Explaining Additional Master Data, Custom Fields and Custom Attributes

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Explain the concept of additional master data for consolidation fields.
  • Outline the use of custom fields in SAP S/4 HANA Finance for group reporting.
  • Describe the use of consolidation unit attributes and financial statement item attributes.

Additional Master Data, Custom Fields and Custom Attributes

Additional Master Data

With the Define Master Data for Consolidation Fields app, you can define master data for consolidation-specific fields such as business area, segment, profit center, and customer group, in addition to viewing the standard master data available from general ledger accounting. Doing so, you can support the consolidation process and produce more insightful analysis reports.

In the figure above:

  1. Profit center has 6 member IDs that are consolidation only representing an external (non-SAP S/4HANA) profit center.
  2. Profit center has 1009 member IDs from normal SAP S/4HANA profit center master data tables.

Note

All 1015 records can be posted to via group journals or flexible uploads.

Custom Fields

In addition to the standard fields provided in ACDOCU business users very often need to create custom fields and integrate them into posting and reporting interfaces.

The custom field is automatically available in several processes and apps such as:​

  • Post Group Journal Entries​

  • Flexible Upload of Reported Financial Data​

  • Reported Financial Data for Group Reporting - Bulk Import and Update​

  • Release Universal Journals​

  • Define Validation Rules​

  • Define Selection

The main consolidation process also supports custom fields:

When financial data include values on custom fields, these values are processed by the consolidation features as described in columns 2 - Values on Custom Fields are kept in the posted documents and 3 - Values on Custom Fields are not kept in the posted documents of the following table:

FeaturesValues on Custom Fields are kept in the posted documentsValues on Custom Fields are not kept in the posted documentsExtended Fields can be included in the Selection Objects as part of the method definition
Calculation of net income X 
Currency translationX no
ReclassificationX yes
Preparation for consolidaton group changesX  
Balance carry forwardX  
Activity-based consolidation of investmentsXXno

When SelectionObjects are used by consolidation functions to select data, column 4 - Fields can be included in the Selection Objects as part of the method definition indicates whether custom fields can be included in these Selections or not.

Custom Attributes

You can create your own consolidation unit attributes and financial statement (FS) item attributes.

You can use custom FS item attribute in:

  • Selection objects

  • Reclassification rules

  • Totals validation rules

  • Analytics for group reporting

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