SAP S/4HANA:

Finance Capability and Frequently Asked Questions

Nutan Deshpande
Capgemini
Session ID5239

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE CAPABILITY

Introduction
SAP S/4HANA, short for SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA, is
SAPs next-generation business suite. It is a new product fully
built on the most advanced in-memory platform today SAP
HANA and modern design principles with the SAP Fiori user
experience (UX).
SAP S/4HANA delivers massive simplifications (customer
adoption, data model, user experience, decision making,
business processes, and models) and innovations (Internet of
Things, Big Data, business networks, and mobile-first) to help
businesses run simple in a digital and networked economy.

SAP S/4HANA : FINANCE CAPABILITY

What are the key business benefits of SAP Accounting
empowered by S/4HANA?
As there is no limitation from pre-calculated aggregates
and due to the built-in harmonization of Financial and
managerial accounting, below are the key benefits:
Personalized reports on Finance and Operations
Drill-down to line item level for root cause analysis
Segmentation on the fly across multiple dimensions
Extensibility of data model
Immediate link between internal and external reporting
Reduced manual effort

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE CAPABILITY

How does SAP S/4HANA relate to SAP Simple Finance
powered by SAP HANA?
The SAP Simple Finance solution marked the first step in our SAP
S/4HANA road map for customers. The solution has demonstrated
the value of simplification (for example, no indexes, no aggregates,
and no redundancies) and instant insight in Finance. SAP S/4HANA,
on premise edition leverages the full scope of SAP Accounting
powered by SAP HANA included in SAP Simple Finance.
SAP S/4HANA, managed cloud edition is intended to leverage the
same scope. SAP S/4HANA, public cloud edition is planned to focus
on a selected scope of SAP Simple Finance in alignment with the
key requirements in finance.

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE CAPABILITY

What is a Simple Finance Add-on ?

SAP Accounting
powered by SAP HANA

SAP Cash Management

powered by SAP HANA

Integrated Business Planning

for Finance

Alternative in-memory
functionality for ERP customers

New product for

Group Cash Management

New capabilities and enhanced

integration for ERP and BPC

Business Suite on HANA

SAP HANA Platform

Aligned

Agile

Predictive

Single Source of Truth

Real time processes

Dynamic Planning and Analysis

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE CAPABILITY

Do you have examples of business use cases for Finance ?
Today

Before

A single source of truth with superior granularity for all

transactions and analytics to streamline and eliminate cycle
times and reconciliations of the data. Reconciliation becomes
inherent.

Separate systems and documents

driving complexity across finance
and a lot of manual reconciliation
efforts

Central journal to get a consolidated, real-time view of the

state of the business across all entities; this was simply not
possible before

Separate entries in each process.

Integration via reports

71% faster batch input processing in financial close

40% less posting corrections in financial close
400 hours less processing time at quarter-end close

Only extensive transactions and

batch processing, no real-time
simulation

Intercompany reconciliation on the fly for accelerating financial Intercompany reconciliation

close. Unlimited simulations apply historic data to
process involving multiple steps
continuously changing business context
70% less intercompany reconciliation time
Lengthy iterations eliminated in intercompany reconciliation

SAP S/4HANA: KEY IMPROVEMENTS

What are key improvements in Finance?

Improved Close Efficiency and Quality

Improved Profit Margin
Improved Daily Financial Reporting and Analysis
Simplified Asset Accounting
Optimized Receivables Reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
Improved Cash Management
Optimized Days Payable Outstanding, DPO
Improved Accuracy and Agility of planning
Reduced the risk of Fraud
Improved visibility and Reporting across multi-system landscapes
Holistically managed risk, and compliance to add business value

SAP S/4HANA FINANCE VALUE DRIVERS

Please state the main value drivers of each process area
Process Area

Value Drivers

SAP Accounting

SAP Accounting combines financial and management accounting as

well as profitability data into one universal journal. It abolishes
totals, indices, and other pre-defined aggregates, and relies on line
items as a single source of truth to provide an intuitive user
experience, reduce operational reporting efforts and accelerate
financial processes.

SAP Asset Accounting

New Fixed Asset Accounting in SAP S/4HANA Finance is integrated

based on the Universal Journal architecture and records data nonredundantly in one unique persistency. Multiple parallel documents
for all valuations are posted in real-time to ensure correct values
from the beginning

SAP Receivables
Management

SAP Receivables Management improves working capital and

financial health through real-time receivables data to enable
proactive assessment of customer credit risk, streamlines billing,
and prioritizes customer collections.

SAP Cash Management

SAP Cash Management provides global cash positions in real time

even in the presence of heterogeneous backend systems. New
analytical capabilities provide detailed analysis on forecasted cash
flows to bring greater levels of consistency to cash balances, cash
requirements, and liquidity strategies.

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE DESIGN

IMPROVEMENTS
What are the design improvements in Finance?
Motto: Take the best of all worlds (e.g. ledger, market segment, coding block etc.)

Secondary cost elements are G/L accounts

One line item table with full detail for all components
Data stored only once: no reconciliation needed by architecture
Reduction of memory footprint through elimination of redundancy.
Fast multi-dimensional reporting on the Universal Journal possible without
replicating data to BI.
If BI is in place anyway, only one single BI extractor needed (instead of many today)
Technical preparation done to enhance important structural capabilities of the
Financials solution (e.g. multi-GAAP , additional currencies)

SAP S/4HANA: UNIVERSAL JOURNAL

What is a universal Journal?
Universal journal is single repository of journal entries
across multiple applications without redundancy
This enables deeper instant insight across all dimensions,
easier extensibility and process optimizations for an
accelerated financial close

AP

GL

JV

CO

FA

ML

Custom

AR

COPA

Universal
Journal

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE CAPABILITY

Please explain Simple Finance architecture

The new journal entry consists of a header (table BKPF) and the respective items (table
ACDOCA)
There are rare cases, where entries in ACDOCA are written without a document header
(e.g. carry forward, corrections in migration). These entries do not represent standard
business processes.
Table ACDOCA contains all fields needed for G/L, CO, AA, ML, PA
Multi-GAAP capability through RLDNR dimension
6 digit field for line item numbering
23 digits for currency fields

SAP S/4HANA: UNIVERSAL JOURNAL

Please provide the architecture of Universal Journal
Architecture
Concept: Take the best of all
worlds (e.g. ledger, market
segment, coding block, etc.)
ONE line item table with full detail
for all applications - for instant
insight & extensibility
This replaces the logical
document of release 1.0.
Secondary cost elements are G/L
accounts.
Data stored only once: no
reconciliation needed by design
Reduction of memory footprint
through elimination of
redundancy.
Fast multi-dimensional reporting
possible without replicating data
to business warehouse (BW).
If BW is in place anyway, only one
single BI extractor needed
(instead of many today).

SAP S/4HANA: NEW ASSET ACCOUNTING

What are the key benefits in Asset accounting?

Flexibility concerning Leading Valuation

No more hard coupling of depreciation area 01

Only one Depreciation Area per Valuation necessary

No further depreciation areas (Delta areas) necessary to portray a parallel valuation

No restrictions to set up different account determinations in different valuations

Real-time postings per accounting principle/valuation

Common understanding of posted document
Posting to different periods possible (restriction: beginning/end of FY needs to be equal)

New transactions for accounting principle (depreciation area) specific documents

Always separate documents per accounting principle (FI-AA)

Post the values correctly right from the beginning, using multiple parallel documents

Smooth integration with Parallel Valuation of Cost of Goods Manufactured (COGM)

Parallel valuation of acquisition values immediately with the activation of an Asset under
Construction (AuC)

SAP S/4HANA: NEW ASSET ACCOUNTING

What are the New features in Asset accounting?
Removal of redundancies:
Reconciliation between G/L and AA is ensured by design!

No reconciliation-step in financial close needed anymore.

All non-statistical items are updated as Universal Journal Entries.
Reporting based on line items removal of totals

Depreciation in full detail

Depreciation posting per single asset
Reporting on any CO-object by single asset enabled

Fast close and Soft close

Plan values at real-time updated with every master data change and every asset

transaction
Speed up of depreciation run by a factor of 4,7
Posting run fully obsolete: real-time update of assets in all cases.

SAP S/4HANA: CASH MANAGEMENT

What are the New features in Cash Management?
Classic Cash Management is replaced by the new SAP Cash Management powered by SAP HANA.
Following areas have improved usability , new Fiori apps are available

Bank Account Management :

Bank master data transaction codes are replaced by new Fiori app "Manage Banks"
(BAM) Bank hierarchy based on bank, business partners Free-style bank, account groups
allow ad-hoc watch for
Cash Position / Liquidity forecast
Use the Cash Position Details app, Liquidity Forecast:
Data Integration: Bank Statement, Bank Statement Accounting
Memo Record No change in current process
Liquidity planner
Embedded Liquidity Plan with BPC/PAK (Planning Application Kit) and Design Studio UI
No ETL is needed. Automated liquidity forecast is integrated
Rolling Liquidity plan process, Automated forecast, Variance analysis
Cash Concentration Based on New Bank Account Management
Distributed Cash -Retrieve remote Liquidity Planner actual data into the Exposure Hub

SAP S/4HANA: INTEGRATED BUSINESS

PLANNING SAP BPC ON S4HANA
What are the features of Integrated Business Planning?

Embedded end-to-end planning process utilizes real time operational data from
ERP, eliminating redundancy / reconciliations between forecasting and operational
systems.

All data stored in a single table in memory allowing for various data forms,
volumes, and configurations at the desired level of granularity.

Complete planning app that supports plan development as well as the ability to
enter and report upon planned data.

Pre-delivered content designed to significantly reduce cost of implementation,

ongoing maintenance, and to support adaptation in lieu of full implementation of
plan/forecast capabilities.

SAP S/4HANA: INTEGRATED BUSINESS

PLANNING
What are the features of Integrated Business Planning?
S/4HANA Finance includes templates that provide support for:

Cost Center Planning

Internal Order Planning
Project Planning
Profit Center Planning
Cost of Sales Planning
P&L Planning
Market Segment Planning
Liquidity Planning
Balance Sheet Planning

S/4HANA Finance also includes:

Queries
Planning Functions
Sequences
Info-Objects
Info-Providers

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE MIGRATION

Please explain the high level migration steps
Preparation

Installation of
Financials
Add-on

Training on G/L in SAP Accounting

Blueprint for G/L configuration
Reconciliation, period-end close activities, reporting snap shots for comparison
Installation of the Financials Add-On
Creation of back-up tables
Reconciliation & Checks

Data Transfer *

Data transfer from classic G/L to G/L in SAP Accounting

Reconciliation & checks after data transfer

Data Migration

Migration of financial data (for GL/AP/AR/CO) due to dropped totals tables, etc.
Reconciliation & checks after migration

Post Processing

Cold partition for old index tables

Activation of GL of SAP Accounting and configuration for asset accounting
Reconciliation / comparison of financial KPIs
Process tests

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE REPORTING

What are the reporting improvements available?
Intuitive user experience
Example:
Post General Journal Entries
One Screen App for manual
postings to G/L accounts
Calculate taxes automatically
Add attachments and enter notes
to explain the reason for postings

SAP S/4HANA: FINANCE REPORTING

Drilldown Reporting - Example

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF JOURNAL ENTRIES

Drilldown Reporting - Example

REFERENCES

http://scn.sap.com/community/s4hana
http://s4hana.sapjourneymap.com
https://training.sap.com/shop/learninghub

FOLLOW US

Thank you for your time

Nutan.Deshpande@Capgemini.com
Follow us on

at @ASUG365

APPENDIX S/4HANA TECHNICAL CHANGES

Index tables removed

Aggregate tables removed

BSIS

Index for G/L Accounts

GLT0

General Ledger: Totals

BSAS

Index for G/L Accounts (Cleared Items)

GLT3

Summary Data Preparations for Consolidation

BSID

Index for Customers

FAGLFLEXT

New General Ledger: Totals

BSAD

Index for Customers (Cleared Items)

KNC1

Customer master (transaction figures)

BSIK

Index for Vendors

LFC1

Vendor master (transaction figures)

BSAK

Index for Vendors (Cleared Items)

KNC3

Customer master (special G/L transaction

figures)

BSIM

Index, Documents for Material

LFC3

Vendor master (special G/L transaction figures)

FAGLBSIS

Index for G/L Accounts New G/L

COSS

Cost Totals for Internal Postings

FAGLBSAS

Index for G/L Accounts New G/L

(Cleared Items)

COSP

Cost Totals for External Postings

MATERIAL LEDGER: TECHNICAL CHANGES WITH SIMPLE FINANCE 2.0

MLHD

MLIT

MLPP

MLPPF

MLCR

MLCRF

MLCD

CKMI1

BSIM

BKPF

ACDOCA

Usage of Material Ledger for parallel currencies

and parallel valuation purpose
Contents of tables MLIT, MLPP, MLPPF, MLCR,
MLCRF, MLCD, CKMI1, BSIM is stored in
ACDOCA. MLHD data is stored in BKPF
Compatibility views V_<TABLENAME> (e.g.
V_MLIT) are provided in order to reproduce
the old structures
Access to old data in tables still possible via the
views V_<TABLENAME>_ORI (e.g. V_MLIT_ORI)
MLHD, MLIT, MLPP, MLCR still keep prima nota
information, in case of manual price changes
or material debit/credit.
Usage of Material Ledger for Actual Costing
purpose
MLIT, MLIT, MLPP, MLPPF, MLCR, MLCRF,
MLCD are used as before Simple Finance 2.0

ASSET ACCOUNTING: TECHNICAL CHANGES WITH SIMPLE FINANCE 2.0

ANEK

ANEP

BKPF

ANEA

ANLP

ACDOCA

FAAT_DOC_IT
FAAT_PLAN_VALUES

ANLC

Actual items
Actual data of ANEK, ANEP, ANEA, ANLP, ANLC
is stored in table ACDOCA. ANEK data is stored
in BKPF.
Compatibility views FAAV_<TABLENAME> (e.g.
FAAV_ANEK) are provided in order to
reproduce the old structures.
Access to old data in tables still possible via the
views FAAV_<TABLENAME>_ORI (e.g.
FAAV_ANEA_ORI)
Non actual items
Statistical data (e.g. for tax purposes)
previously stored in ANEP, ANEA, ANLP, ANLC
is now stored in table FAAT_DOC_IT
Plan data previously stored in ANLP and ANLC
is now stored in FAAT_PLAN_VALUES

CONTROLLING (CO): TECHNICAL CHANGES WITH SIMPLE FINANCE 2.0

COBK

BKPF
COEP

ACDOCA
COSP_BAK

COSS_BAK

Actual Items
Contents of COEP,
Needed actual data for long running
orders/projects from COSP_BAK, COSS_BAK is
stored in table ACDOCA. Currently, COBK is
written as before. Target is to replace COBK
through BKPF.
Compatibility views V_<TABLENAME> (e.g.
V_COEP) are provided in order to reproduce
the old structures.
Access to old data in tables still possible via the
views V_<TABLENAME>_ORI (e.g.
V_COEP_ORI)
Non actual items
Value types other than 04 and 11 are still
stored in COEP, COSP_BAK, COSS_BAK

GENERAL LEDGER: TECHNICAL CHANGES WITH SIMPLE FINANCE 2.0

FAGLFLEXA

FAGLFLEXT

ZZ<CUST>T

ACDOCA
ZZ<CUST>A

<Industry>T

<Industry>A

Data of FAGLFLEXA, FAGLFLEXT is stored in table ACDOCA.

Data of New G/L industry tables for Public Sector and Joint
Venture Accounting <Industry>T, <Industry>A is stored in
table ACDOCA.
Data of customer created New G/L tables ZZ<CUST>T,
ZZ<CUST>A is stored in table ACDOCA
A compatibility view is provided for FAGLFLEXA.
FAGLFLEXT is defined as (compatibility) view.
Compatibility views for the New G/L industry tables are
provided: V_<Industry>A, V_<Industry>T
Compatibility Views are provided for customer created
New G/L tables. The views are numbered sequentially:
ZFGLV_GLTT_Cx and ZFGLV_GLSI_Cx, where x is a number.
Access to old data in tables still possible via the views
V_<TABLENAME>_ORI (e.g. V_FAGLFLEXA_ORI) .
The old data of FAGLFLEXT is stored in table
FAGLFLEXT_BCK
Customers that want to access old data in customer
defined New G/L tables have to create views in the data
dictionary. As template, V_FAGLFLEXA_ORI can be used