Creating Versions

Watch the following video to learn about the use case for version stacks at ABC Corporation.

At ABC Corporation, you need to restate prior-year data because of accounting changes. You also need to record multiple group currencies for reporting purposes. To meet these requirements, you can use a version stack made up of the following:

• Standard:  This is the main (default) version. A standard version has no reference version. A default version can store data in the local currency, group currency, transaction currency, and quantity.
• Extension: An extension version has a reference version and has the same group currency as its reference version. From a technical perspective, it only records the delta amount as compared to the reference version.
• Group currency extension: A group currency extension version has a reference version. It has a different group currency than the reference version. Its reference version must be a standard version.

  In our business scenario, the extension version is needed to restate historical data due to an accounting change. The group currency extension is needed to provide an additional group currency in USD.

When you run consolidation tasks in the monitors, the consolidation version is based on your global parameters. Similarly, when you configure group reporting, the system displays your global parameters version in the configuration screens. In the following example, you can see that version S10 is selected in the global parameters:

As a result, version S10 appears in the header of the Change View "Global System Settings": Details screen (along with the consolidation chart of accounts and period / year). The global parameter values that appear in the header of configuration screens are for informational purposes only. However, when performing version-dependent configuration, it is essential that your global parameters be set to the version that you are working with. For example:

• The assignment of exchange rate indicator to exchange rate type.
• The assignment of documents types to tasks.
• The assignment of task groups to versions.

For example, when you assign a document type to a task for version S10, you must select S10 in your global parameters first.

At ABC Corporation, you’re creating your standard version.

To get started, you create a standard version by copying from another version as shown in the following image:

To copy a version, go to Create Version from Reference Version in Group Reporting Configuration. To create a new version, provide the following:

• Template Version: The version you want to copy from.
• Target Version: The version you want to create.
• Test Run
• Version Type: Select Standard.
• Reference Version: Standard versions don’t have reference versions.
• Group Currency: Declare the group currency for the version (in this example EUR).
• Run Mode: The run mode determines how tasks for the versions are processed in the data monitor and consolidation monitor. Standard versions must have the run mode Manual Run.
• Allow LC, TC, Qty Changes: This option determines whether amounts are to be stored in local currency, transaction currency, and quantity. This option is only available for extension versions and group currency extension versions.
• FY Variant: The fiscal year variant (FYV) is used to define periods, such as the number of periods in a year, period texts, and period definitions. The FYV in the version needs to match the FYV of the company code for an integrated consolidation unit.

When you execute the copy, there's an informational message: Documents aren’t auto-reversed in periods greater than 12. The automatic reversal settings defined for document types differ for periods 13 and above. For example: Postings on period 12 are not automatically reversed in period 13. Automatic reversal of documents posted in period 12–16 are posted in period 1 of the next year.

After you create a version, you can view it from Define Versions in Group Reporting Configuration:

In the preceding image, the standard version contains the values selected when it was copied. Also, the following fields can be configured:

• Preparation Ledger: Select an accounting ledger to be used as a group reporting preparation ledger.
• Group Currency Source: This is the source currency in accounting. It updates the target group currency in group reporting.
• Use Plan Data Integration: Specifies that the current consolidation version is used for the consolidation of plan data. Use these options if you want to release plan data from plan data line items (ACDOCP table) into group reporting.
• Source Category: This is the source category in ACDOCP. This setting is only relevant if you select Use Plan Data Integration.

In the following image, the S10 version has a special version (Y11 - Actual @ Budget Rates) for Exchange Rates. As a result, when currency translation is run in the data monitor for version S10, the exchange rate type will be AVG1. In the exchange rate table, AVG1 contains budget exchange rates.

Before you create an extension version, you need to know if it will be used to run the monitors or if it will be run automatically based on its reference version. And, you need to know what data to store for the extension version.

In our business scenario, we need an extension version that can be used to run the data and consolidation monitors. It also needs to allow postings in local currency.

To create an extension version, you copy from another version. To copy a version, go to Create Version from Reference Version in Group Reporting Configuration. In the following image, extension version E10 is being copied from template version S10:

• Version Type: Extension
• Reference Version: A reference version can be a standard version, group currency extension version, or another extension version.
• Group Currency: For an extension version, group currency must be the same as the underlying standard version.
• Run Mode:
  • Manual Run:
    • You can run the data and consolidation monitor for manual extension versions.
    • You can book a group journal exclusively to manual extension versions.
    • You can't book a group journal to the standard and manual extension version at the same time.
  • Automatic Run:
    • You can't run the data and consolidation monitor for automatic extension versions.
    • You can book a group journal exclusively to automatic extension versions.
    • You can book a group journal to the standard and automatic extension versions at the same time.
• Allow LC, TC, Qty Changes: By default, the extension version only stores data in group currency. However, you can select this option when creating an extension version to allow it to store data in local currency, transaction currency, quantity, and group currency.
• FY Variant: The fiscal year variant (FY variant) must be the same as the referenced version.

After you create an extension version, you can view it from Define Versions in Group Reporting Configuration:

In the preceding image, the extension version contains the values selected during the copy step. In addition, the following fields can be configured:

• Preparation Ledger: The extension version must have the same preparation ledger as the referenced version.
• Group Currency Source: This setting isn’t relevant for extension versions.
• Use Plan Data Integration: This setting isn't relevant for extension versions.
• Special Versions: Special versions are available for extension versions when needed.