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Fabian Bentz
Blog post courtesy of ERPfixers.
This presentation with Janet Salmon, Chief Product Owner Management Accounting at SAP, will cover:
Watch now!
Q&A QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JANET SALMON.
Q: Do we need to convert to ML before moving to S/4 HANA?
A: No you do not. The conversion to ML will take place automatically as you convert to S/4HANA. However, if you want to add valuation views (such as introducing group valuation) you should do that prior to converting to S/4HANA.
Q: When we move to S/4 HANA, and we have custom reports will we need to modify the reports to map to the new tablets or are there new compatibility views?
A: No Compatibility views for Actual Costing.
Q: If we move to S/4 HANA and we want to activate group valuation, do we need to do an SLO beforehand or can we convert automatically when we go to S/4 HANA?
A: It is best to do the SLO conversion in your local system and then migrate. It is on the roadmap to activate Group Valuation when you convert to S/4 HANA, but there is not yet a scheduled delivery date for such tools.
Q: Since there are now 8 currencies in the Universal Journal, does that mean that we can combine each of these currencies with any of the valuation views?
A: In principle, yes. You have always had the choice of keeping group valuation in group currency (31) or local currency (11) and some customers are looking at keeping group valuation in functional area currency. Beware however that Actual Costing currently only handles three currencies and any additional currencies will be converted on the fly at the time of the posting run.
Q: Will the Actual Costing have the availability to integrate FIFO valuation via using an alternative valuation method thru config using the “Key Figure Scheme” defining an External ending Inventory Valuation ….using FIFO.
A: You can set up an alternative valuation run that reads FIFO values or enter values for valuation in table CKMLPR_EB.
Q: Do we have information by storage location?
A: “In the Material tables you do, but no, Actual Costing does not split by storage location, only by Procurement alternative, and type of stock.
Q: Can we turn on Transfer Pricing & Multiple Valuations AFTER an S/4 Conversion / Migration?
A: At the moment, no. We get a lot of questions about this, but right now you need to do the SLO first and then migrate
Q: Please repeat OSS note numbers again.
A: You can always find OSS notes relating to the S/4 conversion by searching S4TWL. See https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2267834, https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2332591, https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2354768 and https://launchpad.support.sap.com/#/notes/2337383
Q: As ML will be active for all company codes, will CKM3N be available for units without actual cost?
A: If units do not have actual cost, the Information will exist in CKM3N but you will not have the cost component split and no quantity structure being updated.
Q: Having calculated the IC Profit does SAP provide any support for deferred tax calculation on Profit in Transfer Price till the goods are sold to 3rd party.
Q: I assume the IC profit can only be eliminated if the affiliate entities are on the same instance of SAP, correct?
A: At the moment, the requirement for multilevel Actual Costing is that all entities are on the same instance. Central Finance can be used, to bring the financials into a single instance, but at the moment, you cannot eliminate IC profit if the entities are on different instances.
Q: When converting to S4 Hana, only the current year, plus the previous year, plus Dec of the year before that is migrated to S4, why only those periods?
A: That sounds like a Central Finance conversion, where only data from the most recent years is included in the initial load. If it is a Universal Journal conversion it should convert all the history (every document on the system).
Q: If my consolidation tool is BPC where the elimination occurs, can the group currency in S/4 incorporate these eliminations from BPC?
A: Elimination will happen in the consolidation tool. Going forward SAP working out what you can do locally versus in the consolidation tool. There is movement in this area to determine where you can do consolidation. The difference between a value chain consolidation and a typical legal consolidation is that with Group Valuation you are looking at elimination on a very granular material by material level.
Q: Is there any tool today or on the roadmap that helps drive transfer pricing determination?
A: For the actual calculation for transfer prices, at the moment there is no tool on the Roadmap. You would need to use a separate tool for this. Things might change but not at the moment.
Q: We produce aircraft, we activated ML-ACT but company is thinking on deactivate ACT because of the complexity, specifically on the accounting side. What is your recommendation? Is going to be less complex on HANA?
A: We would need to look at the situation specifically as it requires a little more information to understand the requirement better. It is hard to make a generalization without understanding the business. It should be easier because everything is on one table, but we need more information.
Q: Has any move been made to make inventory issued to vendor or inventory issued to customer non-plant specific?
A: Not that I know of. But we may need more background of the requirement.
Q: Is GAAP conversion inbuilt (i.e. IFRS/ Global GAAP vs Local GAAP views)?
A: You can add additional ledgers retrospectively now (subsequent implementation of an additional accounting principle).
Janet Salmon is the Chief Product Manager for Management Accounting at SAP SE in Germany and specializes in the CO modules. She has worked to drive new developments to bring together Financial Accounting and Controlling in SAP S/4HANA Finance. Janet is the author of First Steps in SAP S/4HANA Finance and SAP HANA for ERP Financials.
