Parallel Accounting in Asset Accounting

Different accounting principles or valuation are mapped in separate ledgers, as in new General Ledger Accounting. In general, the same accounts are used in the ledgers.

The depreciation areas have equal status. Separate documents are posted for each accounting principle or valuation.

For each accounting principle or valuation, the system posts the correct values in real time. The values that are posted are full values and not delta values.

For each valuation, there is always just one depreciation area that posts to the general ledger in real time and manages APC. For this leading depreciation area, choose the posting option Area Posts in Realtime. This applies both for the leading valuation and for all parallel valuations. You can choose which of these depreciation areas, which post to the general ledger, posts to the leading ledger.

One or more depreciation areas represent a valuation. You must assign an accounting principle uniquely to all depreciation of a valuation. For each valuation, the accounting principle has to be assigned to a separate ledger group. The ledgers of these ledger groups are not allowed to overlap.

The following steps outline the ledger approach from Accounting Principle to Ledger Group:

1. Assign the accounting principle to the new depreciation area in Customizing for Financial Accounting under Asset Accounting→General Valuation→Depreciation Areas→Define Depreciation Areas.

2. Assign the ledger group to the accounting principles in Customizing for Financial Accounting under Ledgers→Parallel Accounting→Assign Accounting Principle to Ledger Groups.

3. Define a new ledger group in Customizing for Financial Accounting under Financial Accounting Global Settings→Ledgers→Ledger→Define Ledger Group.

For each valuation, there is always just one depreciation area that posts to the general ledger in real time and manages APC. The following applies for these posting depreciation areas:

• For the leading valuation, choose the posting option Area Posts in Realtime.
• For the parallel valuations, choose the posting option Area Posts APC Immediately, Depreciation Periodically.

You can choose which of these depreciation areas that post to the general ledger represent the leading valuation.

The following steps outline the account approach from Accounting Principle to Ledger Group:

1. Assign the accounting principle to the new depreciation area in Customizing for Financial Accounting under Asset Accounting→General Valuation→Depreciation Areas→Define Depreciation Areas.

2. Assign the ledger group to the accounting principles in Customizing for Financial Accounting under Ledgers→Parallel Accounting→Assign Accounting Principle to Ledger Groups.

3. Define a new ledger group in Customizing for Financial Accounting under Financial Accounting Global Settings→Ledgers→Ledger→Define Ledger Group.

You represent different valuations on different accounts within the same general ledger. This means that you have to create the same set of accounts again for each parallel valuation.

You may have to add a digit to your chart of accounts in FI.

You need two completely different balance sheets and profit and loss (P&L) structures in FI.

Separate documents are posted for each accounting principle or valuation.

For each accounting principle or valuation, the system posts the correct values in real time. The values that are posted are always full values and not delta values.

One or more depreciation areas represent a valuation. You must assign an accounting principle uniquely to all depreciation areas of a valuation. For each valuation, the accounting principle has to be assigned to a separate ledger group. These ledger groups must always contain the leading ledger as the representative ledger.

In Asset Accounting, the different accounting principles differ primarily in the following ways:

• Rules regarding what values are capitalized:

  If you have assets in your company that are capitalized only according to some valuations, but not according to all valuations, you are only allowed to manage those depreciation areas in the asset master record in which the asset is actually capitalized (called a unilateral asset).

  1. We recommend that you use separate asset classes for objects that are not managed as assets in all accounting principles. (Or as an alternative, you can deactivate individual depreciation areas directly in the asset master record).

  2. If you follow the recommendation in step 1, deactivate those depreciation areas in the asset class that represent an accounting principle that does not require capitalization of the asset in Customizing for Asset Accounting under General Valuation→Determine Depreciation Areas in the Asset Class.

  3. For those depreciation areas that you have deactivated, maintain the capitalization differences/nonoperating expense account in Customizing for Asset Accounting under Integration with General Ledger Accounting→Assign G/L Accounts, field KTNAIB.

• Rules regarding valuation:
  • Valuation at capitalization:

    For the acquisition posting, you might have to take different amounts into account for different accounting principles.

    As the first step, you enter the vendor invoice and capitalize the full amount for all relevant accounting principles. As the second step, you enter an asset-specific credit memo that is only valid for one accounting principle. This causes the amount of the capitalization to be cleared for this accounting principle and posted directly to expense.

  • Exception: Capitalization of assets produced in-house:

    For capitalizing assets produced in-house, you can use the function for determination of capitalization values in Investment Management (IM). Using this function, you can specify by depreciation area the percentage to be capitalized and the percentage to be posted to non-operating expenses when investment measures are settled.

    You can use the preliminary settlement to settle cost items that are not to be capitalized, for example to cost centers. You can then no longer settle these preliminary-settled values to the asset or to the asset under construction (AuC). In all depreciation areas, these non-capitalized values are shown as costs.

    Note

    From the point of view of Controlling, there must be a cost-accounting depreciation area that is completely settled. This ensures that all values remaining after preliminary settlement are always completely capitalized for Controlling.

    Accounting-principle-specific documents are generated for each valuation. In the case of the ledger approach, these documents are posted to separate ledgers. In the case of the accounts approach, these documents are posted to parallel account sets within the same ledger of General Ledger Accounting.

    The depreciation area that represents the leading valuation view must always exist on the asset under construction. You cannot deactivate this depreciation area.

  • Depreciation:

    For each depreciation area – that is, for each accounting principle – you define specific depreciation rules, useful life, and so on, in Customizing. The depreciation is then calculated in parallel for each depreciation area using the depreciation rules that you have defined, and is posted separately for each depreciation area. The postings are made either to parallel ledgers or additional accounts, depending on whether you use the ledger approach or the accounts approach.