SAP Financials Closing Operations User Guide
SAP Financials Closing Operations User Guide
SAP Financials Closing Operations User Guide
We can breakdown each further each displaying the possible G/L accounts, however every company is different.
In addition to the external year-end closing (i.e. the annual balance sheet and profit and loss statement), internal
documentation, planning and reconciliation calculations are often prepared. These are only used internally within the
enterprise and are particularly flexible because they are not subject to legal restrictions. Closings can be prepared for
various periods, for example for a month, a quarter or a year (year-end closings), they serve the following purposes
Here are some examples of what may need to be performed regarding closing, I will be covering most of these in this
section
Day-end Closing
Month-end Closing
Year-end Closing
update exchange rates, either manually or through an interface via Reuters or any other information system
Review gaps in document number assignments, which can be done via a report
Display the compact document journal, this then shows transactions and their offsets which allows you to validate the accuracy
of these transactions
I have a period-end master checklist which you can obtain the transaction codes and whether the task is daily, monthly
or yearly, however you may have your own procedures in place.
A fast close is an accelerated closing of the enterprise's books on a key date. Events that become known after the yearend closing cannot be incorporated. All enterprises have their own closing procedure document to help complete the
closing as quickly and efficiently as possible. I will at the end of this section show you one of the many closing
documents that are out on the web, feel to use and adapt this as you wish.
I will be covering the following closing procedures in this section, it does not cover everything but it is a good start
If you use parallel accounting principles you can speed up the closing process, if you do programs such as the
depreciation posting run for complex fixed assets, the foreign currency valuation of your receivables, flat-rate value
adjustment and reclassification are called numerous times and help you calculate or post valuations automatically, for
example for local law, IFRS and US-GAAP.
You can see the SAP general ledger closing transactions below
check/count - refers to the process of comparing ledgers to ensure that they reconcile with each other, the
program called reconciliation of receivables/payables in group cross-system helps you to reconcile the customer
documents and vendor documents of the affiliated companies in the group. It reads the open items of selected
companies on the specified key data and helps you identify documents causing discrepancies
valuate - you must perform a foreign currency valuation before you can generate your financial statements, this
valuation allows you to revalue foreign currency balance sheet accounts. It also allows you to revalue the
balances of the general ledger accounts that are not managed on an open item basis but are valuated in a foreign
currency and have open items that were posted in a foreign currency
reclassify - allows you to reclassify GR/IR balances based on predefined rules
rollup - allows you to summarize the data from one or multiple ledgers to one rollup ledger and helps you
eliminate the dimensions you do not need for reporting
allocation - allows you to distribute and perform assessments of amounts and quantities from sender objects to
receiver objects
document - allows you to generate audit trails for documents and is typically used by auditors to trace origins of
account balances
report - allows you to generate financial statements, account balances and item-level details, along with the
various tax reports (the post tax payable report and the transferring deferred tax report)
carry forward - this transaction is done at the end of the year and allows you to move the open balance sheet
account balances to new fiscal years, including for subledger's like accounts payable, accounts receivable and
asset accounting
opening /closing - this is applicable in specific countries (Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Columbia, Romania and
Portugal), where you need to generate opening and closing entries
No Activity Accounts
There may be an instance where you want to list all accounts that have no activity, it might even block them to stop
accidental postings to them, or you may want to archive them. You can use transaction S_ALR_87010043(you can
use S_ALR_87012186 for customers) and select the accounts with no purchases checkbox, the results back should
display all the accounts with no activity.
When run, a display appears with all the parked documents, in my case only one, you can see if the document has been
blocked or being released by looking at the status or released by columns,
You can double-click on the document and it will take you directly to the screen for editing the parked document, from
here you can change or post the document.
Remember a document cannot be included in the balance sheet evaluations until it has been posted.
If you have many parked documents this can have a impact on providing an accurate representation of an enterprises
assets, financial situation and performance, try and close as many parked documents as you can.
Automatic Maintenance of the GR/IR account
At the end of the posting period the open transactions in the goods receipt/invoice receipt account must be processed
correctly for the financial statement. We can distinguish between three scenarios
1. Both goods and receipts exist, both items in the GR/IR clearing account balance out to zero and can be cleared
2. The vendor has delivered the goods but has not submitted the invoice, this incomplete transaction leads to an
increase in the current assets on the credit side of the balance sheet without showing a payable on the debit side.
3. Another possibility scenario involves the reverse of this situation, in the case the vendor has submitted the
invoice but the goods have not yet been received, this results in a payable on the debit side, without a
corresponding disposition of funds on the credit side.
The GR/IR account, the line item must be enabled to make sure that each transaction can be evaluated, you can use
open item management which means that documents need to be cleared which makes this easier to detect incomplete
transactions (see screenshot below). The sort key is essential for clearing, the entry 014 (purchase order) copies the
purchase order number and item identified in the MM module to the assignment sort field, this serves as a criterion for
automatic balancing of goods receipt items and invoice receipt items. Below is G/L account 191100 is a correctly
configured GR/IR account
Manual clearing is generally avoided owing to the number of items involved, we can use the automatic clearing
function using transaction code F.13, you can select the test run checkbox to check before you actually clear the items,
when you run the automatic clearing a log appears detailing the documents that where cleared.
The relevant line items in the GR/IR account must be analyzed for all others business transactions, which are still
incomplete. A goods receipt for no invoice exists (scenario 2) must be shown as a debit item (delivered but no invoice)
on the balance sheet. An invoice receipt for which no goods receipt exists (scenario 3) must be shown as a credit item
(invoiced but not delivered) on the balance sheet. The posting procedure is shown below
Because the GR/IR clearing account is not to be posted to directly in the key date valuation, a GR/IR adjustment
account is required, the GR/IR and the adjustment account are shown in the same balance sheet item in the notes to the
consolidated financial statements. This practical posting procedure results in a zero-balance line item. In the above
example both the debit and credit amounts equal 100.
Incomplete transactions can be reclassified automatically for the balance sheet using transaction code F.19, this time I
will use company code 1000, I have unselected the create postings so that I can check what is happening before we
post (kinda test run), we would save the postings in the RFWERE00 batch input session, when the report is run you get
the GR/IR analysis log, based on open items the program attempts to group the documents so that complete
transactions can be easily identified.
If you select the postings in the log you get an overview of reclassifications as shown below
You can view the reclassification saved in the session that has been just generated.
If the GR/IR account master data is configured correctly, the line items, OI management and sort keys the system is
capable not only of clearing complete business transactions automatically but also of correctly mapping incomplete
transactions on the debit or credit side of the financial statement using GR/IR clearing postings.
You can also use transaction code MR11 which is used for maintaince, this transaction clears quantity discrepancies
between the goods and receipt and its related invoice. These quantity variances remain as balances in monetary value in
the GR/IR account. When configuring the transaction you can choose a tolerance level (which is the maximum amount
of a variance that can be written off) that the quantity variance should be equal to less than for the variance to be
cleared. The reason for this is that if the goods receipt has not been invoiced because the vendor has not yet sent the
invoice, then you may not want to clear this amount, as it will be cleared at some point in the future when the invoice
receipt is posted. In the initial screen you can specify the clearing section which is about the third of the way down, you
should run this transaction at period end for purchase orders that are at least three months old. That way if you do clear
a goods receipt amount whose invoice was never posted, it is probably likely that the vendor as paid in some manual
form. When documents are posted they will create open items in the GR/IR that are the equal but opposite value to the
discrepancies that are written off. The assignment field of these documents will contain the purchase order and line
item number, so next time you run the automatic clearing transaction, these items should be matched and cleared.
You can see all the G/L accounts that have been posted too plus the cost center, profit center, business area. Normally
you will not allowed from this point unless you are authorized as it is possible to find what an employee earns, We
double-click on the one of the documents to view the document details, we first highlight the first entry
The below screen will then appear, if we double-click on the salary item we can see who the payments are for
Here we can see the salary payments to employees with numbers 1721 and 1722, using the HR component we could
find out who these employees are
If you double-click on one of the above lines you can see additional details of the portion of the gross amount that is
payable, you also can see income tax that is to be paid.
Provisions
We will start with distinguishing between the various types of provisions and probabilities of occurrence, because of
the type of provision involved, provisions for foreseeable losses owning to unsecured payables, threatened losses from
waving business or warranties that are not legally enforceable must be created on the basis of local law and
international accounting principles. Provisions for operating expenses on the other hand can only be created subject to
certain conditions based on international financial reporting standards (IFRS) or United States Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (GAAP).Valuation variances arise in parallel accounting owing to different provisions types and
probabilities.
If a provision for foreseeable losses such as a warranty case is regarded as probable it is included in the financial
statement in accordance with US-GAAP, according to IFRS accounting standard an event is regarded asprobable if is
probability is categorized as greater then 50%. If its probability is between 30% and 70% a provision ban applies under
US-GAAP because the event is then categorized as reasonably probable.
Owing to the nature of provision postings, automatic valuation procedures cannot be used, the system has virtually on
points of reference for performing a mathematical calculation in this context. In practice calculations are usually made
outside the SAP system (for example excel) and then assigned manually as a G/L posting at the end of the period. We
will use transaction code F-02, we can fill in the header details however we will select theacct model button, if we drill
down we can see all the account assignment models we will use GL-SL03, we can also use the accounting assignment
models for parallel accounting, with parallel accounting the accounts approach must evaluate data based on each of the
accounting principles.
The account assignment model proposes all of the relevant accounts for both local law (8xxxxxx) and IFRS (9xxxxxx),
account assignment models help prevent such errors of obmission in data entry.
In the below screenshot we can see a provision of 30,000 EUR is created for local law and 20,000 EUR created in
accordance with IFRS principles. Because this represents a allocation to provisions an additional account assignment is
made for the balance sheet account with transaction type 520, any unused lines are removed then you hit enter (you
may get a warning message).
With account numbers and different financial statement versions allow you to express items differently in local and
IFRS financial statements, you can transaction code SA38 or select system -> services -> reporting, we will use report
RFBILA00 which can filter on the chart of accounts (or RFBILA10 this uses G/L and company code)
We will use company code DD11 and select the financial statement version CAUS (you may have your own financial
statement versions), as I have only one accounting year we cannot compare accounting years
The provisions can be find in the liabilities in the financial statement, adjustments for an IFRS financial statement must
not affect this and must therefore be expressed below the balance sheet items in the other item section.
A provision history sheet is not currently provided in the SAP standard system, we can use transaction
code GRR3 display report (or GGR2 change report) to provide an overview of the report painter reports, in folder ZF1
there is provided a basis for creating your own provision history sheet as seen in the screenshot below
The results of the report are then displayed, you should then see the postings made earlier.
with an accrual the current service transaction is followed by a subsequent payment transaction, for example rent
that has to be paid at a later date for example at the end of the quarter ("other payables")
the term deferrals on the other hand is used if the current payment transaction is followed by a subsequent
service transaction, for example insurance coverage for a year is provided after an insurance premium is paid
("other receivables")
Using the recurring entry approach the posting key, account and amounts are unchained, the posting documents are
then generated automatically on a regular basis, however the posting is not immediate but instead a batch input session
is generated which has to be processed subsequently.
The Accrual Engine is available in SAP ERP and has better flexibility than recurring entry documents for accrual and
deferral postings, with the accrual engine which are not defined on the basis of set values are calculated automatically.
If you adjust the values in the original documents adjustments are made automatically for all periods, you can even
simulate future accruals and deferrals. The new accrual engine which has a extensive information system, offers an
alternative to conventional recurring entries.
We will start with the recurring entry method, first we will create a recurring entry document as a template, you must
remember that a recurring entry document is not an accounting document and it therefore does not change the account
balance. You can use transaction code FBD1 or the easy SAP access menu
This is similar to the previous document entries we have encountered before except that we have details on the
recurring run dates, fill in the recurring entry run information
Next we fill line item one details and enter the next line details, notice the "=rent" in the text field, this is a dynamic
field and it will be replaced with 08/2013, again on other runs the date will be changed to reflect the month and year.
Next we can list all the recurring entry documents either using transaction code F.15 or the SAP easy access menu
We can see the recurring document entry we made plus an already existing recurring document template,
You can execute a recurring document by using transaction code F.14, we can filter the recurring documents to be run,
by specifying a calculation period you let the system know which recurring documents are to be included, if the date of
the next posting run saved in the recurring entry document matches the calculation date entered or falls within the date
range specified the program places the data for the postings in the specified batch input session. A single accounting
document is created for each recurring entry document in each program run. Therefore a very long calculation period
does not result in the generation of a large number of accounting documents. We select the hold processed session to
prevent the batch input session from being reorganized immediately.
This will generate a batch session, we now need to execute the session, by selecting system -> services -> batch input > sessions
We can then see the batch session, we select the RENT line and press F8 to execute, we get the dialog box on the righthand screenshot, we select to run in the foreground
You will then be given the chance to check the document before posting, notice the dynamic field has now been
replaced with the date
Because we selected to hold the processed session we can then see it in the processed tab, if we double-click on the
RENT line and examine the log we can see the postings
The log details that two postings were completed (I run it twice),
We can look at the document using transaction code FB03, where we can confirm the posting
The accrual engine is a general tool for calculating and generating periodic accrual and deferral postings, each of its
application components is based on specific accrual and deferral scenarios, examples include
There is no customer development in the accrual engine as SAP delivers everything you need, the best way to learn the
accrual engine is the way of an example, first we will create an accrual object, we will use the SAP easy access menu
We create insurance accrual object as below, we state a category, add some descriptive text and identify the person
responsible, we then select the item data and create the object, we will be using accounting principle 90 as company
code DD11 uses this principle, we have also specified an accrual type called INSURA, you can also assign additional
parameters like cost code in the acct assgts tab.
Again you can check and simulate the above, when you save you get the dialog box below (left-hand screenshot), you
can specify a key date of your choice for the simulation, once you save you get the right-hand screenshot detailing the
document posted.
The screenshot show what the accrual engine would do as from the 01.08.2013 to calculate the accrual for the amount
of 1,200 (see calculated accruals tab), as you can see for the next 5 months 240.00 will be posted per month.
However in the postings tab only a single annual amount of the insurance premium that has been posted is shown, the
list of the actual postings grows each month,
You can double-click on the posting to display the document, account 99000 (accrued income/deferred expenses)
contains the total amount which is reduce by $240 each month, for this to be posted automatically you need to schedule
a program for periodic postings as a background job. We will use start periodic accrual run from the SAP easy access
menu
We start by filling in a filter screen, here we enter the company code and the key date for accruals as a minimum, the
program will then search for any accruals that need to be posted, notice that I have selected the test runcheckbox to
confirm possible accruals.
The results indicate a number of accruals (I have already created some additional ones), but you notice the one we have
just created, the report states that this was a test run and no postings were generated, you can double-click on any line
which will take you to the accrual edit screen above.
When you do post you will get the same report below, however we can see that this was an actual run and 5 postings
were completed.
You now have two choices either recurring entry postings or using the accrual engine, if you have very few recurring
documents then use the recurring document method, but if you have large numbers of deferral postings the accrual
engine would be more benefit to you but it does require more configuring.
Also if you come across accrual number range problems use the below transaction codes
ACEPS_AWREF
ACEPS_ACEDOCNR
FBS1
Reverse accrual/deferral
document
F.81
Asset Accounting
Lots of closing processes relate to the FI-AA (asset accounting) subledger, we will cover the following
As we have discussed already complex fixed assets are mapped in asset accounting, depreciation reduces acquisition
costs owing to wear and tear on the asset and its expected obsolescence (and cost of investing in a replacement). Assets
under Construction (AuC) are incomplete assets that are still in the process of being completed when the financial
statement is prepared. Only when completed are they are the disposal of the enterprise and can be depreciated.
During the closing process AuC's are normally checked and their status changed if necessary, lets look at an example
We start by creating a AuC, we select class 4000 assets under construction, this is similar to creating a normal asset
We enter the asset details (left-hand screenshot) and check the depreciation areas (right-hand screenshot)
Then we use transaction code F-90 to create a acquisition for purchase with vendor, again this all very similar to a
normal asset, the net amount is 50,000 (the middle screenshot was changed to 50,000 as this was a limit), we use
posting key 70 and transaction type 100 (acquisition) in the master record, note that the value date or capitalization date
is not required which is not the normal in asset accounting.
We can check the document before posting, the account determination for AuC 4000 for acquisition postings refers to
G/L account 32000, the total amount of 50,000 would also appear in that account on the balance sheet date, provided
that the status of the AuC did not change.
We now presume that a check run was performed at the end of the period that determined that the building can be used
as of August, as a result the status and value must be changed, using the SAP easy access menu or transaction
code AIAB, we can define distribution rules for the subsequent settlement of the asset in our example
A line item exists for AuC 400001 (building) in the asset class 4000, you can at this point (although not essential) to
define a separate settlement rule for each transaction. It may be useful to differentiate between settlement rules at the
document level for example if the assets are intangible assets such as software for which only certain internal activities
can be capitalized. You use the enter button to create settlement rules, in the right-hand screenshot you can see the AuC
is to be 100% capitalized, asset 400000 (building 1) receives 70% and asset 400001 (building 2) receives 30%, this has
the same effect by using a ratio of 7:3, when you save the icon in the left-hand screenshot it will turn green.
Now we need to settle to close the operations, we again use either the SAP easy access menu or transaction AIBU, fill
in the initial screen, you can perform a test run and a simulation (right-hand screenshot), at 19th august the AuC is
credited and two new assets are debited at the same time. An amount of zero balance on the key date in the AuC
balance sheet item and depreciation now starts for the two new assets,
You can use the asset explorer to see inter-company asset transfers, here you can see the asset being retired and a new
asset being created.
Asset Inventory
The asset inventory is used to see if assets are still at the disposal of the enterprise, this check determines if changes are
need to made to cost centers, business areas or locations, in the master data fields, if fixed asset are no longer exist
owing to theft an extraordinary asset retirement without revenue must be posted.
Here you can find various reports, there are various ways to manage assets
Each asset is assigned its own asset number - this ensures transparency and trace ability, it is time consuming
because a separate master record has to be created and maintained for each asset
Collective management - this approach all assets are managed in a single master record, the challenge is to
ensure that each asset is uniquely identifiable
An example of collective management would be if we have 20 computers that are allocated to a cost manager, this all
could be managed under one asset, however it becomes a problem when you want use some of the PC's in other areas.
To speed up the asset input process you can have barcodes that are attached to the assets and then use it to identify each
asset, this helps in auditing equipment owned by the enterprise, a hand scanner can be used to make the whole process
very quick, the user reads the barcode identifies the asset and confirm the location and other details in the system. The
other possible solution is to use employee self service, this is where a employee receives an email to a portal that allows
them to enter the details of any equipment that they are using.
Asset Reconciliation
There may be times when the asset sub ledger is different from the general ledger balance, you will need to know if
there are any imbalances between them, using transaction code ABST2 (see below screenshot) , the program reads all
the transactions in the asset value fields table ANLC for the current fiscal year, summarizes the values per general
ledger account and writes them to the totals table EWUFIAASUM, you need to make sure that the current fiscal year is
open (transaction code AJAB) and that the fiscal year change program for the previous year has been run (transaction
code AJRW)
You can also analyze the difference between the value updates of a specific general ledger account in an asset account
and SAP general ledger, use transaction code ABST, here you can enter the company code, fiscal year, depreciation
area and the reconciliation account, in my case the G/L account did not have line item enabled.
Lastly you can also perform manual reconciliation between fixed asset and general ledger accounts by using the asset
history sheet and the general ledger balance display reports, first go to the asset history history sheet (transaction
code AR01) and enter the data, then using transaction FGLB03 (general ledger balance display) enter the
corresponding asset reconciliation accounts (configured in transaction code AO90) and execute the transaction to
display and compare the balances.
Depreciation Posting Run
The depreciation posting run is performed periodically within asset accounting, it involves the transfer of valuations
from FI-AA to general ledger accounting, where they can be used for balance sheet evaluations. Depreciations for
tangible assets need to be distributed systematically across the useful life of the asset and the depreciation method used
must correspond to the enterprises consumption of the assets economic usefulness. As mention before there are two
types of depreciation
Ordinary Depreciation
refers to the reduction in the value of an asset over time owing to wear and tear, the range of methods can be used for this type of depreciation, these
include straight-line, the declining-balance method and the unit-of-production method of depreciation.
Unplanned Depreciation
exceptional events, such as damage (flood, fire) that result in a long-term reduction in the value of an asset are mapped in the system using planned
depreciation.
Let go through a complete example, first lets create an asset (delivery van) using transaction code ABZON, we enter
the van details and then save thus capitalizing the asset which means that it can be depreciated
We can see the various valuation approaches in the asset master record, depreciation area 01 the asset is subject to
straight-line depreciation over a period of 5 years in accordance with US-GAAP specifications, numerous parameters
are defined to determine whether interest is to be calculated for the cost accounting area and whether depreciation
below zero is permitted. If revaluation (indexing) is permitted in a depreciation area, an index series can be defined in
the asset or asset class for calculating the replacement value per fiscal year. The system calculates the replacement
value and posts the depreciation together with the interest in the periodic depreciation posting run.
You can configure the index series using the SAP easy access menu (left-hand screenshot), you can see the existing
series that I have created in the right-hand screenshot.
In the example above the useful life in depreciation area 01 is 5 years and therefore an annual depreciation of 20% of
$10,000 is $2,000, however lets say that we had a cost center depreciation area with 7 years which means the
depreciation would be $1,428 per year. An example of this is in the below asset notice the difference between the
useful life of the asset between the different depreciation areas.
Now we move on to the depreciation run, using transaction code AFAB, we fill in the details, notice the section reason
for posting run, here you can start a planned posting run, or a unplanned posting run, you can repeat or restart a
previous posting run. Also notice that there is a test run checkbox which allows to to check the depreciation run before
posting, you can select the list assets checkbox to see the assets.
When we perform the test run we have a 1000 asset limit (this limit is also included in the proper posting run)
The results are returned and as you can see I have a number of deprecations, we can also see the delivery van we
created earlier, if you also notice you can see some ordinary and unplanned depreciation
To actually run the deprecation we return to the main screen, remove the test run and then run it in the backgroup by
selecting program -> execute in background (left-hand screenshot), the print parameter dialog will appear, here I select
the defaults
Next the schedule dialog box appears here you can setup a schedule, or in my case we will immediate run it
Now lets take a look at the job, we select system -> services -> jobs -> job overview
And then using the defaults select the execute button, (you may have to change a few options to reflect your
environment, for example the username)
A list of all the jobs will appear, I sorted by start time making my job at the top, select the spool icon and then drill
down into the job
The other way to look at the log is to use transaction code AFBP, the initial screen is a filter screen (left-hand
screenshot) and the when enter the depreciation log will appear (right-hand screenshot)
If we look at the asset using the asset explorer (transaction code AW01N), you can see the 08/2013 posting (bottom red
box), the ordinary depreciation is now at 166.80 and the net value has depreciated to 9,833.20, when you run this each
month the ordinary depreciation will increase and the net book value will decrease until zero where the asset can then
be retired, however you may choose to sell the asset before reaching zero.
Unplanned depreciation of an asset is used when something negative happens to the asset, for example a motorway
may be built next your building, a flood or fire at the offices may happen, in which a asset becomes depreciated more
quickly, you can use transaction code ABAA or the SAP easy access menu
The initial screen requires some details such as the asset number and date information, we are using transaction type
650 (unplanned depreciation on new assets data) as the asset was created in the current year, you could use 640
(unplanned depreciation on old assets data) for older assets that were acquired in previous years.
The next screen details the value adjustment amount, you can optionally enter some text as to the reason.
When you post the document an entry has to be made in all depreciation areas, so you will see the below screenshot for
each area that you have configured for the asset, just select the green tick for each entry, finally the adjustment will be
posted (right-hand screenshot)
We can then take a look at the asset using the asset explorer (transaction code AW01N), you can see that book value
has decrease by the new unplanned dep. value (top red box), you can also see a record of the unplanned depreciation in
the transactions section (bottom red box)
Asset accounting also creates an asset history sheet, which is essential for the financial statement in accordance with
legal requirements, you can use transaction code S_ALR_87011990 or the SAP easy access menu
The initial screen is a filter screen, here I have entered the minimum required
The report is very detailed (I have changed the column layout), we can see the assets, when it was acquired, capitalized
and retired, the depreciation for the year and the current net book value, there are many columns that you can use. You
can double-click any asset and you will be taken to the asset explorer detailing that asset.
Value Adjustments
At the end of a posting period an enterprise must determine the value in real terms the receivables that have been
posted, there may be instances where the customer is unable to pay due to insolvency, this means a value adjustment
needs to be made, in the context of closing operations a distinction is therefore made between individual value
adjustments and flat-rate value adjustments.
We will start with value adjustments, this is where the customer is insolvent and payment in full can no longer be
expected for a delivery or a service provided. This receivable must be classed as a doubtful receivable and according to
the prudence concept the year-end closing must take in account of the risks and losses of which the enterprise is aware
when preparing the annual financial statement.
In the SAP system value adjustments requires a manual posting, it may be the case where a portion of the outstanding
receivable may be paid, because the quota is still to be clarified when the value adjustment is performed the tax amount
must not be adjusted, the receivables are written off with a tax code of 0%. As soon as the allocation quota is clarified
the individual value adjustment is reversed. The open item is cleared by a cash receipt or depreciation of the remaining
amount. The tax on sales and purchases is adjusted at this point.
Lets look at an example, before we begin lets look at the invoice that wont be paid
We will use transaction code F-21 (transfer without clearing), the original invoice remains in the account and its value
is negated by an individual value adjustment, we will use posting key 19 which creates a credit item in the customers
account and enables account assignment via a special G/L transaction. It must not be posted to the usual customer
clearing account, instead an alternative clearing account is selected with special G/L transaction "E" (reserved for bad
debit)
Once posted if we look at the account balance we see that an entry of -2,046,88 has been posted which negates the
2,046.88 posted on the 09.07.2013, this is then reflected in the balance.
Flat-rate value adjustments do not involve missed payments or insolvency, there are two methods
manual flat-rate value adjustment - this is based on an estimate entered as a manual G/L account posting with
the "Expense flat-rate value adjustment to value adjustment" posting record. this method is flexible but errorprone
flat-rate individual value adjustment - this term refers to a group of customers whose receivables are to be
devalued as a batch using a predefined set of rules, the method is execute automatically. The program for flatrate individual value adjustments selects a group of receivables, calculates the required adjustments on the basis
of empirical values or the reliability of the accounting standard and automatically assigns these receivables to an
account.
Before receivables can be automatically valuated the master data record of the customer has to be updated, as seen in
the screenshot below,
The value adjustment key can be user defined using the IMG (left-hand screenshot), if you look at the DN value
adjustment key (right-hand screenshot) you can see that after 10 days overdue receivables are devalued by 3%, after 20
days this increases to 4% and receivables that are overdue by 30 days or more are devalued by 5%.
Now that we have looked at the configuration of the value adjustment key we can move onto the valuation, you can use
transaction code F107 or the SAP easy access menu
This is similar to the payment run and dunning run, we start by entering a the run date and a unique identifier, then we
have to setup some parameters by selection the maintain button
The parameter screen is self explaining, we will be using valuation method 3 (flat-rate individual value adjustment), the
amount valuated is to be posted to the accounts for the US accounting standard on the key date of 21.08.2013 and
automatically reversed by the program on 01/01/2014.
Using the selection option button we can specify the company code and the accounts to which the value adjustment are
to be posted.
Once you have enter the parameters, select the save icon (disk icon) and then you are ready to run the valuation, you
then select the dispatch button, you can schedule the job to run later, in my case we will run immediately
Keep hitting the green tick button, the valuation will change from running (left-hand screenshot) to finished (middle
screenshot), like the payment and dunning run it produces a proposal first, here you can check the customers and open
items that were selected in the background and a value adjustment requirements that were determined on the basis of
the defined parameters. Here you can change the parameters and rerun, delete the proposal, view the proposal (see
below for log), look at a sample posting ( right-hand screenshot) and ultimately transfer the valuations by executing the
run (forward button).
FJA1
FJA2
I will explain what steps are involved with foreign currency valuation with an example, first lets view the exchange rate
currency either using transaction code S_BCE_68000174/S_B20_88000153 or the SAP easy access menu
The translation rates can be seen in the left-hand screenshot, and the currency exchange rates using a worklist can be
seen in the right-hand screenshot. You can either copy an existing rate in the translation rates screen (left-hand
screenshot) and modify or change an existing one, here I have changed the top line rate to 1.66730 which we will see
later.
If you double click on a worklist (I have covered worklists in my FI section) you can enter the details, in the below
example we can see that it takes $1.40 to buy 1 euro, or 0.71 is the price to buy $1.
Once you have created your working lists then you need to set the working list to complete, by selecting the green tick
with a pencil icon. The status icon should change from red to green.
Once the foreign exchange rates have been configured we can run the foreign currency valuation, you can use
transaction code FAGL_FC_VAL or use the SAP easy access menu
I have keep the details to a minimum but you can filter as much as you need, there are a number of tabs that can refine
the filtering, the valuation method specifies how the valuation is to be executed, one of three methods is normally
selected, I have already discussed the principles in my parallel accounting section.
We will examine the three principles we mentioned above, a receivable posted on April 30 at an exchange rate of
1.60/$1 is to be valuated on the relevant key dates for the valuation areas US (US-GAAP), IA (IFRS) and LO (local
GAAP) using the various methods available, the interest rates on the key dates are
04/30 - 1.50/$1
10/30 - 1.60/$1
11/30 - 1.70/$1
Valuation Area
Valuation Method
09/30
10/30
11/30
US
Valuate in principle
1.50
1.60
1.70
IA
1.50
1.60
1.60
LO
1.50
1.50
1.50
The postings are entered in a P&L account or adjustment account for receivables or payables because you cannot
directly post to a reconciliation account. The values are therefore posted to an adjustment account that is expressed in
the same balance sheet item as the relevant reconciliation account.
When the report is run we get the results screen below, we can see that there is a 2.98- difference (remember I changed
the exchange rate to 1.66730),
We can see that there are two postings the first document is automatically reversed on 01.09.2013. remember these are
open items and the exchange rate may change again, hence the reserve posting, until the items are cleared in which case
the exchange rate will be valuated then. In some countries you are not permitted to reverse a valuation at the end of a
fiscal year, in this case the valuation difference must be updated in the open item, to do this select the valuation for
balance sheet preparation checkbox in the program SAPF100.
You can also valuate differences using the transaction code FBL5N and selecting the valuation difference field
I just want to finish off by mentioning that you can translate your account balances from local currency into group
currency, this translation is performed in accordance with FASB 52 (U.S. GAAP) or IAS. You can use transaction
code FAGL_FC_TRANS
Interest calculations have a relatively minor significance in the context of closing operations, however SAP provides
functions for calculating and automatically posting interest based on account balances or line items. I have already
covered balance interest calculation in my G/L accounting configuration section, now we will take a look at item
interest calculation, We will use an employee loan example, first we must update the customer (employees) master
data, we set the interest indic and interest cycle fields, also note the last key date field we will discuss this shortly
Once the master data has been updated, we create a invoice for the employee which is a loan of $5,000
I have split the screen across to screenshot as it is to large to fit on one, there is not too much to configure here, we
select the open items and define the number range (use transaction code FBN1) and select the post interest checkbox,
there are other options which I will leave you to explore.
Now the configuration part is completed we perform the item interest calculation using transaction code FINT or the
SAP easy access menu (left-hand screenshot), the initial screen is a filter screen, here I have entered the minimum, if
you notice we can perform a test run, that way you can check the results before posting. I am going to calculate the
interest for just over the month for the employees loan that we create a moment ago
The results screen is as below, you can see that it picked up the loan amount for $5,000 and applied the interest rate of
3% calculating on 38 days interest.
You can get more details about the process by looking at the log, the last icon
When you do post you will get a detailed screen of the outcome, you can see my run at the top, if there are any errors
SAP will indicate the problem, mostly it will be to do with the indicator not being setup correctly of a missing number
range.
For information on how to configure the time-dependent interest terms see balance interest calculation in my G/L
accounting configuration section. because interest rates are highly susceptible to fluctuations you can make changes
before you post, using transaction code S_ALR_87002510 you see the selection of defined interest indicators and also
currency-dependant and time-dependant interest terms.
If we double-click on a time-dependant interest term (in our case 01 USD seq no 1), we can see where the 3% interest
rate came from.
You can view the interest calculation runs using transaction FINTSHOW, the initial screen is a filter screen which is
self-explaining, the results of the log can be seen below.
When you run a interest calculation the master data of the customers record will be updated, as you can see below the
employee record has been updated to the date of the last run.
Lastly if we look at the customers (employee) line items we can see that the interest as be posted to the account, so the
balance now reflects the loan and the interest.
Reconciliation Measures
Financial accounting influence business decisions, share price, performance-based remuneration, etc. You need to
make as accurate report on assets, profitability and over financial situation, reconciliation measures are intended to
check figures and ensure that they are correct. We will discuss two types of reconciliation measures
We will start with manual checking of postings, the larger the company the more posting errors we expect, these can
have a negative influence on the information value of financial accounting figures, however we cannot check every
posting, a balance must be achieved between the costs and benefits of reconciliation measures, you could restrict the
checks to certain accounts or amounts posted. We can use transaction code FBL3N, which we have used a number of
times, this time we will select a number of different accounts, using the multiple section tool (the right pointing arrow
to the the right of G/L account), here I enter a number of G/L accounts
The results screen returns the line items, here I have sorted on the amount in local curr, now lets presume that
something may be wrong with the first three line items, so we will get another accountant to check
We select the three line items lines and then list -> send
We enter some text description for the accountant and select one or more recipients (mistake in the screenshot user
should be vallep),
We also select the express document checkbox, which means the accountants will be informed immediately
When the accountant does anything in his/her screen, a pop dialog box appears, select choose
The message then appears on the screen with a link (or you can use the attachments tab) to see the list of line items
When the user selects the G/L account line item display link you will see the three line items we asked to be checked.
Next we look at the technical reconciliation of transactions figures, this procedure involves comparing the debit and
credit postings of the individual documents with the transaction figures from the relevant periods in accounts receivable
accounting, accounts payable accounting and general ledger accounting. The results of the analysis report are saved in
historical management records. This allows you to document the details of when the reconciliation was performed and
the accuracy of the reconciliation measures. This analysis identifies differences that are not permitted by accounting
standards which must then be eliminated as soon as possible. We will use transaction FAGLF03 the left-hand
screenshot (F.03 was the old transaction code seen in the right-hand screenshot),
You can view the historic logs and their outcome, by selecting the display log option, here we can see that there we
reconciliation problems on the 21.05.2007
You can also check the reconciliation between companies using the SAP easy access menu, there are a number of
different reports
Here I use transaction code FBICR3L, to display the intercompany open items, you can then use transaction
code FBICA1 and/or FBICR1 to clear the documents and reconcile the accounts.
Reclassification
It is necessary to sort receivables and payables based on their validity periods, on the balance sheet it may be a case that
there are outstanding payables to be made to customers and receivables to be paid by vendors, regrouping is required to
accurately represent these customers with credit balances and vendors with debit balances in the financial statement. A
special program is provided to automatically perform this task of sorting by due date and regrouping which is referred
to as reclassification. We can use transaction code FAGLF101, there are three tabs that you can use to refine the
selection, we leave the generate postings checkbox unticked as this is a test run. The SAP sort method is configured so
that receivables and payables are categorized as follows
Sort methods can be configured differently to give a more general or precise classification, the valuation area linked to
the account determination for parallel accounting. The middle screenshot details the account type D (customers) and
only select customer 3477, the last screenshot indicates the selected customers are to be grouped together in a group
posting in this case. The valuation type 5 (transaction of balances) means that payables and receivables are to be sorted
on the basis of their due dates and are to be reclassified.
You can check the postings before you actually run for real. When posted the balances for the account is reclassified.
You can view a precise representation in the balance sheet, you can see where the G/L account is represented in the
balance sheet by using transaction code FS00 and selecting the G/L account, here you can select the edit financial
statement version. In the below screenshot you can see that this G/L account is used in the CAUS financial statement
version, it could also be used in other financial statements as well.
Selecting the green tick we are taken to the position in the financial statement (CAUS).
Balance Confirmations
After the balance carryforward has been technically completed and the old fiscal years has been blocked, balance
confirmations must be sent. The purpose of these letters to confirm with your trading partners the figures for the
relevant receivables and payables. Letters are sent to the customers and vendors with figures based on the accounts, a
standard reply letter is to be completed by the customer or vendor to speed up the process (confirmation or rejection),
the letter is then sent back to a audit department to confirm in the system, a check list is performed an results tables is
formed. We can use transaction code F.17 (A/R) and F.18 (A/P), the initial screen is a filter screen, here I have enter
the minimum amount of data
When you run the report you will be shown the printed balance confirmation letters, here I have two screenshot's as the
letter is too large to capture in one screenshot.
To ensure complete and comprehensive documentation you can print the list of parameters used for selection shown
earlier, as a fraud avoidance measure, balance confirmation forms part of the overall corporate governance concept.
You can also use transaction code FK10N (vendor) or FD10N (customer) to see balance display reports.
Period Control
For documents to be posted the period must be technically open, in other circumstances you may want to prevent
postings in a certain period once specific activities have been completed, for example the advanced return for tax on
sales and purchases or auditor certification of the balance sheet, these tasks are the responsibility of period control,
which represents both technical and business functionality, period control is not only used on FI but in other modules as
well CO and MM, we can use transaction code S_ALR_87003642 or use the SAP easy access menu
You can see the posting periods detailed below, I have covered in detail posting period variant in my FI configuration
and setup section. When you fill in a document header the date will be checked to confirm that period is open, SAP will
notify you if it is not, you can open periods for specific account types (customers, vendors, assets, etc). If you notice we
also configure the special periods as well these are posting periods 13 to 16, again I discuss this in my posting period
variant section. The AuGr (Authorization Group) column is used to restrict users to alter the control table, it is only
possible for a user defined in the authorization concept (object F_BKPF_BUP) to enter postings in the interval, this
allows you to limit the number of users involved in the closing operations.
The initial screen is a filter screen, I am using company code 1000, and some past dates, to capture some data, you can
even group company codes, in addition to the selection criteria, posting criteria must also be defined for the program.
The accounts for input and output tax that are associated with the tax codes are cleared in a procedure that involves
posting the balance to a defined tax payable account for receivables or payables due from or to the tax authorities, this
can be saved to a batch input session using the tax payable posting tab. You can increase or decrease the logging output
as displayed in the below screenshot.
The results screen details the documents and calculates the balance of input and output tax based on the tax code. The
program then creates a batch input session for tax payable postings, generates a file for electronic communication with
the authorities and outputs the overall results in a log.
Once the receivable is posted the relevant data must be communicated to the tax authorities, we can use transaction
code FOTV or use the SAP easy access menu,
The initial screen is a filter screen, if there are any tax returns SAP will display these, the tax on sales and purchases
payable can be classified as either a system amount (in other words an amount calculated by the Advanced Return for
Tax on Sales/Purchases program) or an external amount. You can change the values before sending the report to the tax
authorities (transfer data F8), again SAP will confirm if the data sent was successful or not.
Balance Carryforward
When the fiscal years closes several activities must be completed in the SAP system, one of these is the balance
carryforward, the year-end closing means that the closing balance of the balance sheet accounts also serves as the initial
balance in the next fiscal year.
Things are more complicated for income statements accounts, in the new fiscal year the opening balance in these
accounts is always zero (they start with a clean sheet), this is certainly true of the profit and loss accounts at least.
When the fiscal year changes its balance is posted to one or more special retained earnings accounts. In most countries
the carryforward in the balance sheet and profit and loss statement accounts is not implemented as a posting in the SAP
system. Instead the balance of the last posting period is carried forward as the balance in period 0 of the new fiscal year
without a posting record. An opening entry is only possible in certain countries where this is legally permitted. We can
use transaction code FAGLB03, we enter the account and company code details
At the start of the year we can see the 60,000 in period 0, which is the opening balance for this account, it is possible
to post items if there is no balance carryforward, the balance carryforward only influences the cumulative balance.
To carryforward the balance we can use transaction code F.16 or FAGLGVTR (new G/L), or F.07 to carry forward the
balances of accounts payable and account receivable.
The initial screen is a filter screen, if you notice we can perform a test run before we actually carryforward the balance.
You get a detailed log, here you can see that some accounts have been identified, we can use both the balance sheet
accounts and retained earnings accounts buttons to display more details
The left-hand screenshot you can see the balance sheets, the right-hand screenshot displays the retained earnings
accounts.
When you carry out the carryforward balance, check the accounts for the new fiscal year to confirm that the
carryforward has been carried forward.
I have also discussed the closing cockpit which can help with period closing and year end tasks.
Description
Transaction Code
Application
Day
Month
S_BCE_68000174
FI
VL10A
SD
VL10A
PS
VL10
CS
MIRO
MM
MIRO
CS
MRBR
MM/PS
MRBR
CS
incomplete SD documents
V_UC
SD
10
blocked SD documents
VKM1
SD
11
V_SA
SD
12
V23
SD
13
VF04
SD
14
review failed billing document creation after billing due list (VF04)
execution
V.21
SD
15
VFX3
SD
16
17
18
Year
X
X
X
X
X
X
COGI
PP
CO16N
PP
S_ALR_87012342
FI
19
S_ALR_87012341
FI
20
MMPV
MM
21
MMPV
PS
22
MMPV
CS
23
OB52
FI
24
CO43
CO
25
CO8A
CO
26
KKAO
CO
27
CI8G
PS
28
KKAQ
CO
29
KKAJ
PS
30
KKS1
CO
31
KKS5
CO
32
settlement PP order
CO88
CO
33
PP order (close)
CO02
PP
34
COOIS
PP
35
FBD1
FI
36
F.14
FI
37
SM35
FI
38
F.13
MM
39
F.19
FI
40
F.13
FI
41
F-03
FI
42
F-32
FI
43
F-44
FI
44
FB50
FI
45
FAGL_FC_VAL
FI
46
KB61
FI
47
AIAB
FI-AA
48
depreciation run
49
50
depreciation simulation
51
52
53
54
55
X
X
AFAB
FI-AA
ASKBN
FI-AA
S_ALR_87012936
FI-AA
OB52
FI-AA
KB31N
CO
KSU5
CO
KSU5
CO
accrual calculation
KSA3
CO
56
KO8G
CO
57
KO8G
CS
58
CO99
CS
59
CJ20N
PS
60
CJB2
PLM
61
CJ8G
PLM
62
CJ20N
PLM
63
project reporting
S_ALR_87013531
PLM
64
CJ8G
PS
65
KE30
PS
66
KEU5
CO
67
stock valuation
MRN0
FI/CO/MM
68
69
70
71
72
73
inventory costing
KP98
CO
S_ALR_87099918
CO
KP90
CO
KP26
CO
KSPI
CO
CK11N
CO
74
price update
CK24
CO
75
FB50
FI
76
period lock
OKP1
CO
77
ENGR
SD
78
S_ALR_87012357
FI
79
FB41
FI
80
EC sale list
S_ALR_87012400
FI
81
S_ALR_87012405
FI
82
S_ALR_87012162
FI
83
FGLF03
FI
84
F.52
FI
85
S_ALR_87012289
FI
86
document journal
S_ALR_87012287
FI
87
FF7A
FI
88
OB52
FI
89
KE30
CO
90
financial statements
S_ALR_87012284
FI
91
SCAL
cross
92
S_ALR_87005830
CO
93
costing run
CK40N
CO
94
S_ALR_87008275
CO
95
recalculating values
AFAR
FI-AA
96
account reconciliation
ABST2
FI-AA
97
AJRW
FI-AA
98
AJAB
FI-AA
X
X
X
X
X
X
99
F.07
FI
100
FAGLGVTR
FI
101
regrouping receivables/payables
FAGLF101
FI
102
F.17
FI
103
F.18
FI
104
OB52
FI
105
financial statements
S_ALR_87012284
FI
106
document journal
S_ALR_87012287
FI