporting 16License key 218LIFO 135Lines of business 65Local currencies 41Loss 127

M

Management Accounting 16

Management and segment reporting 19

Management consolidation 79Management reporting 16, 37Mandatory field 184Manual repostings in CO 35Mass change transaction 259Material cost estimate 140Migration

FAGL_MIG_FICHAN 258FAGL_MIG_FICHAT 259FAGL_MIG_OPITEMS 249FAGL_MIG_SIM_SPL 259FAGL_SPLINFO 254, 257, 262FAGLFLEXA 257, 262FAGLFLEXT 38, 257, 262FMGLFLEXT 38GCAC 204GLFUNCT 216GLPCT 216GLT0 215GLT3 216RFAGL_SWAP_IMG_OLD 203

Migration date 209Migration plan 221Migration tools 55Migration year 209Multi-dimensionality 35

N

NMI_CONT 220Non-leading ledger 46Non-specified posting 181

O

ODS object 83OI-led accounts 209Organizational levels 68Overhead Cost Controlling (CO-OM)

24

P

P&L statement 20Packages 221Paradigm shift in Financial Accoun-

ting 35


310

Index

Parallel ledgers 25Parallel valuation 28, 121Parallel valuation approach

Mapping 40Partner profit center 82Passive (document) split 170Performance 92Performance measurement 19Period accounting 21Period-based allocations (assess-

ments/distribution) 35Periodic APC values posting 128Periodic processing 198Phase 0 209Phase 1 209Phase model of migration 208Planning data entry transactions

102Posting data 208Posting key 74Posting log 152Posting period 44Posting period variant 41, 44Preparations for Consolidation sce-

nario 79Product Cost Controlling 24Profit and loss (P&L) statement based

on cost-of-sales accounting 19Profit center 30, 32, 38Profit Center Accounting (EC-PCA)

24, 67Profit center consolidation 80Profit Center Update Scenario 67Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) 24Profitability key figures 67Profit-center ledger 19Program SAPLFSKB 95Project-based migration 215Provisions 157Provisions report 163

R

Raw materials, supplies, and con-sumables 134

Real-time integration 34Real-time integration of CO into FI

25Receivables adjustment 144

Receivables valuation 141Reconciliation ledger 23, 109Reconciliation work 18, 34Reliability 25Remote cube 82Reporting requirements 16Reports 26Representative ledger 46, 56Retained earnings accounts 29Return on Investment 67Revenue and cost controlling 24Risk factors 18Risk management 16, 17

S

SAPF180 239SAPF190 245Sarbanes-Oxley Act 18Scenarios 58Screen variants 95Secondary cost element 102Securities valuation 150Segment 30, 38Segment entity 32Segment reporting 25, 32, 37, 68Segmentation scenario 68Segmentation scenario (FIN_SEGM)

64SEM-BCS 79Sender and Receiver Business Area

66Service-based migration 214Settlement of orders 35Special G/L transactions 194Special Ledger (FI-SL) 19, 23Special ledgers 37Special period 44, 53Splitting method 174Staging InfoProvider 82Standard price 133, 137Standard totals table FAGLFLEXT

30State of flux 16Stock transfer 189Strategy management 19Subsidiary ledger 40Substitutions 86


311

Index

T

Table BKPF (document header) 49Table BSEG (document line items/

item) 49Table BSEG_ADD 50, 51Table V_FAGL_SEGM_PRCT 72Tax assessment 48Three-step variant principle 44Total cost of ownership (TCO) 25Totals table GLFUNCT 46Totals table GLPCT 46Totals table GLT0 46Trading partner 79Transaction currency 41Transaction

FAGLCOFITRACEADMIN 110Transaction FB01L 53Transaction FB50L 53Transaction figures 21Transaction KALC 23, 109

Transactional SEM-BCS InfoProvider 82

Transactions 26Transparency 16, 25

U

US-GAAP 121

V

Validation 66, 210Valuation areas 153Valuation difference 50Valuation run 143Valuation variant 139Value adjustment key 142, 145Value determination 135

Z

Zero balance 184
