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Author's profile photo Martin Schmidt
Martin Schmidt
August 13, 2018 11 minute read

Conversion to SAP S/4HANA- Consistency checks in Finance

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This post was originally published in August 2018 and updated with information about newly introduced ‘Reconciliation prior to Conversion to S/4HANA´ checks in General Ledger and Asset Accounting in November 2020.

In this blog series, we are looking at some of the challenges and risks that most commonly affect SAP S/4HANA conversion projects and how to mitigate them with the right selection of tools and approaches. In the previous blog Conversion to SAP S/4HANA On-Premise –  what are the key problem areas (and what to do about them)? I tried to outline areas where customers usually experience difficulties when converting from SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA.

As explained earlier, one of the most critical phases of any conversion to SAP S/4HANA is the financial data migration. For more information, please check out the blog Conversion to SAP S/4HANA- Insights into Finance Data Migration.

We already talked about how important for successful financial data migration is to have clean and consistent transactional data, how a company can end up with data inconsistencies, and what impact it can have on the conversion project plan. Let’s remind ourselves, that no matter how well you manage the integrity of your data, chances are that you are going to have some errors in it. Therefore, in this and the next blog post, I will focus on tools that help us to detect inconsistent financial data. We are going to talk about various programs available in the system for checking financial data before, during, and after conversion to SAP S/4HANA.

In general,  we can classify these check programs into several categories. We have consistency checks which are to be performed in the source SAP ERP system before the technical installation of SAP S/4HANA and we have check programs running in the target SAP S/4HANA system. We recognize a configuration, master data, and transactional data consistency check.  According to a component, we have consistency checks in different finance-related application areas: in General Ledger, Asset Accounting, Materials Management, etc.

In this blog, we will go through consistency checks based on the phase in which they are to be performed. In the first part of this blog, I will explain the checks which you should run in the Preparation phase, in the source SAP ERP system. In the second part of the blog, we will explore the consistency checks available in the Realization phase, just before or during financial data migration. So first, let’s take a look at the Preparation phase.

Consistency Checks in the Preparation Phase

Consistency checks are an important part of preparatory activities that are to be performed in the source SAP ERP system before the installation of SAP S/4HANA. Here we have 2 types of checks.

Configuration and master data consistency checks are newly developed programs specifically for conversion to SAP S/4HANA. They check whether functional and configuration prerequisites for conversion are met.

Transactional Data Consistency Checks include programs for reconciling General Ledger totals with Sub-ledgers totals (, GL<>FI-AA, GL<>MM, GL<>ML, GL<> EC-PCA, etc.) and a couple of programs for checking data consistency of selected tables (i.e. document tables <>indices, etc.).

All these programs have been around for a long time. The majority of them are recommended to be executed on a regular basis as a part of a closing process in Finance. There are high chances that you know them and already ran them in the past.

Update! Since August 2019, we have a new program Reconciliation prior to S/4HANA Conversion available or checking the consistency of General Ledger data in SAP ERP. Since November 2020, there is a similar program for asset accounting – Reconciliation prior to S/4HANA (AA)

These programs enable you to perform some of the critical S/4HANA migration-specific checks already in the SAP ERP system. In the past, these checks were accessible only after the technical installation of the SAP S/4HANA system done by the Software Update Manager tool (SUM).

Configuration consistency checks

 Name  Tcode  Program  Description  SAP Notes
Simplification Item (SI) Check    /SDF/RC_START_CHECK Checks GL configuration (GL part of the SI)  2245333
Check of prerequisites for FI-AA Migration FAA_FINS1_PRECHECK  RASFIN_MIGR_PRECHECK Checks FI-AA configuration 2333236

Simplification Item(SI) Check is a tool available as of release 1709. It contains not only the configuration but also master data and few transactional data consistency checks. It comprises checks in various functional areas. In Finance, SI check replaces the former pre-conversion check of general ledger customizing (program FINS_MIG_PRECHECK_CUST_SETTNGS). The Finance pre-checks, contained in the SI check, examine the consistency of your ledger, company code, and controlling area settings to determine whether a financial data migration is possible.  The list of checks, possible root causes for errors, and their solutions are described in detail in the SAP note 2245333 Pre-Transition Checks for FIN: Error Messages and Possible Solutions.

For further details on how to implement and run SI check, please refer to the blog of Markus Goebel SAP S/4HANA Simplification Item Check – How to do it right which is being continuously updated with the latest information.

Check of prerequisites for FI-AA Migration – Checks for functions and configuration not permitted. The program has been integrated into SI Check starting from release 1809.

 

Transactional data consistency checks

Reconciliation prior to Conversion to S/4HANA in General Ledger

Name  Tcode Program  Description   SAP Notes
Reconciliation prior to Conversion to S/4HANA in GL

FIN_CORR_RECONCILE

 

FIN_CORR_RECONCILE

 

Perform S/4HANA specific migration checks 2755360
FIN_CORR_DISPLAY FIN_CORR_DISPLAY_ISSUE Display the result of S/4HANA specific migration checks

The newly introduced reconciliation checks for General Ledger have been released in the SAP Note 2755360. They correspond to checks which are performed in the S/4HANA system before the financial data migration part of S/4HANA conversion.

You can run the transaction FIN_CORR_RECONCILE to start the checks. Once the reconciliation is complete, the results are written to the FIN_CORR_ISSUE table. You can use the FIN_CORR_DISPLAY transaction to display the results of the reconciliation run.

Reconciliation prior to Conversion to S/4HANA in Asset Accounting

Name  Tcode Program  Description   SAP Notes
Reconciliation prior to Conversion to S/4HANA in AA

FIN_AA_CORR_RECON

 

FIN_AA_CORR_RECONCILE

 

Perform S/4HANA specific migration checks 2896400
FIN_AA_CORR_DISPLAY FIN_AA_CORR_DISPLAY_ISSUE Display the result of S/4HANA specific migration checks

The newly introduced reconciliation checks for Asset Accounting have been released in the SAP Note 2896400 – Reconciliation of Asset Accounting Inconsistencies in ECC prior to S/4HANA Conversion

The program enables you to perform some of the critical Asset Accounting migration-specific checks already in the SAP ERP system.

You can run the transaction FIN_AA_CORR_RECON to start the checks in your ECC system. Once the reconciliation is complete, the results are written to the FIN_AA_CORR_ISS table. You can use the FIN_AA_CORR_DISPLAY transaction to display the results of the reconciliation run.

 

Reconciliation of AR/AP sub-ledgers with General Ledger

Name  Tcode Program  Description   SAP Notes
Comparison: Documents / Transaction Figures  FAGLF03  TFC_COMPARE_VZ Compare document tables with totals (NEW GL) 946596
FI Comparative Analysis  F.03  SAPF190 Compare document tables with totals (CLASSIC GL) 86067
FI Consistency check    RFINDEX Check the consistency of index and document tables

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Comparative analysis reports – there are 2 comparative analysis programs, SAPF190 for a system with classic General Ledger and TFC_COMPARE_VZ for a system with new General Ledger implemented. They are used to compare values from document line item tables with transaction totals tables and with the secondary application index tables

TFC_COMPARE_VZ makes a comparison between the following tables:

  1. Document lines (BSEG/BSEG_ADD) with secondary indices(BSIS/BSAS/BSID/BSAD/BSIK/BSAK)
  2. Document lines (BSEG) with AR/AP sub-ledger totals (KNC1/3 LFC1/3 )
  3. Document lines (BSEG/BSEG_ADD) with new GL line items (FAGLFLEXA )
  4. New GL line items (FAGLFLEXA ) with new GL totals (FAGLFLEXT)

If the program finds any discrepancies or inconsistencies, it will highlight them store them in a log.

In case of inconsistencies between the FAGLFLEXA and the FAGLFLEXT tables, you may use the report TFC_ADJUST_VZ  to correct them. However, If there errors from the single document comparison i.e. between the Entry view (BKPF & BSEG) and the NewGL view (in FAGLFLEXA), the correction report will not run.

You may also refer to the following  wiki articles:

How to correctly use the FI New General Ledger comparative analysis report TFC_COMPARE_VZ

How to correctly use the FI General Ledger comparative analysis report SAPF190_NACC (aka SAP190)

FI Consistency check (program RFINDEX ) consists of ten functionalities that can be activated by flags in the selection screen.

  1. Reconciliation of the document tables (BKPF) against the index tables (BSIS/BSAS/BSID/BSAD/BSIKBSAK )
  2. Reconciliation of the index tables (BSIS/BSAS/BSID/BSAD/BSIKBSAK) against document tables (BKPF)
  3. Search for missing document headers (BKPF)
  4. Reconciliation of document headers (BKPF) against line items (BSEG)
  5. Check clearing transactions
  6. Reconciliation of documents against transaction figures
  7. Reconciliation of indices against transaction figures
  8. Open item as at the key date
  9. Find double entries in the index table
  10. Check accounts/FS.

The disadvantage of the RFINDEX is that very often it lists inconsistencies which do not have any impact on conversion. It means that not all errors reported need to be also corrected. If RFINDEX detects inconsistencies, please contact SAP support which is able to run the program in update mode to correct data.Please note that runtime of FI Consistency Check and FI Comparative Analysis can be significant,

Reconciliation of Asset Accounting (AA) with General Ledger

Name   Tcode  Program  Description  Notes
Consistency Check of General Ledger and Asset Accounting  ABST

RAABST01 (classic AA)

FAA_GL_RECON (New AA)

Reconciles asset line items with asset summary records. Compares G/L account line items with asset values.  46511
Reconcil. program FI-AA <-> G/L: List of accounts showing differences  ABST2  RAABST02 Compares asset GL account balances with asset values 499536

There are two dedicated data consistency check programs for Asset Accounting (transaction codes ABST and ABST2). In addition, you may find standard asset reports such as Asset History Sheet (report RAGITT01) or Asset Balances (RABEST01) helpful when evaluating the consistency of asset accounting data.

First, you execute ABST2 which identifies all G/L accounts where is there is a discrepancy between GL account balance and Asset values:

Reconciliation  FI-AA and G/L (transaction ABST2) selects the asset summary records (ANLC), summarizes the values on G/L account and business area levels, and writes the summarized values to table EWUFIAASUM. Then this table is read, and the values are reconciled with the G/L accounts. The output of the program is a list of GL accounts per company code with differences in amounts between AA and GL.

In the next step, individually for each of the affected GL accounts, you run:

Consistency Check of General Ledger and Asset Accounting (Transaction ABST) is used for the reconciliation of AA  values with G/L account postings on individual G/L account level. In the first step, the asset line items (ANEP, ANEA) for each fixed asset are summed up and compared with the asset summary records (ANLC). In the second step, asset line items (ANEP) of a fixed asset are summarized per each document number and compared with the G/L account line items (BSEG and FAGLFLEXA in case of new GL) posted to this fixed asset. You can run the consistency check only for asset balance sheet account with line item management active and in the depreciation area which posts online.

Most common reasons for differences and how to solve them:

Please refer to the following  SAP Notes

  • SAP Note 2032547 – Reconciliation FI and FI-AA. ABST2 Differences
  • SAP Note 543151 –   FAQ Note Reconciliation of FI <-> FI-AA
  • SAP Note 104567 –   Collective note Euro FI-AA: Analysis phase

Reconciliation of Materials Management (MM) with General Ledger

 Name  Tcode  Program Description   Notes
MM/FI balance comparison    RM07MMFI Compares stock GL account balance with stock values in MM  198596
List of Stock Values: Balances  MB5L  RM07MBST  Compares stock GL account balance with stock values in MM  
Balance Reconciliation Between GL and MM  FAGL_MM_RECON  FAGL_MM_RECON  Compares stock GL account balance with stock values in ML  

We have 3 programs available to reconcile MM with General Ledger. The core functionality is the same for all 3 of them, they compare the balance of stock GL account balance with the total of stock values as recorded in Materials Management/Material Ledger. They display the total value of the stock together with the stock G/L account balance and any deviations between them. The program RM07MBST is the oldest and is able to read stock values on an individual material level from MM tables. The program RM07MMFI was developed as a faster alternative to RM07MBST as it reads values from MM tables on the valuation area level. The program FAGL_MM_RECON is primarily designed to read stock values from Material Ledger. If material ledger is not active, it reads values from MM tables.

Please refer to the following SAP Notes for the most common causes of differences and possible solutions:

  • SAP Note 968812 – MM/FI Difference for material stocks
  • SAP Note 520010 – FAQ: Inconsistencies in inventory management

Reconciliation of Special Ledger (SL) with General Ledger

 Name Tcode Program Description Notes
Ledger comparison GCAC RGUCOMP4 Compares total records of any two ledgers 764523

Ledger comparison (transaction GCAC)  compares the totals records of any two ledgers. You can use this program to compare standard general ledger totals with any standard or customer-defined special ledger totals table. You can use in system new GL activated with leading ledger 0L (table FAGLFLEXT) or classic GL with ledger 0 (table GLT0). Because it is a generic transaction it works with all applications which are based on the special ledger concept including classic Profit Center Accounting ledger 8A (table GPCT) and EC-CS consolidation staging ledger 09 (table GLT3) or consolidation ledger 1C (table ECMCT).

If the program finds any differences, you may also refer to SAP Note 729433 – Differences between SL and GL for possible causes and solutions.

Reconciliation of Profit Center Accounting with General Ledger

 Name Tcode Program  Description Notes
Compare G/L Accounts in FI with Profit Center Accounting  KE5T/KE5U  RCOPCA44 Compares Profit Center Accounting totals with GL totals (CLASSIC GL)  81374
 Ledger comparison  GCAC RGUCOMP4 Compares total records of any two ledgers (NEW GL)  764523

If you use classic Profit Center Accounting (EC-PCA), you need to reconcile Profit Center Accounting ledger (8A) with General Ledger.  For this, you can execute either transaction KE5T (for classic GL only) or transaction GCAC (for both, classic GL and New GL).

Compare G/L Accounts in FI with Profit Center Accounting (transaction KE5T or KE5U)

The program compares Profit Center Accounting totals (table GLPCT) with classic GL totals (table GLPT0). If the program finds any differences, please refer to SAP Note 81374 for possible causes and solutions.  You may execute the program with the option to clear differences automatically). If you reconcile the differences automatically, the clearing records are posted in tables GLPCT (summary record table) and GLPCA (actual line items). The clearing postings are posted with origin object type 98. You can analyze these line items in line item reporting by specifying this origin object type.

Ledger comparison (transaction GCAC)

If New General Ledger Accounting is active in your system, you have to use the generic transaction GCAC for comparing ledgers. Here, you can enter any base ledger and any comparison ledger. For Profit Center Accounting you enter ledger 8A (table GLPT0) and for new general ledger 0L (table FAGLFLEXT).

Conclusion

As you can see, there is a number of consistency checks to be run in the source SAP ERP system. In the next blog, we will discuss how to handle errors during the finance data migration phase of S/4HANA Conversion. Please refer to the blog Conversion to SAP S/4HANA – How to handle errors during finance data migration.

What is your experience with inconsistent data? What would you improve in SAP consistency checks? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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      Author's profile photo Sreedhara KT
      Sreedhara KT
      September 21, 2018 at 4:07 am

      Nice article Martin !

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      Author's profile photo DAVID ANTON ARIAS GARCIA
      DAVID ANTON ARIAS GARCIA
      October 26, 2018 at 10:35 am

      Excellent blog

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      Author's profile photo Prabhakar Ramakrishna
      Prabhakar Ramakrishna
      December 6, 2018 at 1:57 pm

      Excellent blog. How much ever we follow, there are still some pitfalls we encounter due to legacy wrongs we have done without knowing its repercussions. These tools will catch them, correcting them is a challenge.

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      Author's profile photo Shirley Te
      Shirley Te
      October 31, 2019 at 9:23 pm

      Nice blog.  If there are finance inconsistencies that showed up in the reports, does that stop SUM from proceeding to convert to S4 HANA much like the consistency errors in the SI Check or will the conversion proceed.  At which stage/phase MUST the finance inconsistencies be resolved?

      Thanks

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      Author's profile photo Martin Schmidt
      Martin Schmidt
      Blog Post Author
      November 7, 2019 at 11:31 am

      Hi Shirley,

      Transactional data inconsistencies will not stop SUM. The  inconsistencies will show up in the pre-check Analyze Transactional Data you run after SUM before before starting data migration. They will stop Start and Monitor Migration cockpit (tcode FINS_MIG_STATUS).

      But for majority of inconsistencies types it is a bit late to resolve them at this stage. The system is already technically S4HANA system.

      Kind regards,

      Martin

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      Author's profile photo Daniel Klein
      Daniel Klein
      January 28, 2020 at 12:59 pm

      Hi Martin,

      we are currently using the S/4HANA Finance 1605 AddOn with ECC 6.0, and it seems that many of the reports are not executable here (message SFIN_FI 004 "function not available in sFIN"). It would be beneficial if you could mention the not-to-be-executed and alternative reports for sFIN customers (e.g. FINS_REC).

      Thanks for the blog and Regards

      Daniel

      PS: there is a zero missing in the running text, it should be note 2755360 instead of 275536 for report FIN_CORR_RECONCILE (like mentioned in the table).

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      Author's profile photo Griselda bigurra zavala
      Griselda bigurra zavala
      August 10, 2021 at 5:22 pm

      Hi Martin

      Im running FIN_CORR_RECONCILE on QA system. Report has been running for 345,235 sec.

      Is this normal? Report can take long time running?

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      Author's profile photo Martin Schmidt
      Martin Schmidt
      Blog Post Author
      August 15, 2021 at 3:34 pm

      Hi,

      Yes, unfortunately, the runtime of the program can take days, especially in the case of a large number of documents. The recommendation is to run the report by using selection by company code and fiscal year. If this is not sufficient, they can schedule the reconciliation run by number intervals i.e. for each number range interval, and splitting it if there are many documents in a single interval.

       

      Kind regards,

       

      Martin

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      Author's profile photo Griselda bigurra zavala
      Griselda bigurra zavala
      August 16, 2021 at 3:51 pm

      Thanks Martin for your comments.

      Grace

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      Author's profile photo Krishna Prasad Balanagu
      Krishna Prasad Balanagu
      July 20, 2022 at 5:59 am

      very informative..thanks alot ..

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