New Asset Accounting EHP7 – Functionality and configuration

With SAP Enhancement Package 7, a new functionality is available in Asset Accounting to manage Parallel Valuations. The following document contains information about use of this functionality for a new implementation customer. In OSS Note 1776828 SAP recommends activation of New Asset Accounting for new customers. To use this solution, prerequisite is the use New GL Accounting with Ledger Approach. Prior to New Asset Accounting, to manage parallel valuations one had to use delta depreciation areas, as only one depreciation area (01) could post to the General Ledger in real time.

With the new solution it is now possible to post actual values to different depreciation areas in real time. There’s no need for delta postings and delta depreciation areas. In the following paragraphs I shall attempt to explain the configuration steps involved with an example of our implementation project.

Before you actually begin implementation of New AA, take a stock of Global Settings related to General Ledger, particularly Ledgers and Currencies. This will help you ascertain the Chart of Depreciation settings required in Asset Accounting.

E.g. if you have two ledgers for your Company Code (leading and non leading) there must be two depreciation areas that post in real time.

Note – This is not applicable to Depreciation areas for Investment Support. Also if there are multiple currencies there must be a depreciation area for each currency. This ensures consistencies between General Ledger and Asset Accounting sub ledger.

In our case we had:

• Ledgers:
  • Leading Ledger for Indian GAAP – 0L
  • Non Leading Ledger for IFRS – NL
• Additional Currencies:
  • Group Currency – INR
  • Hard Currency – EURO

Also we had to implement Investment Support, so additional Depreciation areas were for created for the same. Also had a separate depreciation area to Income Tax depreciation. This is what the final Chart of Depreciation looked like:

Now if you didn’t have Investment Support in scope, area 51, 59, 71 and 75 wouldn’t be required. Also if Investment Support accounting is not applicable for Accounting Principle IFRS, area 71 and 75 wouldn’t be required.

Once this is sorted the rest of configuration settings are straight forward:

• Business Functions: Activate the following Business Functions:

         Transaction Code – SFW5

• ENTERPRISE_EXTENSIONS – EA-FIN
• ENTERPRISE_BUSINESS_FUNCTIONS – FIN_AA_PARALLEL_VAL

This will activate a new path in SAP IMG:

• Copy the chart of depreciation as usual and define your depreciation areas
• Assign each depreciation area to a ledger group.
• For Depreciation area 60, define depreciation area 01 as Alternate depreciation area for account determination

• Specify Area type:

Asset Accounting (New)->General Valuation->Depreciation Areas->Define Depreciation Areas->Specify Area Type

• Specify transfer of APC values:

Asset Accounting (New)->General Valuation->Depreciation Areas->Specify Transfer of APC Values

Here we define the reference depreciation area that provides values to other depreciation areas. Depreciation areas that don’t post in real time must takeover APC and depreciation values from a reference depreciation area.

• Specify Transfer of Depreciation Terms

Asset Accounting (New)->General Valuation->Depreciation Areas->Specify Transfer of Depreciation Terms

• Depreciation Area Currencies

Asset Accounting (New)->General Valuation->Currencies->Define Depreciation Areas for Foreign Currencies

Specify the depreciation areas’ currency for your company code(s).

• Activate New Asset Accounting

                  Asset Accounting (New)->New Asset Accounting: Preparation and Activation->Check Prerequisites for Activating Asset Accounting (New)

Asset Accounting (New)->New Asset Accounting: Preparation and Activation->Activate Asset Accounting (New)

• Technical Clearing Account

To enable parallel postings to different ledgers system uses a technical clearing account for Asset acquisition and Investment support postings. This is required from a technical purpose and the balance of this account is always zero after each posting.

See an example of integrated posting with technical clearing account at Example 1: Acquisition, Integrated Posting – Asset Accounting (FI-AA) (New) – SAP Library.

The technical clearing account must be a reconciliation account for assets and it can’t be used in account determination for Asset Accounting (for example, tables T095, T095B, T095P)

Rest of the configuration remains unchanged. You define your asset classes, account determination, depreciation keys etc. as usual.

An example of Acquisition posting (without investment support)

Integrated posting in different ledgers:

Area 01 – Ledger 0L-

Area 60 – Ledger NL

Separate documents are generated for the two postings:

References:

1. OSS Note 1776828
2. Release Notes for EHP7
3. Various Help.sap.com pages on New Asset Accounting

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