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Author's profile photo Tammy Powlas

Financials: Advanced Financial Closing with SAP S/4HANA #SAP User Group Webcast Summary

This was a SAP User Group webcast from last year.

Please consider registering for this upcoming webcast:

February 4: Introduction to Planning in SAP Analytics Cloud

February 20: Use Search to Insight on Mobile Devices to Have Access to Information Faster

February 25: Multilingual Support for Geographic-Wide Engagement in SAP Analytics Cloud

The legal disclaimer applies that things in the future are subject to change.

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Source: SAP

In memory data base, enables analytics and transactional processing

Real time status is available at all times

Finance management is on the go, and wants to see status close at all times – available on mobile and desktop devices

This closing solution is a cloud solution, integrates with on-premise solution

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Many of us track year end close and month end close on spreadsheets

Many are complex, describing sequencing, but it doesn’t provide real time status and does not execute processes in your SAP system

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Repeatable tasks, automate tasks, use workflows so it works at optimal times

Collaboration with co-pilot

Monitoring (not want to look at outdated Excel file)

Ensure standard operating procedures are being followed

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Source: SAP

Benefits of closing the books “faster” are shown above

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Automation tool that “keeps everyone on track”

Documented for governance and compliance

Transparency with S/4HANA

Notifications for approval, built-in escalation rule

Template for close, that can be re-used

Deliver analytical views as part of the product

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Broader look at the process at bottom of above

Tasks need to be performed in certain order by several people

GR/IR tasks visible in finance close

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This is a role based finance closing process

Accounting expert creates template for close; use Fiori application to define tasks and watch over the process

Accountants see tasks they are responsible – notified of their tasks by notifications, Outlook reminders

Accounting Manager approves closing tasks

Head of Finance sees current status; has dedicated monitoring apps

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Source: SAP

Related Fiori apps are shown above

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Key part is setting up the template; some attributes valid for entire template, such as notification configuration

Store factory calendar

Different hierarchies supported

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Best practice content is provided, including relationships between tasks, interdependencies

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In an on-premise system you can add your own jobs/variants

Notes for manual tasks

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Attributes for a particular task are shown; depreciation posting run

Is an approval required? You decide at the task level

Users are associated for it – who is processor, who is responsible.

Task scheduling, start time, how long, what is the closing type (month end, etc)

This is like the header for the task

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Technical details are shown for task – which conditions job should be run, and what are the dependencies – predecessor and successor tasks

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You can make mass changes to the template

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End define phase by generating a task list

Process Entity Close

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App to close – accountant

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This is what the general ledger accountant sees

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Accounting manager to approve closing tasks, if set up that way

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KPI’s for the close, reporting for the close, can be filtered by company, etc.

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Financial close overview is shown above

Completion rate of close, where errors are, closing manager can see what is going on

Technical Details

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This is a closing hub solution

Quarterly releases; ship best practice content

Access to latest functionality in the cloud

Deploy in days; back end systems needs an SAP Cloud Connector; do not need to deploy additional software

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Configuration settings are shown above

Segregation of duties, privacy settings

Road map

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In 2020 – 3rd party scheduler integration is planned

Integrating RPA – so a bot can be started from closing, and execution of bot can be reported back

KPI balance sheet validation – compare fields in balance sheet – set threshold, if exceed, send alert

Steering – more best practice content for internal and external auditors

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Above shows plans for intelligent closing

Today GR/IR can be executed in the solution

Manual journal entries – robot can do uploads and bot can mark task completed

Link to slides can be found here

Link to recording is here

 

What do you think?

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      3 Comments
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      Author's profile photo Foivos Gkourogiannis
      Foivos Gkourogiannis

      Hello Tammy.

       

      This may be a very silly question, so I apologise in advance if that is the case.

      I am struggling to find any information related to backup and recovery for Advanced Financial Closing. Is there any chance you could point me to the right direction?

      Thank you!

      Foivos

      Author's profile photo Maximilian Koebler
      Maximilian Koebler

      Hello Foivos,

      thanks for reaching out.

      Does your question relate to Advanced Financial Closing (AFC) as part of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud stack, or the version, which is available as a standalone SAP BTP application since December 2020?

      You can find a blog about the Re-Platforming here.

      If you mean the SAP BTP version of AFC, then information about backups and disaster recovery can be found here.

      Best wishes,

      Max

      Author's profile photo Foivos Gkourogiannis
      Foivos Gkourogiannis

      Max thank you very much for your very prompt response and please accept my apologies for my delayed response.

      I was interested in the second option and the link you provided me with covers my question and for that I would like to thank you once more!

      Best Regards

      Foivos Gkourogiannis