SAP S/4HANA 2021 Release is available now. In this blog i will share some features related to SAP Central Finance which are released as part of S/4HANA 2021 release (Nov 2021). Central Finance (CFIN) is still evolving product which still does not have lot of required features and customers go for custom solution based on the scope of project and current ERP system release.
Some core features released specific to CFIN with 2021 are:
SAP Application Interface Framework (AIF)
- AIF is the core component of error handling when data replication in CFIN is talked about and till now it was more of a standard component.
- With 2021 now error messages can be distributed to people or group of people based on nature of error like master data errors, Configuration error and even master data errors can be classified in to vendors, customers, GL accounts etc. Previously this was done using enhancements
- FICO data Replication can be activated or deactivated by company code. In few of my projects I have used the system ID and company code as one of the identifier of error message but start/stop of replication by company code from AIF is really a feature adding flexibility to the bucket
Replication of Data
- Individual Activity rates can be replicated via RFC connection
- Individual Material Cost Estimate can be replicated via RFC connection
(important to note that Individual replication of cost objects and CO documents via RFC was already part of the solution)
- App which provides overview of the postings stuck in AIF due to errors.
- Data Analysis fiori app – with this app the list of pending journal entries for which a temporary posting does not yet exist can be analysed. Also documents can be grouped by company codes.
source – SAP
Logistics Information from Non-SAP ERP
CFIN had a features of AVL (Accounting view of Logistics Information) where PO, SO, Supplier Invoice and Customer invoices were replicated from ECC and were copied to the special AVL tables. This resulted in the data sourcing and same data can be combined with financial data in ACDOCA for analysis purposes as well as for accruals. With 2021 this feature is extended to the Non-SAP ERPs as well. Now the PO, SO etc data from Oracle, dynamics etc can also be replicated providing better capabilities to the CFIN customer for accruals and analysis.
Read here about AVL existing capabilities- CLICK HERE
Navigation between systems
- Till now it was ECC document number was available in CFIN document header as source document number but now CFIN document number is available in ECC
- Navigate from the Process Receivables app in central finance to the billing document display in order to display or reprint the PDF billing document
- Navigation between the universal journal entry display in the central finance system to a purchase order display based on SAP Fiori in the source system
Central Payment process changes
- Central Payment can be activated for Non-SAP systems by company code just like SAP ECC systems
- Sync of the clearing status of a downpayment along with the corresponding sales quantity contract in the source system is supported
- Outgoing check process for open items loaded before activating central payment is supported now
Accounts to Ledger conversion (Parallel Accounting)
This is one of the main feature which is introduced as a functional change. Most of the customers were doing 100% custom solution for this. In ECC systems where ledgers were not used and either accounts groups or GL account number ranges were used to classify the posting for different reporting purposes like Local, IFRS etc.
In SAP S/4HANA (of course in New GL in ECC as well) this is catered via ledger solution – Leading & Non-Leading ledger. Parallel Accounting: Account- to Ledger-Based Solution makes it possible to connect a source system that uses parallel accounting with accounts to a Central Finance system which uses parallel accounting using ledgers.
In all CFIN projects this was purely a custom solution.Now additional configuration needs to be done where we have to provide the combination of Chart of Accounts + GL Accounts and classify the entry as to which ledger group does it belong in CFIN. Range can also be assigned For example:
ZCOA + 200000 = 0L
ZCOA + 799999 = 1L
ZCOA + (from) 300000 – (to) 399999 = 0L
With this system will determine the ledgers based on the GL accounts used in postings.The interval of GL Accounts explained above should not overlap and one GL can only be mapped to one Ledger Group.
Mixed postings (same posting having GL account belonging to multiple Ledger Group) are still not supported and will require enhancement.
This is just a start of 2021 release and I hope more will come in S/4HANA 2021 FPS1 and subsequent. Stay tuned and keep learning and sharing..Also refer the SAP note – 2184567 (FAQs – SAP Central Finance)
SAP Help for Central Finance – CLICK HERE
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