第 1 页 / 共 72 页
SAP FICO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
& ANSWERS
How to Clear Each and Every Interview You
Give- 100 % Success Assured.
Published by a Team of SAP Consultants at
SAPTOPJOBS
Visit us at www.sap-topjobs.com
Copyright 2005@SAPTOPJOBS
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means
electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any
information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing
from SAPTOPJOBS.
第 2 页 / 共 72 页
第 3 页 / 共 72 页
Enterprise Structure
What is a Company Code and what are the basic organizational
assignments to a company code?
Company Code is a legal entity for which financial statements like Profit
and Loss and Balance Sheets are generated. Plants are assigned to the
company code, Purchasing organization is assigned to the company code,
and Sales organization is assigned to the company code.
What is the relation between a Controlling Area and a Company
code?
A Controlling area can have the following 2 type of relationship with a
Company code
a. Single Company code relation
b. Cross Company code relation
This means that one single controlling area can be assigned to several
different company codes. Controlling can have a one is to one
relationship or a one is to many relationship with different company
codes.
Controlling Area is the umbrella under which all controlling activities of
Cost Center Accounting, Product Costing, Profit Center and Profitability
Analysis are stored.
In a similar way Company Codes is the umbrella for Finance activities.
How many Chart of Accounts can a Company code have?
A single Company code can have only one Chart of Account assigned to
it. The Chart of Accounts is nothing but the list of General Ledger
Accounts.
What are the options in SAP when it comes to Fiscal years?
Fiscal year is nothing but the way financial data is stored in the system.
SAP provides you with the combination of 12 normal periods and also
第 4 页 / 共 72 页
four special periods. These periods are stored in what is called the fiscal
year variant.
There are two types of Fiscal Year Variant
· Calendar Year – e.g. Jan-Dec
· Year Dependent Fiscal Year .
What is a year dependent fiscal year variant ?
In a year dependent fiscal year variant the number of days in a month
are not as per the calendar month. Let us take an example:- For the year
2005 the period January ends on 29th, Feb ends on 27th, March ends on
29. For the year 2006 January ends on 30th, Feb ends on 26th, March
ends on 30th. This is applicable to many countries especially USA. Ever
year this fiscal year variant needs to be configured in such a case
How does posting happen in MM (Materials Management) during
special periods?
There is no posting which happens from MM in special periods. Special
periods are only applicable for the FI module. They are required for
making any additional posting such as closing entries, provisions. which
happen during quarter end or year end.
How many currencies can be configured for a company code?
A company code can have 3 currencies in total. They are local currency
ie company code currency) and 2 parallel currencies. This gives the
company the flexibility to report in the different currencies.
Do you require to configure additional ledger for parallel currencies?
Where only 2 currencies are configured (Company code currency and a
parallel currency) there is no need for an additional ledger. In case the
third parallel currency is also configured and if it is different than the
second currency type, you would then need to configure additional
ledger.
第 5 页 / 共 72 页
If there are two company codes with different chart of accounts how
can you consolidate their activities?
In this case you either need to write an ABAP program or you need to
implement the Special Consolidation Module of SAP. If both the company
codes use the same chart of accounts then standard SAP reports give
you the consolidated figure.
第 6 页 / 共 72 页
FI-GL
Give some examples of GL accounts that should be posted
automatically through the system and how is this defined in the
system.
Stock and Consumption accounts are instances of GL accounts that
should be automatically posted . In the GL account master record, a
check box exists wherein the automatic posting option is selected called “
Post Automatically Only”
What is a Account group and where is it used?
An Account group controls the data that needs to be entered at the time
of creation of a master record. Account groups exist for the definition of a
GL account, Vendor and Customer master. It basically controls the fields
which pop up during master data creation in SAP.
What is a field status group?
Field status groups control the fields which come up when the user does
the transactions. There are three options for field selection. They are:
Display only
Suppressed
Mandatory
So basically you can have any field either for display only or you can
totally suppress it or make it mandatory.
The field status group is stored in the FI GL Master Record.
What is the purpose of a “Document type” in SAP?
A Document type is specified at the Header level during transaction entry
and serves the following purposes:
第 7 页 / 共 72 页
· It defines the Number range for documents
· It controls the type of accounts that can be posted to eg
Assets, Vendor, Customer, Normal GL account
· Document type to be used for reversal of entries
· Whether it can be used only for Batch input sessions
Document Type is created for differentiating business transactions. Eg
Vendor Invoice, Credit Memo, Accrual Entries,Customer Invoice. It is a
two digit character.
What is a Financial Statement Version?
A FSV (Financial Statement Version) is a reporting tool and can be used
to depict the manner in which the financial accounts like Profit and Loss
Account and Balance Sheet needs to be extracted from SAP. It is freely
definable and multiple FSV's can be defined for generating the output for
various external agencies like Banks and other Statutory authorities.
How are input and output taxes taken care of in SAP?
A tax procedure is defined for each country and tax codes are defined
within this. There is flexibility to either expense out the Tax amounts or
Capitalize the same to Stocks.
What are Validations and Substitutions?
Validations/Substitutions in SAP are defined for each functional area
e.g. FI-GL, Assets, Controlling etc at the following levels
1. Document level
2. Line item level
These need to be specifically activated and setting them up are complex
and done only when it is really needed. Often help of the technical team
is taken to do that.
第 8 页 / 共 72 页
Is it possible to maintain plant wise different GL codes?
Yes. To be able to do so the valuation group code should be activated.
The valuation grouping code is maintained per plant and is configured in
the MM module. Account codes should be maintained per valuation
grouping code after doing this configuration.
Is Business area at company code Level?
No. Business area is at client level. What this means is that other
company codes can also post to the same business area.
What are the different scenarios under which a Business Area or a
Profit Center may be defined?
This question is usually very disputable. But both Business Areas and
Profit centers are created for internal reporting. Each has its own pros
and cons but many companies nowadays go for Profit center as there is a
feeling that business area enhancements would not be supported by SAP
in future versions.
There are typical month end procedures which need to be executed for
both of them and many times reconciliation might become a big issue. A
typical challenge in both of them is in cases where you do not know the
Business Area or Profit Center of the transaction at the time of posting.
What are the problems faced when a Business area is configured?
The problem of splitting of account balance is more pertinent in case of
tax accounts.
Is it possible to default certain values for particular fields? For e.g.
company code.
Yes it is possible to default values for certain fields where a parameter id
is present.
Step 1 Go to the input field to which you want to make defaults.
第 9 页 / 共 72 页
Step 2 Press F1, then click technical info push button. This would open
a window that displays the corresponding parameter id (if one has been
allocated to the field) in the field data section.
Step 3 Enter this parameter id using the following path on SAP Easy
access screen System à User profile à Own data.
Step 4 Click on parameter tab. Enter the parameter id code and enter the
value you want as default. Save the usersettings.
Which is the default exchange rate type which is picked up for all
SAP transactions?
The default exchange rate type picked up for all SAP transactions is M
(average rate)
Is it possible to configure the system to pick up a different exchange
rate type for a particular transaction?
Yes it is possible. In the document type definition of GL, you need to
attach a different exchange rate type.
What are the master data pre-requisites for document clearing?
The Gl Account must be managed as an ‘open item management’ . This
checkbox is there in the General Ledger Master Record called Open Item
Management. It helps you to manage your accounts in terms of cleared
and uncleared items. A typical example would be GR/IR Account in SAP
(Goods Received/Invoice Received Account)
Explain the importance of the GR/IR clearing account.
GR/IR is an interim account. In the legacy system of a client if the goods
are received and the invoice is not received the provision is made for the
same.
In SAP at the Goods receipt stage the system passes an accounting entry
debiting the Inventory and crediting the GR/IR Account .Subsequently
when an invoice is recd this GR/IR account is debited and the Vendor
第 10 页 / 共 72 页
account is credited. That way till the time that the invoice is not received
the GR/IR is shown as uncleared items.
How many numbers of line items in one single entry you can have?
The number of line items in one document you can accommodate is 999
lines.
A Finance Document usually has an assignment field. This field
automatically gets populated during data entry. Where does it get
its value?
This value comes from the Sort key entered in the Gl master record.
How do you maintain the number range in Production environment?
Do you directly create it in the Production box or do you do it by
means of transport?
Number range is to be created in the production client. You can
transport it also by way of request but creating in the production client is
more advisable.
In customizing “company code productive “means what? What does
it denote?
Once the company code is live(real time transactions have started) this
check box helps prevents deletion of many programs accidentally. This
check box is activated just before go live.
What is done by GR/IR regrouping program?
The balance in a GR/IR account is basically because of 2 main types of
transactions:-
Goods delivered but invoice not received – Here the Goods receipt is
made but no invoice has yet been received from the vendor. In such a
scenario GR/IR account will have a credit balance.
第 11 页 / 共 72 页
Invoiced received but goods not delivered – Here the Invoice is
received from the vendor and accounted for, but goods have not been
received. In such a scenario GR/IR account will have a debit balance.
The GR/IR account would contain the net value of the above two types of
transactions. The GR/IR regrouping program analyses the above
transactions and regroups them to the correct adjustment account. The
balance on account of first transactions will be regrouped to another
liability account and the balance on account of second transactions will
be regrouped to an asset account.
What are the functionalities available in the financial statement
version?
In the financial statement version the most important functionality
available is the debit credit shift. This is more important in case of
Bank overdraft accounts which can have a debit balance or a credit
balance. Thus in case of a debit balance you would require the overdraft
account to be shown on the Asset side. In case of credit balance you
would require the account to be shown on the Liability side.
Is it possible to print the financial statement version on a SAPscript
form?
Yes. It is possible to print the financial statement version on a SAPscript
form.
How do you configure the SAPscript form financial statement
version?
It is possible to generate a form from the financial statement version and
print the financial statements on a SAPscript form. In the customizing for
financial statement version select the FSV you created and choose Goto
à Generate form à One column or Two column form.
You can also copy form from the standard system.
Is it possible to generate a financial statement form automatically?
Yes. It is possible to generate a form automatically.
第 12 页 / 共 72 页
Is it possible to keep the FI posting period open only for certain GL
codes?
Yes. It is possible to keep open the FI posting period only for certain GL
codes.
How do you keep the FI posting period open only for certain GL
codes?
In transaction code OB52 click on new entries and maintain an interval
or a single GL code for the account type S with the posting period
variant. If the GL codes are not in sequence then you need to maintain
further entries for the posting period variant and account type S.
Can posting period variant be assigned to more than 1 company
code?
Yes. Posting period variant can be assigned to more than one company
code.
第 13 页 / 共 72 页
Accounts Receivable and Accounts
Payable
At what level are the customer and vendor codes stored in SAP?
The customer and vendor code are at the client level. That means any
company code can use the customer and vendor code by extending the
company code view.
How are Vendor Invoice payments made?
Vendor payments can be made in the following manner:
Manual payments without the use of any output medium like cheques
etc.
Automatic Payment program through cheques, Wire transfers, DME etc.
How do you configure the automatic payment program?
The following are the steps for configuring the automatic payment
program:-
Step 1 Set up the following:
Co. code for Payment transaction
Define sending and paying company code.
Tolerance days for payable
Minimum % for cash discount
Maximum cash discount
Special GL transactions to be paid
Step 2 Set up the following:
Paying company code for payment transaction
Minimum amount for outgoing payment
No exchange rate diff
Separate payment for each ref
Bill/exch payment
第 14 页 / 共 72 页
Form for payment advice
Step 3 Set up the following:
Payment method per country
Whether Outgoing payment
Check or bank transfer or B/E
Whether allowed for personnel payment
Required master data
Doc types
Payment medium programs
Currencies allowed
Step 4 Set up the following:
Payment method per company code for payment transactions
Set up per payment method and co. code
The minimum and maximum amount.
Whether payment per due day
Bank optimization by bank group or by postal code or no
optimization
Whether Foreign currency allowed
Customer/Vendor bank abroad allowed
Attach the payment form check
Whether payment advice required
Step 5 Set up the following:
Bank Determination for Payment Transactions
Rank the house banks as per the following
Payment method, currency and give them ranking nos
Set up house bank sub account (GL code)
Available amounts for each bank
House bank, account id, currency, available amount
Value date specification
Where do you attach the check payment form?
It is attached to the payment method per company code.
Where are Payment terms for customer master maintained?
第 15 页 / 共 72 页
Payment terms for customer master can be maintained at two places i.e.
in the accounting view and the sales view of the vendor master record.
Which is the payment term which actually gets defaulted when the
transaction is posted for the customer (accounting view or the sales
view)?
The payment term in the accounting view of the customer master comes
into picture if the transaction originates from the FI module. If an FI
invoice is posted (FB70) to the customer, then the payment terms is
defaulted from the accounting view of the customer master.
The payment term in the sales view of the customer master comes into
picture if the transaction originates from the SD module. A sales order is
created in the SD module. The payment terms are defaulted in the sales
order from the sales view of the customer master.
Where are Payment terms for vendor master maintained?
Payment terms for Vendor master can be maintained at two places i.e. in
the accounting view and the purchasing view.
Which is the payment term which actually gets defaulted in
transaction (accounting view or purchasing view)?
The payment term in the accounting view of the vendor master comes
into picture if the transaction originates from the FI module. If an FI
invoice is posted (FB60) to the Vendor, then the payment terms is
defaulted from the accounting view of the vendor master.
The payment term in the purchasing view of the vendor master comes
into picture if the transaction originates from the MM module. A
purchase order is created in the MM module. The payment terms are
defaulted in the purchase order from the purchasing view of the vendor
master.
Explain the entire process of Invoice verification from GR to Invoice
verification in SAP with accounting entries?
第 16 页 / 共 72 页
These are the following steps:
A goods receipt in SAP for a purchased material is prepared referring a
purchase order.
When the goods receipt is posted in SAP the accounting entry passed is:-
Inventory account Debit
GR/IR account credit
A GR/IR (which is Goods receipt/Invoice receipt) is a provision account
which provides for the liability for the purchase. The rates for the
valuation of the material are picked up from the purchase order.
When the invoice is booked in the system through Logistics invoice
verification the entry passed is as follows:-
GR/IR account debit
Vendor credit
How are Tolerances for Invoice verification defined?
The following are instances of tolerances that can be defined for Logistic
Invoice Verification.
c. Small Differences
d. Moving Average Price variances
e. Quantity variances
f. Price variances
Based on the client requirement, the transaction can be “Blocked” or
Posted with a “Warning” in the event of the Tolerances being exceeded.
Tolerances are nothing but the differences between invoice amount and
payment amount or differences between goods receipt amount and
invoice amount which is acceptable to the client.
Can we change the reconciliation account in the vendor master?
Yes. Reconciliation account can be changed in the vendor master
provided that the authority to change has been configured. Normally we
should not change the reconciliation account.
第 17 页 / 共 72 页
What is the impact on the old balance when the reconciliation
account in the vendor master is changed?
Any change you make to the reconciliation account is prospective and
not retrospective. The old items and balances do not reflect the new
account only the new transactions reflect the account.
There is an advance given by the customer which lies in a special GL
account indicator A. Will this advance amount be considered for
credit check?
It depends on the configuration setting in the special GL indicator A. If
the “Relevant to credit limit” indicator is switched on in the Special GL
indicator A the advances will be relevant for credit check, otherwise it will
not be relevant.
In payment term configuration what are the options available for
setting a default baseline date?
There are 4 options available:-
1) No default
2) Posting date
3) Document date
4) Entry date
What is generally configured in the payment term as a default for
baseline date?
Generally document date is configured in the payment term as a default
for base line date.
How do you configure a special GL indicator for Customer?
You can use an existing special GL indicator ID or create a new one.
After creating a special GL indicator id, update the chart of accounts and
the Reconciliation account. Also as a last step you need to update the
special GL code.
第 18 页 / 共 72 页
The special GL code should also be marked as a Reconciliation account.
Switch on the relevant for credit limit and commitment warning
indicators in the master record.
第 19 页 / 共 72 页
Bank Accounting:
How is Bank Reconciliation handled in SAP?
The bank reco typically follows the below procedure:
First, the payment made to a Vendor is posted to an interim bank
clearing account. Subsequently, while performing reconciliation, an entry
is posted to the Main Bank account. You can do bank reconciliation
either manually or electronically.
How do you configure check deposit?
The following are the steps for configuring check deposit:-
Step1: Create account symbols for the main bank and incoming check
account.
Step2: Assign accounts to account symbols
Step3: Create keys for posting rules
Step4: Define posting rules
Step5: Create business transactions and assign posting rule
Step6: Define variant for check deposit
What is the clearing basis for check deposit?
In the variant for check deposit we need to set up the following
a) fields document number ( which is the invoice number),
b) amount
c) Short description of the customer.
The document number and the invoice amount acts as the clearing
basis.
How do you configure manual bank statement?
第 20 页 / 共 72 页
The following are the steps for configuring manual bank statement:-
Step1: Create account symbols for the main bank and the sub accounts
Step2: Assign accounts to account symbols
Step3: Create keys for posting rules
Step4: Define posting rules
Step5: Create business transaction and assign posting rule
Step6: Define variant for Manual Bank statement
How do you configure Electronic bank statement?
The steps for Electronic Bank Statement are the same except for couple
of more additional steps which you will see down below
Step1: Create account symbols for the main bank and the sub accounts
Step2: Assign accounts to account symbols
Step3: Create keys for posting rules
Step4: Define posting rules
Step5: Create transaction type
Step6: Assign external transaction type to posting rules
Step7: Assign Bank accounts to Transaction types
第 21 页 / 共 72 页
Fixed Assets
What are the organizational assignments in asset accounting?
Chart of depreciation is the highest node in Asset Accounting and this is
assigned to the company code.
Under the Chart of depreciation all the depreciation calculations are
stored.
How do you go about configuring Asset accounting?
The configuration steps in brief are as follows:-
a) Copy a reference chart of depreciation areas
b) Assign Input Tax indicator for non taxable acquisitions
c) Assign chart of depreciation area to company code
d) Specify account determination
e) Define number range interval
f) Define asset classes
g) Define depreciation areas posting to general ledger
h) Define depreciation key
Explain the importance of asset classes. Give examples?
The asset class is the main criterion for classifying assets. Every asset
must be assigned to only one asset class. Examples of asset class are
Plant& Machinery, Furniture & Fixtures, Computers etc. The asset class
also contains the Gl accounts which are debited when any asset is
procured. It also contains the gl accounts for depreciation calculation,
scrapping etc
Whenever you create an asset master you need to mention the asset
class for which you are creating the required asset. In this manner
whenever any asset transaction happens the gl accounts attached to the
asset class is automatically picked up and the entry passed.
You can also specify certain control parameters and default values for
depreciation calculation and other master data in each asset class.
How are depreciation keys defined?
第 22 页 / 共 72 页
The specifications and parameters that the system requires to calculate
depreciation amounts are entered in Calculation methods. Calculation
methods replace the internal calculation key of the depreciation key.
Depreciation keys are defaulted in Asset Master from the asset class.
Refer to the configuration for more details of how depreciation is
calculated.
A company has its books prepared based on Jan –Dec calendar year
for reporting to its parent company. It is also required to report
accounts to tax authorities based on April- March. Can assets be
managed in another depreciation area based on a different fiscal
year variant?
No. Assets accounting module cannot manage differing fiscal year variant
which has a different start date (January for book depreciation and April
for tax depreciation) and different end date (December for book
depreciation and March for tax depreciation). In this case you need to
implement the special purpose ledger.
What are the special steps and care to be taken in Fixed asset data
migration into SAP system especially when Profit center accounting
is active?
Data migration is slightly different from a normal transaction which
happens in Asset accounting module.
Normally, in asset accounting the day to day transactions is posted with
values through FI bookings and at the same time the asset reconciliation
is updated online realtime. Whereas In data Migration the asset master
is updated with values through a transaction code called as AS91. The
values updated on the master are Opening Gross value and the
accumulated depreciation. The reconciliation GL account is not
automatically updated at this point of time.
The reconciliation accounts (GL codes) are updated manually through
another transaction code called as OASV.
If profit center is active, then after uploading assets through AS91 you
should transfer the asset balances to profit center accounting through a
program.
第 23 页 / 共 72 页
Thereafter you remove the Asset GL code (reconciliation accounts) from
the 3KEH table for PCA and update the Asset reconciliation account (GL
code) through OASV.
After this step you again update the Asset reconciliation account in the
3KEH table.
The reason you remove the Asset reconciliation code from 3KEH table is
that double posting will happen to PCA when you update the Asset
reconciliation manually.
Is it possible to calculate multiple shift depreciation? Is any special
configuration required?
Yes it is possible to calculate multiple shift depreciation in SAP for all
types of depreciation except unit of production. No special configuration
is required.
How do you maintain multiple shift depreciation in asset master?
The following steps are needed to maintain multiple shift depreciation:
1. The variable depreciation portion as a percentage rate is to be
maintained in the detail screen of the depreciation area.
2. The multiple shift factor is to be maintained in the time dependent
data in the asset master record. This shift factor is multiplied by
the variable portion of ordinary depreciation.
Once you have done the above the SAP system calculates the total
depreciation amount as follows:-
Depreciation amount = Fixed depreciation + (variable depreciation * shift
factor)
Let’s say you have changed the depreciation rates in one of the
depreciation keys due to changes in legal requirements. Does
system automatically calculate the planned depreciation as per the
new rate?
No. System does not automatically calculate the planned depreciation
after the change is made. You need to run a program for recalculation of
planned depreciation.
第 24 页 / 共 72 页
What are evaluation groups?
The evaluation groups are an option for classifying assets for reports or
user defined match code (search code). You can configure 5 different
evaluation groups. You can update these evaluation groups on to the
asset master record.
What are group assets?
The tax requirements in some countries require calculation of
depreciation at a higher group or level of assets. For this purpose you
can group assets together into so-called group assets.
What are the steps to be taken into account during a depreciation
run to ensure that the integration with the general ledger works
smoothly?
For each depreciation area and company code, specify the following:
1 The frequency of posting depreciation(monthly,quarterly etc)
2 CO account assignment (cost center)
3 For each company code you must define a document type for
automatic depreciation posting: This document type requires its
own external number range.
4 You also need to specify the accounts for posting. (Account
determination)
Finally to ensure consistency between Asset Accounting and Financial
Accounting, you must process the batch input session created by the
posting report. If you fail to process the batch input session, an error
message will appear at the next posting run.
The depreciation calculation is a month end process which is run in
batches and then once the batch input is run the system posts the
accounting entries into Finance.
How do you change fiscal year in Asset Accounting?
n Run The fiscal year change program which would open new annual
value fields for each asset. i e next year
第 25 页 / 共 72 页
Ÿ The earliest you can start this program is in the last posting period of
the current year.
Ÿ You have to run the fiscal year change program for your whole
company code.
Ÿ You can only process a fiscal year change in a subsequent year if the
previous year has already been closed for business.
Take care not to confuse the fiscal year change program with year-end
closing for accounting purposes. This fiscal year change is needed only in
Asset Accounting for various technical reasons.
Is it possible to have depreciation calculated to the day?
Yes it is possible. You need to switch on the indicator “Dep to the day” in
the depreciation key configuration.
Is it possible to ensure that no capitalization be posted in the
subsequent years?
Yes it is possible. You need to set it in the depreciation key
configuration.
How are Capital Work in Progress and Assets accounted for in SAP?
Capital WIP is referred to as Assets under Construction in SAP and are
represented by a specific Asset class. Usually depreciation is not charged
on Capital WIP.
All costs incurred on building a capital asset can be booked to an
Internal Order and through the settlement procedure can be posted onto
an Asset Under Construction. Subsequently on the actual readiness of
the asset for commercial production, the Asset Under Construction gets
capitalized to an actual asset.
The company has procured 10 cars. You want to create asset
masters for each of this car. How do you create 10 asset masters at
the same time?
While creating asset master there is a field on the initial create screen
called as number of similar assets. Update this field with 10. When you
finally save this asset master you will get a pop up asking whether you
第 26 页 / 共 72 页
want to maintain different texts for these assets. You can update
different details for all the 10 cars.
第 27 页 / 共 72 页
FI-MM-SD Integration
How do you go about setting the FI MM account determination ?
FI MM settings are maintained in transaction code OBYC. Within these
there are various transaction keys to be maintained like BSX, WRX,
GBB, PRD etc. In each of these transaction keys you specify the GL
accounts which gets automatically passed at the time of entry.
Few examples could be: BSX- Stands for Inventory Posting Debit
GBB-Standsfor Goods Issue/Scrapping/delivery
of goods etc
PRD- Stands for Price Differences.
At what level is the FI-MM, FI-SD account determination settings?
They are at the chart of accounts level.
What are the additional settings required while maintaining or
creating the GL codes for Inventory accounts?
In the Inventory GL accounts (Balance sheet) you should switch on the
‘Post automatically only’ tick. It is also advisable to maintain the
aforesaid setting for all FI-MM accounts and FI-SD accounts. This helps
in preserving the sanctity of those accounts and prevents from having
any difference between FI and MM, FI and SD.
What is Valuation and Account assignment in SAP?
This is actually the link between Materials Management and Finance.
The valuation in SAP can be at the plant level or the company code level.
If you define valuation at the plant level then you can have different
prices for the same material in the various plants. If you keep it at the
company code level you can have only price across all plants.
第 28 页 / 共 72 页
Valuation also involves the Price Control .Each material is assigned to a
material type in Materials Management and every material is valuated
either in Moving Average Price or Standard Price in SAP. These are the
two types of price control available.
What is Valuation Class?
The Valuation Class in the Accounting 1 View in Material Master is the
main link between Material Master and Finance. This Valuation Class
along with the combination of the transaction keys (BSX,WRX,GBB,PRD )
defined above determine the GL account during posting.
We can group together different materials with similar properties by
valuation class. Eg Raw material,Finsihed Goods, Semi Finished
We can define the following assignments in customizing :
All materials with same material type are assigned to just one valuation
class.
Different materials with the same material type can be assigned to
different valuation classes.
Materials with different material types are assigned to a single valuation
class.
Can we change the valuation class in the material master once it is
assigned?
Once a material is assigned to a valuation class in the material master
record, we can change it only if the stocks for that material are nil. If the
stock exists for that material, then we cannot change the valuation class.
In such a case, if the stock exists, we have to transfer the stocks or issue
the stocks and make the stock nil for the specific valuation class. Then
only we will be able to change the valuation class.
Does the moving average price change in the material master during
issue of the stock assuming that the price control for the material is
Moving Average?
The moving average price in the case of goods issue remains unchanged.
Goods issue are always valuated at the current moving average price. It
is only in goods receipt that the moving average price might change. A
第 29 页 / 共 72 页
goods issue only reduces the total quantity and the total value in relation
to the price and the moving price remains unchanged. Also read the
next question to learn more about this topic.
If the answer to the above question is ‘Yes’, then list the scenario in
which the moving average price of the material in the material
master changes when the goods are issued.
The moving average price in the material master changes in the scenario
of Split Valuation which is sometimes used by many organizations. If the
material is subject to split valuation, the material is managed as Several
partial stocks and each partial stock is valuated separately.
In split valuation, the material with valuation header record will have ‘v’
moving average price. This is where the individual stocks of a material
are managed cumulatively. Here two valuation types are created, one
valuation type can have ‘v’ (MAP) and the other valuation type can have
‘s’(standard price).
In this case, whenever the goods are issued from the respective valuation
types, always the MAP for the valuation header changes.
What is the accounting entry in the Financial books of accounts
when the goods are received in unrestricted use stock? Also
mention the settings to be done in the ‘Automatic postings’ in SAP
for the specific G/L accounts.
On receipt of the goods in unrestricted-use stock, the Inventory account
is debited and the GR/IR account gets credited. In customization, in the
automatic postings, the Inventory G/L account is assigned to the
Transaction event key BSX and the GR/IR account is assigned to the
Transaction event key WRX.
If a material has no material code in SAP, can you default the G/L
account in Purchase order or it has to be manually entered?.
If a material has no material code in SAP, we can still, default the G/L
account with the help of material groups. We can assign the valuation
class to a material group and then in FI-automatic posting, we can
assign the relevant G/L account in the Transaction event key. The
第 30 页 / 共 72 页
assignment of a valuation class to a material group enables the system to
determine different G/L accounts for the individual material groups.
What is the procedure in SAP for Initial stock uploading? Mention
the accounting entries also.
Initial stock uploading in SAP from the legacy system is done with
inventory movement type 561( a MM transaction which is performed).
Material valuated at standard price: For a material valuated at
standard price, the initial entry of inventory data is valuated on the basis
of standard price in the material master. If you enter an alternative value
at the time of the movement type 561, then the system posts the
difference to the price difference account.
Material valuated at moving average price: The initial entry of
inventory data is valuated as follows : If you enter a value when
uploading the initial data, the quantity entered is valuated at this price.
If you do not enter a value when entering initial data, then the quantity
entered is valuated at the MAP present in the material master.
The accounting entries are: Inventory account is debited and Inventory
Historical upload account is credited.
How do you configure FI-SD account determination?
The FI-SD account determination happens through an access sequence.
The system goes about finding accounts from more specific criteria to
less specific criteria.
This is the sequence it would follow:
1) It will first access and look for the combination of Customer
accounts assignment grp/ Material account assignment grp/
Account key.
2) If it does not find the accounts for the first combination it will look
for Customer account assignment grp and account key
combination.
3) Furthermore, if it does not find accounts for the first 2 criteria’s
then it will look for Material account assignment grp/Account key.
第 31 页 / 共 72 页
4) If it does not find accounts for the all earlier criteria’s then finally it
will look for Account key and assign the GL code.
Thus posting of Sales Invoices into FI are effected on the basis of a
combination of Sales organization, Account type, or Customer and
Material Account assignment groups and following are the options
available.
a. Customer AAG/Material AAG/Account type
b. Material AAG/Account type
c. Customer AAG/Account type
For each of this option you can define a Gl account. Thus the system
uses this gl account to automatically pass the entries.
第 32 页 / 共 72 页
Logistics Invoice Verification
Can you assign multiple G/L accounts in the Purchase order for the
same line item?
Yes, we can assign multiple G/L accounts in the Purchase order for the
same line item. The costs can be allocated on a percentage or quantity
basis. If the partial goods receipt and partial invoice receipt has already
taken place, then the partial invoice amount can be distributed
proportionally, i.e. evenly among the account assigned items of a
Purchase order. Alternatively the partial invoice amount can be
distributed on a progressive fill-up basis, i.e. the invoiced amount is
allocated to the individual account assignment items one after the other.
What is Credit memo and subsequent debit in Logistics Invoice
verification?
The term credit memo refers to the credit memo from the vendor.
Therefore posting a credit memo always leads to a debit posting on the
vendor account. Credit memos are used if the quantity invoiced is higher
than the quantity received or if part of the quantity was returned.
Accounting entries are : Vendor account is debited and GR/IR account is
credited.
Subsequent debit : If a transaction has already been invoiced and
additional costs are invoiced later, then subsequent debit is necessary. In
this case you can debit the material with additional costs, i.e. GR/IR
account debit and Vendor account credit. When entering the Subsequent
debit, if there is no sufficient stock coverage, only the portion for the
available stock gets posted to the stock account and rest is posted to the
price difference account.
What do you mean by Invoice parking, Invoice saving and Invoice
confirmation?
Invoice parking : Invoice Parking is a functionality which allows you to
create incomplete documents and the system does not check whether the
第 33 页 / 共 72 页
entries are balanced or not. An accounting documents is also not created
when the invoice is in parked mode.
Thus you can create incomplete documents and then post it later to
accounting when you feel it is complete. You can even rectify the Parked
invoice. This feature is used by many companies as on many occasions
all data relating to the invoice might not be available.
Invoice saving : This is also called Invoice processing or Invoice posting.
The accounting document gets created when the invoice is posted in SAP.
Invoice confirmation : There is no terminology in SAP as Invoice
confirmation.
What are Planned delivery costs and Unplanned delivery costs?
Planned delivery costs: are entered at the time of Purchase order. At
goods receipt, a provision is posted to the freight or customs clearing
account.
e.g. FRE is the account key for freight condition, hence the system can
post the freight charges to the relevant freight revenue account and FR3
is the account key for Customs duty, hence the system can post the
customs duty to the relevant G/L account.
These account keys are assigned to the specific condition types in the
MM Pricing schema.
In terms of Invoice verification : If the freight vendor and the material
vendor is the same : then we can choose the option : Goods service items
+ Planned delivery costs.
If the freight vendor is different from the material vendor: then for
crediting only the delivery costs, we can choose the option: Planned
delivery costs.
Unplanned delivery costs: are the costs which are not specified in the
Purchase order and are only entered when you enter the invoice.
第 34 页 / 共 72 页
What is the basis on which the apportionment is done of unplanned
delivery costs?
Unplanned delivery costs are either uniformly distributed among the
items or posted to a separate G/L account.
For a material subjected to Moving average price, the unplanned delivery
costs are posted to the stock account, provided sufficient stock coverage
exists.
For a material subjected to Standard price, the unplanned delivery costs
are posted to the Price difference account.
There are cases where Invoice verification is done first before the
Goods receipt is made for the purchase order . In these cases with
what values would the Goods receipt be posted ?
Since the invoice verification has been done first the Goods Receipts will
be valued with the Invoice value.
第 35 页 / 共 72 页
FI Month End Closing Activities
What are the Month End Closing Activities in Finance?
1. Recurring Documents.
a) Create Recurring documents
b) Create Batch Input for Posting Recurring Documents
c) Run the Batch Input Session
2. Posting Accruals or Provisions entries at month end
3. Managing the GR/IR Account-Run the GR/Ir Automatic Clearing
4. Foreign Currency Open Item Revaluation-Revalue Open Items in
AR.AP
5. Maintain Exchange Rates
6. Run Balance Sheets –Run Financial Statement Version
7. Reclassify Payables and Receivables if necessary
8. Run the Depreciation Calculation
9. Fiscal Year Change of Asset Accounting if it is year end
10. Run the Bank Reconciliation
11. Open Next Accounting Period