Analyzing Reporting Data in Finance

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to launch and Navigate the Financial Statements Review Booklet

Introduction to the Financial Statements Review Booklet

Often, you need to work with multiple reports simultaneously and compare information based on the same filter criteria for all reports. Review Booklets combine multiple reports into a collection of easy-to-navigate business pages that offer you all the information you need in one place.

The app Financial Statements Review Booklet presents financial statements by combining predefined business pages grouped under the main areas of Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss, Cash Flow Statement – Indirect Method for IFRS, and Statement of Changes.

A reporting expert introduces Carlo to the Financial Statements Review Booklet in the following video.

Navigation in the Financial Statements Review Booklet

Business Page Groups

The Financial Statement Review Booklet provides intuitive controls to support navigation. The results are organized at the top level by the following Business Page Groups, which represent the business topic:

  • All Accounts
  • Balance Sheet
  • Profit & Loss
  • Cash Flow Statement - Indirect Method for IFRS
  • Statement of Changes

Balance Sheet page comparing current and prior fiscal periods. Shows a hierarchical account structure with FSV item codes and descriptions, split into Assets and Liabilities. Columns include period balance, comparison balance, absolute difference, and percentage difference.

Business Pages, Rows, and Columns Display Options

The image shows the Balance Sheet – Split View page, with a dropdown menu that displays row and column display options. The menu includes reporting-level options such as FSV Item, FSV Item with Functional Area, FSV Item with GL Account, and GL Account / Trial Balance, as well as comparison-type options such as Reporting Year vs. Comparison Year.

Under each Business Page Group is one or more Business Pages that provide a way to subdivide the topic.

The columns and rows on the Business Page can be adjusted to display your data in various ways.

A drop-down selector is used to choose the most popular dimensions and their combinations for the rows.

Side Panel - Page Filter and Formatting

The left panel displays Page Filters, allowing users to select dimensions and transfer dimension filters, with Profit Center as an example. The right panel shows Formatting options, including table properties such as template selection, alternating rows, wrap text, scale/unit/currency position, number format, and conditional formatting. Both panels feature navigation icons on the right side.

The side panel allows the business user to customize the Review Booklet for their own purposes and even to export the results to Excel.

Page Filters

Page filters apply only to a specific business page and its underlying data provider. Some page filter variables are already derived based on your selection of global filters. You can display them in the side panel. In addition, you can apply page filters for specific dimensions in the report.

Formatting

From the Side Panel, using the Formatting functionalities, you can select templates and configure the appearance of numbers as well as conditional formatting rules.

Templates:

You can choose from various templates to visualize your values. The screenshot above shows, for example, the default template "Financials".

Number Format:

First, decide which measures you want to customize the formatting for. You can either customize all measures or customize individual measures. Then you customize the scale and scale format, and choose the number of decimal places, and the sign.

Conditional Formatting:

If you want to highlight specific information, you can create Conditional Formatting rules. Conditional formatting covers several options, including thresholds and assigned colors. You can also save your conditional formatting as part of a private or public view.

Side Panel - Layout

he image displays a layout builder interface with two main panels: Available Objects on the left, listing selectable measures and dimensions, and Builder on the right, where FSV Item is set as a row and several measures, including Period Balance 001 - 012 2025, Comparison Period Balance, Difference in Amount, and Difference in % are set as columns.

From the Side Panel using the Layout functionalities, you can also create calculations based on the measures of your data source and add them to your table.

In the Measures section of the Available Objects list, click Add Calculation to create formulas by adding functions, operators, and conditional operators.

Side Panel - Business Insights

The Business Insights interface displays a search field at the top, followed by a Recommended section listing two options: Summarize and Compare, and Identify Highest Differences.

You can create an AI-generated analysis and summary of your data. Depending on your business role, you can use these AI features to quickly interpret and efficiently analyze data in review booklets.

The figure above shows how the AI-assisted Business Insights feature looks like in the Financial Statements Review Booklet.

On the relevant page for which you want to have data analyzed, choose the Business Insights button on the side panel. You can then select the following quick actions to analyze and summarize the data under various aspects:

  • Summarize and Compare

    Identify the highest differences between the compared periods at the top level.

  • Identify Highest Differences

    Identify the top 3 highest differences between the compared periods on the Financial Statement Version item level.

Summary

  • Navigate financial statements using intuitive page groups, customizable pages, and flexible row/column options.

  • Leverage AI-powered Business Insights to quickly summarize and interpret financial data.

  • Use the side panel to apply page filters, select templates, and format numbers and conditional rules.

Learning

SAP FacebookSAP YoutubeSAP LinkedIn