Working with Review Booklets

Frequently, business users need to work with multiple reports at the same time, comparing information and applying filters that affect all reports simultaneously. Review Booklets combine multiple reports into a collection of easy-to-navigate pages that provide the business user with all the information they need in one place.

As with all tools of SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics, Review Booklets connect to live data from the underlying transaction and master data tables.

The data sources of a Review Booklet are analytical queries that sit at the top of the virtual data model. Review Booklets include many analysis functions that are found in the Multidimensional Analysis app such a cross-tabs, hierarchies and drill-downs that are powered by analytical queries. Review Booklets provide a way to bring together multiple analytical queries into one collection instead of opening an analytical query one-by-one. It might help to compare a Review Booklet with a workbook used in Excel, where multiple results sets can be combined across worksheets within a workbook. But the key difference is that the data in a Review Booklet is always sourced from the live tables of SAP S/4HANA and not stored locally where it could easily become outdated.

SAP provide Review Booklets out-of-the-box for a fast start but these can be adapted by users.

SAP delivered the first Review Booklet with SAP S/4HANA Cloud. It has the name Group Financial Statements. This Review Booklet presents an aggregated view of financial statements by combining predefined pages grouped under the main areas of:

• Consolidated Balance Sheet
• Profit & Loss Statement
• Cash Flow Statement
• Statement of Changes in Equity

This collection of pages forms a Review Booklet which can be used to carry out a comprehensive financial review.

Review Booklets provide intuitive controls to support navigation. Firstly, results are organized at the top level by Page Groups which represent a business topic.

Under each Page Group is one or more Pages that provide a way to sub-divide the topic.

Pages can have different types of layouts. For example, a Page might display a single pivot table (cross-tab), as we see in the example above, or a Page can display a pivot table and also a chart, side-by-side. And finally, a Page can also include more than one result set side-by-side as we see in the very first example (scroll up and notice Assets and Liability and Equity side-by-side).

You can adjust the columns and rows in the Page to display your data in various ways.

You use a drop-down selector to choose the most popular dimensions and combination of dimensions to display in the Rows.

You can also add extra dimensions to the results using the option Add Dimension.

The structures in the columns can be changed by using the Columns drop-down selector. Structures are predefined combinations of restricted measures and provide the business user with helpful layouts such as Closing Period vs. Previous Period.

Global filters apply to all business pages in the Review Booklet. You set the filter values in the filter bar. Use the option Adapt Filters to add or remove filters from the filter toolbar.

Page filters only apply to a specific page. Some variables for page filters 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.

A Review Booklet reuses the side toolbar from the Fiori Multi Dimensional Analysis app. This allows the business user to customize the Review Booklet for their own purposes and even to export the results to Excel.

The layout panel has the following components:

• Builder Pane: Here you can see the information that you've selected under Available Objects. It's displayed in your results, either as a row or as a column.
• Available Objects: Here you choose which type of measure, structure, and dimension you want to display in your results by selecting or deselecting it.

From your review booklet, you can navigate to other areas and apps. This is useful when you need explore more deeply, a specific value in the Review Booklet.

The Review Booklet settings - for example, the global filters and page filters - are automatically applied to the app that you navigate to.

After you apply filters and select the rows, columns, and dimensions that you want, you can then save the pages as a view. Saved views can then be selected to reload all the pages in the review booklet as you had saved them. Depending on your authorization, you may be able to save a view as Public so that other users can use it as well.

To save a view, choose the drop-down list of views and select Save As. When you save the view, you can also select Set as Default so that it appears by default every time you enter the app.

You can also manage views by selecting Manage from the drop-down list of views. Here, you can view the details of views, rename them, set them as default, and delete them.

Launch the video below to learn how to navigate a Review Booklet.