Release of SAP Activate Roadmap for SAP S/4HANA for Central Finance

May 6th Release Notes

I am happy to announce the first update to the SAP Activate for SAP S/4HANA for central finance roadmap. This update contains the addition of new deliverables, tasks, and accelerators across the various phases.

In the Discover phase, a new accelerator discusses the value that Group Reporting in Central Finance brings and the integration between them.

A new deliverable is added to the Prepare phase that provides guidance on how different Central Finance roll out options can follow various strategies such as an iterative versus big bang approach.  The accelerator also provides information on a milestone-based approach and the typical waves that are employed.

Multiple additions are included in the Explore phase such as a new accelerators for intercompany scenarios in Central Finance, sizing guidelines, and document split. Furthermore, a new task for conducting a Joint Venture Accounting with Central Finance workshop has been added.

Finally, new accelerators are available for the Realize phase that focus on the Drop & Reload procedure and considerations for performing financial validation after initial load.

September 3, 2020 Release Notes

I am pleased to announce the release of the initial version of SAP Activate for SAP S/4HANA for central finance (Central Finance).  Over 100+ SAP colleagues contributed to this roadmap with expertise in Finance, SAP Landscape Transformation (SLT), SAP Application Interface Framework (AIF), User Experience, and Development. As part of the Roadmap, 35 unique and new accelerators were created and lessons were gathered from 25+ projects and embedded into the Roadmap. The output is a prescriptive methodology to help you with your Central Finance implementation projects.

The Roadmap is a one stop shop that provides end to end visibility of the information needed prior to starting your Central Finance Project Implementation. The Roadmap is divided into Phases and the Deliverables or Activities can be viewed per phase.

S/4HANA for central finance – Version 20Q3

1. Discover 

The Discover phase focuses on understanding the value of both SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA for central finance. The output from the suggested validation and scoping workshop serves as an input into the subsequent phase for determining the Central Finance strategy, vision, business and IT objectives, and use cases for Central Finance.

2. Prepare 

During the Prepare phase, the overall strategy and vision for Central Finance is established along with defining use cases and prioritizing them. Additionally, this is an ideal time to begin enabling the project team to ensure workshops in the Explore phase are as productive as possible.

3. Explore 

The Explore phase is divided into three distinct parts: scope definition, workshops, and strategy. In scope definition, data profiling for both SAP and non-SAP systems is required to identify the master data objects in scope. The workshops cover a wide range of topics from Enterprise Structure to master data to SLT setup and user experience. Finally, the strategy from the Prepare phase is refined and developed into specific topics such as Master Data and Test strategy.

4. Realize 

In the Realize phase, the configuration is executed along with the various test cycles (unit, integration, and user acceptance). Troubleshooting guides should be started in this phase and carried forward to the Deploy and Run phases.

5. Deploy & Run 

Finally, production cutover occurs in the Deploy phase followed by steady state operations in the Run phase.

This roadmap will be updated with each release of SAP S/4HANA for central finance along with the continual creation of accelerators. I invite you to post any feedback, ideas, or tell us how this content was helpful for your project.