Fico_Book (第1页) | ERP软件技术分享

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SAP ERP Financials

and FICO

Handbook

S. N. Padhi

			SAP ERP Financials ® and FICO Handbook S. N. Padhi

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SAP ERP Financials

and FICO

Handbook

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T J B P SAP® B S

HE ONES AND ARTLETT UBLISHERS OOK ERIES

SAP® R/3® FI Transactions

Upgrading SAP®

SAP® FI/CO Questions and Answers

SAP® ABAP™ Handbook

SAP® ABAP™ Questions and Answers

SAP® MM Questions and Answers

SAP® SD Questions and Answers

SAP® ERP Financials and FICO Handbook

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SAP ERP Financials

and FICO

Handbook

S. N. Padhi

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Padhi, S. N.

SAP ERP financials and FICO handbook/S.N. Padhi.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-7637-8080-7 (hardcover)

1. SAP ERP 2. Financing Corporation (U.S.) 3. Accounting—Computer programs. I. Title.

HF5679.P23 2010

657.0285'53—dc22

2009037367

6048

Printed in the United States of America

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This book is dedicated to my wife, Sharmistha.

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A A

BOUT THE UTHOR

A graduate in commerce and an associated member of the Institute of Chartered

accountants of India, New Delhi, S. N. Padhi has more than 26 years of experience in

accounting, finance, taxation, audit, and information technology. He is a participating

SAP FICO consultant.

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T C

ABLE OF ONTENTS

An Introduction to SAP Software xi

Preface xiii

Chapter 1 Interview Questions and Answers 1

1.1 SAP-General 1

1.2 FI-General 12

1.3 Enterprise Structure (FI-ES) 15

1.4 G/L Accounting (FI-G/L) 24

1.5 Accounts Payable (FI-AP) 44

1.6 Accounts Receivable (FI-AR) 52

1.7 FI-AA 54

1.8 General CO 65

1.9 CO-CEL 70

1.10 FI-CCA 71

1.11 CO-PCA 79

1.12 CO-IO 80

1.13 CO-PA 84

1.14 Product costing (CO-Pc) 86

1.15 SD 87

1.16 MM 89

1.17 Technical Questions 91

Chapter 2 Certifi cation Questions and Answers 95

2.1 Questions 95

2.2 Answers 123

Chapter 3 Issues and Resolutions 127

3.1 SAP General 127

3.2 General Ledger (G/L) Accounting 128

3.3 Accounts Payable (AP) 135

3.4 Assets Management (AM) 143

vii

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viii TABLE OF CONTENTS

3.5 Cost Center Accounting (CCA) 156

3.6 Profit Center Accounting (PCA) 156

3.7 New G/L 157

Chapter 4 Confi guration Steps 159

4.1 Enterprise Structure (FI-ES) 159

4.2 General Ledger Accounting (FI-G/L) 161

4.3 Accounts Payable (FI-AP) 163

4.4 Accounts Receivable (FI-AR) 168

4.5 Bank Accounting (FI-BL) 171

4.6 Assets Accounting (FI-AA) 174

4.7 Controlling Area (CO) 177

4.8 Cost Center Accounting (CO-CCA) 177

4.9 Internal Order (CO-IO) 179

4.10 Profit Center Accounting (CO-PCA) 181

4.11 Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) 182

4.12 Product Costing (CO-PC) 183

Chapter 5 User Transaction Codes 187

5.1 General Ledger (G/L) Accounting 187

5.2 Accounts Payable (AP) 192

5.3 Accounts Receivable (AR) 199

5.4 Assets Management (AM) 205

5.5 Cost Element Accounting (CO-CEL) 209

5.6 Cost Center Accounting (CO-CCA) 211

5.7 Internal Order (CO-IO) 217

5.8 Profit Center Accounting (CO-PCA) 220

5.9 Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) 224

5.10 Product Costing (CO-PC) 226

Chapter 6 FICO Quick Tour 229

6.1 SAP General 229

6.2 FI General 230

6.3 General Ledger (G/L) Accounting 232

6.4 AP and AR 240

6.5 Asset Accounting (AA) 247

6.6 CO General 252

6.7 CEL 254

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ix

6.8 Cost Center Accounting (CCA) 255

6.9 IO 257

6.10 PA 258

6.11 PCA 261

6.12 PCC 263

Chapter 7 Special Areas 265

7.1 Foreign Currencies 265

7.2 Intercompany Transactions 266

7.3 Bank Reconciliation 269

7.4 Lockbox Configuration 271

7.5 Revenue Recognition 273

7.6 Automatic Payment Program 275

7.7 Three-Way Match 276

7.8 P2P 277

7.9 Vendor Down Payment and Clearing 278

7.10 Order to Cash (OTC) 279

7.11 Make to Order 280

7.12 Summarization Levels in CO-PA 281

Chapter 8 New GL 285

8.1 Document Splitting 288

8.2 Transaction Codes 289

Chapter 9 Tables in the SAP System 291

9.1 Enterprise Structure (FI-ES) 291

9.2 General Ledger Accounting (FI-G/L) 292

9.3 Accounts Receivable (FI-AR) 293

9.4 Accounts Payable (FI-AP) 294

9.5 Assets Management (FI-AA) 294

9.6 General (CO) 295

9.7 Cost Center Accounting (CO-CCA) 295

9.8 Profit Center Accounting (CO-PCA) 296

9.9 Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) 296

Chapter 10 SAP MM Confi guration 297

Chapter 11 SAP SD Confi guration 301

Index 305

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A I SAP S

N NTRODUCTION TO OFTWARE

SAP stands for Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing.

SAP® software is the leading enterprise information and management package worldwide.

Use of this package makes it possible to track and manage, in real time, sales, production,

financial accounting, and human resources in an enterprise.

S AP AG is the third-largest software company in the world. Founded in 1972, SAP now

employs more than 48,500 people in more than 50 countries. SAP global headquarters

is located in Walldorf, Germany, and the company is listed on several stock exchanges,

including the Frankfurt DAX and the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol SAP.

SAP has more than 2,400 partners, 26 industry solutions, and 12 million users at 140,000

installations around the world.

The following shortcuts are commonly used when working with SAP solutions.

Action Shortcuts

Enter <Enter>

Save F11, Ctrl+S

Back F3

Exit Shift+F3

Cancel F12

Help F1

Execute F8

Possible Values F4

Current Date F4 and F2

TABLE 1 Shortcuts

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P

REFACE

T his book is different from other books available on the market. The main goals of this

book are to provide readers with a good knowledge base, to offer a better understanding

to those new to SAP® Financial Accounting (FI) and Controlling (CO), and to sharpen

the skills of experienced consultants.

While writing this book, utmost care was taken to cover the most common, complex,

and highly interview-oriented topics of SAP FICO. In this book, you will find almost all

sections are arranged according to the FICO submodules. The screenshots are taken

from SAP® R/3® Enterprise 4.70 and SAP ECC 6.0.

This book is divided into the following chapters:

n Chapter 1—Interview Questions and Answers: This chapter covers

frequently asked questions and answers in an interview format.

More than 224 questions and answers are presented by sub-modul e.

n Chapter 2—Certification Questions and Answers: This chapter

contains nearly 200 “objective type certification” questions and

answers. This is one of the unique attributes of this book.

n Chapter 3—Issues and Resolutions: In this chapter, I explain the

probable solution of various production issues. Sometimes issues

and resolutions depend on a particular SAP implementation

environment. This is another one of the unique attributes of this

book not found in other books.

n Chapter 4—Configuration Steps: While implementing SAP R/3

or SAP ERP Financials, consultants always look for sequential

steps that need to be followed. In this chapter, I provide the

most common object-oriented configuration steps in a sequence

with path and transaction codes.

n Chapter 5—User Transaction Codes: In this chapter, I provide

the most common user transaction codes. It is expected that a

FICO consultant know commonly used transaction codes.

n Chapter 6—FICO Quick Tour: In this chapter, I recap various

sub-modules of FICO in bullet-point format. This gives readers

a high-level understanding of various sub-modules of FICO and

is a valuable feature of this book.

xiii

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xiv PREFACE

n Chapter 7—Special Areas: This chapter covers various areas

of FICO that are highly important from an interview and

implementation perspective.

n Chapter 8—New G/L: The concept of the New G/L came into

existence from SAP ECC 5.0 versions. It has many advantages

compared to earlier versions of SAP software. In this chapter,

I give a high-level overview of the New G/L and how it is

different from G/L.

n Chapter 9—Tables in the SAP System: As you are aware, all

transactional data and configuration data is stored in various

database tables. In this chapter, I provide various tables

important to SAP FICO modules.

n Chapter 10—SAP MM Configuration: SAP ERP is

characterized by one-point data entry. Once data is entered

in one module, it flows to and affects other modules. As a

FICO consultant, if you are working in a project where an SAP

Materials Management (MM) module is also implemented, you

should have a basic understanding of MM configuration. In this

chapter, I cover some basic configuration steps.

n Chapter 11—SAP SD Configuration: Similar to Chapter 10, in

this chapter, you will find basic configuration steps of the SAP

Sales and Distribution (SD) module.

I hope you will enjoy this book. All the best!

S. N. Padhi

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I

NTERVIEW

1 Q

UESTIONS AND

A

NSWERS

Chapter

1.1 SAP-GENERAL

1. W hat is the SAP® implementation roadmap and what steps are involved

in it?

The SAP implementation roadmap is a standard process provided by SAP AG for

smooth SAP implementation and is called the ASAP Roadmap. The ASAP Roadmap

consists of fi ve phases: (1) Project Preparation, (2) Business Blueprint, (3) Realiza-

tion, (4) Final Preparation, and (5) Going Live and Support.

FIGURE 1.1

■ Project Preparation—I n this phase of the ASAP Roadmap, decision-makers defi ne

clear project objectives and an effi cient decision-making process. Here, project

organization and roles are defi ned and implementation scope is fi nalized.

■ Business Blueprint—I n this phase, the scope of the R/3 implementation is defi ned

and the Business Blueprint is created. The Business Blueprint is a detailed docu-

mentation of the customer’s requirements.

■ Realization—T he purpose of Phase 3 is to configure the R/3 system. The

configuration is carried out in two steps: baseline configuration and final

confi guration.

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2 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

■ Final Preparation— The purpose of this phase is to complete the final

p reparation of the R/3 system for going live. This includes testing, user train-

ing, system management, and cutover activities to fi nalize your readiness to

go live.

■ Going Live and Support— During this phase, the fi rst early watch session should

be held, where SAP experts analyze the system’s technical infrastructure. The

aim is to ensure the system functions as smoothly as possible.

2. What does system landscape mean?

The system landscape represents the SAP system deployment at your imple-

mentation site. Ideally, in an SAP environment, a three-system landscape exists,

consisting of the development server (DEV), quality assurance server (QAS),

and production server (PRD). This kind of setup is not primarily designed to

serve as a server cluster in case of system failure; rather, the objective is to enhance

“confi guration pipeline management.”

DEV QAS PRD

CUST QTST PROD

TEST TRNG

SAND

Development Quality assurance Production

system system system

FIGURE 1.2 System landscape

T he system landscape is the system structure that you have for your imple-

mentation project. For example, you might have a development system, quality

a ssurance (QA) system, and production system. It also includes how the confi gu-

ration change goes through these systems and what controls there are. System

landscape mostly has to do with the systems, their servers, and so forth.

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1.1 SAP-GENERAL 3

3. What are specs?

Specs represent specifi cations. In an information technology (IT) environment, you

will fi nd two kinds of specifi cations: (1) functional specifi cations and (2) technical

specifi cations. These documents contain the business requirements, such as inputs,

solutions, processing logic, and so on.

Functional specification : The documentation typically describes what is

needed by the system user as well as requested properties of inputs and outputs.

The functional specifi cation is business-oriented. A functional specifi cation does

not defi ne the inner workings of the proposed system, nor does it include informa-

tion for how the system function will be implemented. Instead, it focuses on what

various outside agents (e.g., people using the program, computer peripherals, or

other computers) might observe when interacting with the system.

Technical specifi cation: While the functional specifi cation is business-oriented,

the technical specifi cation is system-oriented and discusses programming.

4. How many versions of the implementation guides (IMGs) are available

in SAP? What are they?

There are three versions of the IMG available in SAP. These are:

■ Reference IMG— The reference IMG contains all confi guration transactions avail-

able for all functionalities/modules/submodules in the installed versions of

SAP R/3. The reference IMG represents the base set of confi guration options

from which SAP functionality can be confi gured. All other versions of the IMG

are subsets of the reference IMG.

■ Enterprise IMG —The enterprise IMG only contains confi guration transactions

that are applicable to a specifi c company’s installation of SAP software. The

enterprise IMG serves the purpose of fi ltering out confi guration options that

are not required by a company if certain modules are not implemented.

■ P roject IMG —A project IMG contains a subset of the enterprise IMG confi g-

uration transactions that need to be confi gured to complete a specifi c project.

5. In SAP solutions, is it possible to have a self-defi ned transaction code?

Y es, self-defined reports, transactions, and functions are possible within SAP

s olutions. There might be numerous reasons why a company would want

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4 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

c ustomized transaction codes or reports. To cater to this demand, SAP allows the

creation of user-defi ned transaction codes.

User-defi ned transaction codes allow the user to speed up access to specifi c

reports or programs since the user no longer needs to use transaction code SE38,

enter the program name or report name, and press Execute. Instead, the user can

simply use a predefi ned transaction code that will automatically open the program.

Customized T-codes can be created by using transaction code SE93. Follow these

steps to create a transaction code:

1. Name your transaction code. In this case, it is ZTEST1.

FIGURE 1.3 Naming a transaction code

2. Click on the C reate button and then select the relevant option in the screen that

appears. In this case, select Program and selection screen .

FIGURE 1.4 Creating a transaction code

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1.1 SAP-GENERAL 5

3 . C lick on the check mark icon at the bottom left of the screen. In the next

screen that appears, assign a program name and selection screen and save

your work. Now your transaction code ZTEST1 is ready for execution.

FIGURE 1.5 Your new transaction code

6. What is the best practice for transporting confi guration requests? How

can you transport a confi guration request?

I n standard SAP implementation, there will be three clients: (1) Development,

(2) Quality, and (3) Production. These three clients may be located within one

server or on different servers for each client. Confi guration will be carried out in

the Development client and transported to the Testing client. After satisfactory test-

ing of the SAP R/3 system, confi guration will be transported from the Development

client to the Production client.

If different servers are used for different clients, the request is generated in

the Development client, which has to be released fi rst through transaction code

SE10. Then the basis consultant will move the request to QUALITY through STMS,

which is really the job of the basis consultant. After thorough testing, you can again

ask the basis consultant to transport through STMS to move the request to the

Production client.

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6 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

FIGURE 1.6 Using transaction code SE10

If clients are located on the same server, transaction code SCC1 is used to trans-

port requests from one client to another client. For example, if in the Development

server itself you have the golden client (a SAP-specifi c word used for a good client),

i.e., DEV and one more client for Testing, you do not need to release the request in

SE10. You can do this directly through transaction code SCC1 in the Testing client

by giving the request number. Here, you may not require basis help.

7. After configuration you have to transport the configuration to the

QAS or PRD. Can you transport number ranges of documents, assets

masters, customer masters, and vendor masters in the same transport

request?

No. These have to be transported separately. Number ranges are not automati-

cally included in transport requests. It is easy to overlay number range objects

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1.1 SAP-GENERAL 7

and get existing ranges out of the system when you transport number ranges. It

is recommended that you do not transport number ranges, and instead set them

up individually in each client. This is part of the cutover activities for the go-live

checklist.

8. How can you find the menu path when you know the transaction

code?

There are two ways to fi nd the application menu when you know the transaction

code. Note that this is valid for the Easy Access Menu, not the IMG menu.

The fi rst way is to enter SEARCH_SAP_MENU in OK and Command box

and press Enter . In the next screen, enter your desired transaction code and click

on the check mark. Now you will see the Search for a Transaction Code or Menu

Title screen, which shows the menu path. To reach your desired location, read the

screen from the bottom up.

FIGURE 1.7 System menu path

Figure 1.7 shows the menu path for transaction code FS00.

A nother way to fi nd the menu path is to press Ctrl+F on the SAP Easy Access

screen, and enter the transaction code in the pop-up screen; the system will lead

you to the menu path.

9. How can you extend the SAP Easy Access Menu?

U ser groups may ask you to extend the SAP Easy Access Menu to include menus

or submenus within the SAP standard menu. For example, if a client has a large

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8 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

amount of customer reports for their day-to-day use, they may want to include

these reports in the SAP menu.

Follow these steps to include a report menu in the SAP Easy Access Menu:

1. Create your own area menu using transaction code SE43. While saving, you

will need to assign the proper development class. The system will then create

a transport request for your area menu.

2. Now you will need to include your new area menu in the SAP Easy Access

area menu (transaction code S000). Use transaction code SE43, enter transac-

tion code S000 in the Area menu fi eld, and click on the Change icon. A pop-up

window will appear with three options: Extend, Change, and Cancel. Choose

Extend and click on to create a new enhancement ID or use an existing

enhancement ID.

3 . I n the Edit Area Menu S000 screen, use the icons to add your area menu

and save. The system will create another transport request.

4 . N ow log off and log on again; you will fi nd your new menu in the SAP Easy

Access Menu.

S imilarly, you can extend the IMG menu through transaction code

S_IMG_EXTENSION.

10. What do you do with errors in batch data conversion (BDC) sessions?

You use BDC to post data into SAP solutions with the help of the system.

Sometimes, while posting data through BDC, the system will encounter prob-

lems and cannot post data. When the system encounters a problem, it will

create BDC error sessions. The following are common reasons for BDC error

sessions:

■ Posting periods are locked

■ C hanges in master data, e.g., in general ledger (G/L) accounts, profi t centers

are locked for posting

■ Changes in screen layout of SAP program

T hese scenarios are only examples; there may be several reasons for errors. To

process incorrect BDC sessions, you need to fi nd out the reasons for these error

sessions. The easiest way to do this is to analyze the BDC log. In transaction code

SM35, select the BDC sessions in question and click on the log. The Batch input:

Log Overview screen will appear; double-click on any of the rows of the Log Over-

view tab to see an error screen. After analyzing the error, fi x it and process the BDC

sessions.

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1.1 SAP-GENERAL 9

11. Where do you find all of the transaction codes, including custom

transaction codes?

I n SAP R/3, the TSTC table stores all of the transaction codes. Through transaction

code SE16, you can browse all of the transaction codes. The TSTC table stores the

standard SAP transaction codes, as well as custom transaction codes.

12. What is gap analysis?

T he SAP R/3 system comes with predefined packages. Sometimes these pre-

defi ned packages may not suit a client’s business requirements. In the fi rst phase

of i mplementation, the implementation team will gather all business requirements.

A thorough analysis of the business requirements will lead to a gap between the

business requirements and the SAP standard package. There are two ways to reduce

the gap: (1) by changing the business process or (2) by developing new programs

(customizing) to accommodate the client’s business process. Before the second

phase of implementation, the SAP implementer will try to reduce these gaps by

adopting either of these options or both.

13. What is SAP Business One?

In 2002, SAP AG purchased an Israel-based developer of business applications called

TopManage Financial Systems; SAP renamed its product Business One. SAP Business

One is targeted for small and medium enterprises (SME). Due to its low implementa-

tion cost and SAP support, most SME fi nd Business One affordable compared to SAP

R/3 or mySAP ERP. SAP Business One consists of the following core modules:

1. Administration Module—This module is similar to the IMG menu in SAP R/3,

where confi guration is performed .

2. Financials Module—This module takes care of an entity’s accounting needs;

this is similar to FICO of R/3.

3. Sales Opportunities Module—This is where existing customers and potential

accounts are structured and tracked.

4. Sales Module—Module where orders are entered, shipped, and invoiced; this

is similar to the SD module of R/3.

5. Purchasing Module—Module where purchase orders are issued and goods are

received into inventory; this is similar to the MM module of R/3.

6. Business Partners Module—Module where business partners (customers,

vendors, and leads) are contacted and maintained.

7. Banking Module—Like the SAP R/3 banking module, this module records

payments and receipts.

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10 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

8. Inventory Module—This module, integrated with the purchase module, helps

inventory evaluation.

9. Production Module—Module that takes care of production processes.

10. MRP Module—Module that determines purchase requirements and checks

product or material availability.

11. Service Module—This sub-module handles contact management for after-sale

service.

12. Human Resources Module—Module where employee information is kept; simi-

lar to the HR module in R/3.

13. Reports Module—Helps to build new reports. Here we will fi nd delivered

reports.

14. How can you confi gure the FICO module without using the IMG menu?

A s a functional consultant, you will have authorization to use the IMG menu,

s ubject to your user role. However, from an academic point of view, it is good to

know how you can confi gure the FICO module without using transaction code

SPRO. You can do so by invoking the following transaction codes, which are area

menu transaction codes. You may fi nd these types of transactions through transac-

tion code SE43.

■ ORFB (Financial Accounting [FI])

■ ORFA (Asset Accounting [AA])

FIGURE 1.8 AA

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1.1 SAP-GENERAL 11

FIGURE 1.9 Cost and revenue element accounting

15. What is the International Demonstration and Education System (IDES)?

IDES is a sample application with sample master data and standard confi guration

provided for faster learning and implementation. For example, the following FI

company codes are in IDES. (These are just examples; there are many more.)

FIGURE 1.10 IDES company codes

16. Describe the major areas within the SAP environment.

The SAP environment consists of (1) confi guration and (2) application.

1. Confi guration—Confi guration represents maintenance of settings to support

business requirements through the IMG menu.

2. Application—This supports the handling of day-to-day activities through the

SAP Easy Access Menu.

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12 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

17. Describe the data types that can be used in SAP solutions.

There are three types of data in SAP: (1) Master data–Customer master, Vendor

Master, and Assets Master, (2) Transactional Data–Purchase, Sale, Payment and

Receipts, and (3) Table Data–Document Type SAP Delivered Data, and so on.

18. What are the highest organizational units in Sales and Distribution

(SD), Materials Management (MM), Production Planning (PP), Finan-

cial Information (FI), and Controlling Area (CO)?

1. SD—Sales Organizations

2. MM—Plant

3. PP—Plant

4. FI—Company Code

5. CO—Controlling Area

1.2 FI-GENERAL

19. When you copy the chart of accounts (COA), only one fi nancial state-

ment version (FSV) is being copied. However, a COA can have more than

one FSV. Why does copying the COA allow only one FSV?

An FSV corresponds to the COA, wherein individual (operational) accounts are

assigned to corresponding fi nancial statement items on the lowest level of the FSV.

However, in case of rollup of the account, it is not possible to copy all of the FSVs.

You will have to manually create multiple FSVs, depending on the fi nancial state-

ments that are necessary for the organization.

20. Describe some generally used FI submodules.

■ FI-G/L— FI-G/L submodule; records all account data including all postings hap-

pening to subsidiary ledgers.

■ Accounts Receivable (FI-AR)— This submodule records all transactions relating to

the customer. FI-AR is treated as a subsidiary ledger of FI-GL. All transactions

relating to this module are recorded in a summary form in FI-GL.

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1.2 FI-GENERAL 13

■ Accounts Payable (FI-AP) —Like FI-AR, this submodule records transactions

relating to vendors and is summarized in FI-GL.

■ Special Ledger (FI-SL) —This submodule takes care of special reporting

requirements of an entity by providing G/L based on user-defi ned fi elds.

■ F I-AA—T he FI-AA submodule takes care of recording t ransactions relating

to assets. Here assets mean both tangible and intangible assets. FI-AA is also

treated as a subsidiary ledger.

21. What information will not be copied to a new company code when you

copy the company code?

All the organizational global master data for a company code will be copied to the

new company code upon using the copy function except for the transactional data.

22. Can one group COA be assigned to two operational charts?

A COA is a variant. You can use a variant to N number of organizational objects.

First, COA is a variant, then a group COA. You may use the same COA as an opera-

tional COA and a group COA. This assignment is done via transaction code OB13.

A group COA can be assigned to any number of company codes. While creating the

G/L accounts of an operational COA, you need to key the group COA. This way,

you are making a relation between the operational COA and the group COA.

FIGURE 1.11 COA

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14 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

FIGURE 1.12 G/L account master

23. What is accrued cost?

O perating expenses are often allocated differently in fi nancial accounting than in

cost accounting. If, for example, an expense incurred in external accounting covers

a whole year, you must assign a proportion of such expenses to each individual cost

accounting period. In this process, you distribute irregularly occurring expenses,

according to cost-origin, to the months in which they are incurred. This allows you

to avoid irregularities within cost accounting. Costs allocated in this manner, such

as yearly bonuses, are termed accrued costs.

24. What is the difference between the Enjoy SAP document entry screens

(FB50, FB60, FB70) and the old general posting transaction?

The SAP Enjoy screens are created to expedite data entry for GL/AR/AP postings.

In the old FB01 screen, users are required to manually enter document types and

posting keys to determine the nature of postings. In Enjoy SAP data entry screens,

these are defaulted via a confi guration table so that the user just has to choose

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1.3 ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE (FI-ES) 15

debit/credit and the system will determine whether the entry is a vendor/customer

invoice/credit memo or G/L journal.

25. What is the credit control area? How is it related to the company code?

L ike the company code, the credit control area is an SAP entity through which

you set and control a customer’s credit limit. There is one credit control area per

company code. A credit control area may have more than one company code.

A customer’s credit limit can be set at the credit control area level or across the

credit control area.

26. Explain the relationship between the Sort key and the Assignment fi eld.

The Sort key defi nes the fi eld(s) used to populate the Assignment fi eld when a

document is posted in the G/L. The Assignment fi eld is used as a sort criterion

when displaying G/L account line items.

27. Do substitution and validation work the same way when parking a

document and posting a document?

N o. Substitution and validation work in different ways when parking a document

or posting a document.

Sequence Posting Parking

1 Substitution Validation

2 Validation Substitution

TABLE 1.1

For more information, see OSS Note: 158739.

1.3 ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE (FI-ES)

28. Tell me about the FI organizational structure.

T he highest entity in the FI organization is Company, followed by Company

Code. Company represents an entity that consists of one or more Company

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16 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Codes below it. Company Code represents the smallest entity for which you are

preparing a fi nancial statement of account for external reporting purposes.

Relation

Client 800

N

Company A Company B Company C

N

Company Code: Company Code: Company Code:

B100 B200 B300

FIGURE 1.13 A company and its company code

F igure 1.13 shows a typical example of the FI organizational structure in mySAP

ERP Financial.

29. How many normal and special periods will be there in a fi scal year, and

why would you use special periods?

I n general, there are 16 posting periods in a fi scal year. Of these 16 posting periods,

there are 12 normal periods and 4 special posting periods. Special posting periods

are used for book adjustments, tax adjustments, audit corrections, and so forth.

Special posting periods are part of the 12 th normal period.

30. Why and when would you use a year-specifi c fi scal year variant?

The year-specifi c fi scal year variants are used in two cases. The fi rst is when

the start and end dates of the posting periods differ from year to year, such as

when there are 365 days in a fi scal year regardless of leap year. The second case

is when one fi scal year has fewer posting periods than the others (shortened

fi scal year).

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1.3 ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE (FI-ES) 17

31. There is a Company fi eld in the company code global settings. The SAP

R/3 help says that it is used for consolidation. You can use the group

COA to do the same. What is the signifi cance of this fi eld?

A company is an organizational unit that is generally used in the legal consolidation

module to roll up fi nancial statements of several company codes. A company may

have one or more company codes. If you are going for consolidation, you need to

enter the six-character alphanumeric company identifi er that relates to company

codes for which you are consolidating accounts. Company codes within a company

must use the same COA and fi scal year, and for consolidation purposes, you use

the group COA where you link the operating COA by entering the G/L account

number of the group COA in the G/L account of the operating COA.

I n the SAP system, consolidation functions in fi nancial accounting are based

on companies. A company comprises one or more company codes. For example,

Company A has four company codes, located in different states and/or countries.

When Company A wants to consolidate the accounts, it will give the common list

of accounts, which in turn calls the group COA. The group COA is used to defi ne

and list the G/L account uniformly for all company codes.

32. What is the difference between the company and the company code?

A company is the organizational unit used in the legal consolidation module to roll

up fi nancial statements of several company codes.

T he company code is the smallest organizational unit for which a complete,

self-contained set of accounts can be drawn up for purposes of external reporting.

A company may be assigned to n number of company codes.

33. What is a fi scal year variant?

A fi scal year variant is a variant that holds parameters for a fi nancial year, such

as how many posting periods a fi scal year has or whether the fi scal year is year

d ependent. The fi scal year determines the number of posting periods, which are

used to assign business transactions. The fi scal year may be year dependent or

year independent. In SAP solutions, you will fi nd four types of fi scal year vari-

ants: (1) year dependent, (2) year independent, (3) calendar year, and (4) shortened

fi scal year:

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18 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

FIGURE 1.14 Fiscal year variant

1. Year-dependent fi scal year—A year-dependent fi scal year is a fi scal year that is

applicable for a particular year, such as 2008 or 2009. By checking the check box

in the Year-dependent column, you will mark a particular fi scal year as year

dependent. In Figure 1.14, fi scal year variant R1 and WK are year dependent.

2. Year-independent fi scal year—A year-independent fi scal year is a fi scal year variant

that is applicable for all subsequent years. All fi scal years are year independent

unless you check the Year-dependent check box.

3. Calendar fi scal year—A calendar fi scal year is a fi scal year that starts on the

fi rst day of a year (i.e., January 1, 2009) and ends on the last day of the year

(i.e., December 31, 2009). A calendar fi scal year is always year independent.

4. Shortened fiscal year—This is a fiscal year that has fewer normal periods.

A shortened fi scal year is always year dependent.

34. What do you mean by year dependent in fi scal year variants?

A year-dependent fi scal year variant is the fi nancial year for which the confi g-

uration settings are valid for that particular fi nancial year. You generally use a

year-dependent fi nancial year when the preceding fi nancial year or succeeding

fi nancial year is a shortened fi nancial year.

35. What do you enter in company code global settings?

C ompany code global settings are populated through transaction code OBY6.

Company code global settings are where you can assign different types of variants

that control various parameters for a company code.

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1.3 ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE (FI-ES) 19

FIGURE 1.15 Company code global data

■ FSV—Field status variant

■ PPV—Posting period variant

■ COA

■ Group COA

■ Enabling business-area-wise fi nancial statement

■ Negative posting allowed

■ Company is productive or not productive

■ Maximum exchange deviation

■ Sample account variant

36. What does the screen of a COA contain?

Y ou can create and maintain a COA through transaction code OB13. This screen

controls the following parameters for a COA:

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20 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

■ COA ID

■ Name

■ Maintenance language

■ Length of the G/L account number

■ CO integration

■ Group COA (Consolidation)

■ Block indicator

FIGURE 1.16 COA

37. What is fi eld status group (FSG) and what does it control?

F SG represents the grouping of various fi elds in a certain logical way. There

are various types of FSGs used in SAP solutions. These are: FSG for G/L mas-

ter, FSG for customer master, FSG for vendor master, and FSG for posting a

transaction.

FSG for G/L master controls which fi elds allow input while creating the G/L

master. Similarly, vendor and customer FSG controls which fi elds allow input while

creating the vendor and customer masters. Finally, the FSG attached to a company

controls which fi elds allow input while posting a transaction.

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1.3 ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE (FI-ES) 21

A fi eld may have one of the following statuses:

■ Suppressed

■ Display

■ Optional

■ Required

38. What is an account group and what does it control?

A n account group is meant for further grouping of the COA for p resentation of the

fi nancial statement of account. Account groups (created using transaction code

OBD4) determine which fi elds allow input while creating the G/L master record.

It is necessary to have at least two groups, such as one for balance sheet (B/S) and

another one for profi t and loss (P&L) A/C. It controls:

■ Number ranges of G/L A/C

■ Field status of the G/L master record

FIGURE 1.17 G/L account groups

Figure 1.17 shows the account group confi guration of the SAP standard INT

COA. You can observe that account groups are defi ned for chart of account INT,

and you can see the number range of the G/L Master assigned to the account group.

To fi nd out the attached fi eld status of a particular group, select any of the groups

and click .

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22 CHAPTER 1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

39. What are the country and operational COA? Why do you use the

group COA?

T he operational COA is used for accounting of business transactions for day-to-day

activities. It is mandatory for a company code.

The country COA is used for specifi c legal requirements of each country. It is

optional.

The group COA is used for consolidation of company codes.

D epending upon the confi guration, the same COA may be an operational COA,

a country COA, or a group COA.

40. What does the FSG assigned to a G/L master record c ontrol?

A n FSG consists of grouping various fi eld statuses. It controls what fi elds are ready

for input while posting a transaction. A particular fi eld may be required, suppressed,

or optional.

FIGURE 1.18 G/L Account master

41. What is a business area? Can you assign it to a company?

T he business area is an organizational unit of financial accounting that rep-

resents a separate area of operations or responsibilities within an organi-

zation and to which value changes recorded in financial accounting can be

allocated.

B usiness areas are used in external segment reporting (over and above

company codes) based on the signifi cant areas of operation (for example, prod-

uct lines) of a business enterprise. A segment is an isolated area of activity.

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1.3 ENTERPRISE STRUCTURE (FI-ES) 23

The business area will not be assigned to any company code. It is available

at the client level. All company codes under the same client can use the same

business areas. You can restrict a business area for a company code through

validation.

42. What are FSVs?

A balance sheet or profit and loss statement is called an FSV. FSV represents

a variant that is configured to portray the financial statement. The FSV

provides a picture of the financial position of an entity at a particular point

in time (usually at the end of a reporting period). The transaction code for

configuring FSV is OB58.

FIGURE 1.19 FSV

43. How are year-dependent fi scal year variants usually used?

The year-dependent fi scal year variants are used when the start and end dates of

the posting periods differ from year to year and when one fi scal year has fewer

posting periods than the others (shortened fi scal year).