Introduction to the Organizational Structure and G/L Account Master Data Maintenance
Join Kevin and his colleagues Ben and Mary in their journey to gain a better understanding of organizational structure and G/L Account master data maintenance. Kevin is responsible for the maintenance of G/L Accounts that are used in the German Company Code (1010) and the U.S. Company Code (1710). Choose the PLAY button below to begin!
Chart of Accounts, General Ledger, Company Code, Controlling Area and Their Relationship
In SAP S/4HANA there's a relationship between Company Code, General Ledger, Chart of Accounts and Controlling Area.
All financial transactions are recorded on the level of a Company Code in order to produce financial reports for reporting purposes. Thus, the Company Code is one of the most important organizational objects within Financial Accounting (FI) and must be specified for every financial transaction.
A Chart of accounts is a list of all G/L accounts that are available for the Company Codes that are assigned to the Chart of Accounts. A General Ledger is a subset of G/L accounts from the Chart of Accounts that is used in a Company Code. So it may occur that a G/L Account exists in a Chart of Accounts, but does not belong to the General Ledger of a Company Code.
The Controlling Area is an organizational object that is part of the Controlling (CO) module and is used for internal management accounting purposes, managing costs and revenue. No balance sheet accounts are used in Controlling. There is a very close relationship between FI and CO as many of the postings in CO originate from FI. A Controlling Area may contain one or more Company Codes, which enables management of costs and revenue across the Company Code level. Company Codes within a Controlling Area must all use the same operational chart of accounts and fiscal year variant, but can operate in different currencies, if required.
Roll over each hotspot on the figure below to learn about the relationship between Chart of Accounts, General Ledger, Company Code and Controlling Area.
Charts of Accounts Level and Company Code Level of a G/L Account
In order to be able to post to a G/L account in a Company Code, the G/L Account must belong to the General Ledger of the Company Code. So besides the Chart of Accounts specific information (which is valid across Company Codes), also Company Code specific information needs to be maintained in the G/L Account master record. Company Code settings of a G/L Account may differ for the Company Codes that are using a G/L Account.
