Describing Postings Within Management Accounting

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to recall examples of postings within controlling

Cost Reassignment

Let’s assume the accountant produced a posting error when posting telephone costs to an auxiliary cost center. When this error is detected and verified by the cost center manager, it’s possible to correct the posting in controlling using the Reassign Costs and Revenues app instead of reversing the general journal entry.

The graphic refers to the Reassign Costs and Revenues app which is used in order to correct posting in controlling.

With the Reassign Costs and Revenues app, you can reassign costs and revenues for example when a posting is incorrect.

Note that no validation on the sender cost center is done. In other words, the system does not check whether the costs you want to reassign actually exist on the sending cost center or not. This means that negative costs (credit balances) may result on the sending cost center after the reassignment.

Furthermore, there is no reference to the source document number posted on the sender cost sender, that is, you can’t trace back to the original accounting document when the reassignment is done.

Note

You cannot enter ledger-specific values for cost and revenue repostings in the Reassign Costs and Revenues app. The same values will be posted in all ledgers.

Reassign Costs Between Cost Centers

Repost Line Items

Let’s assume the accountant produced a further posting error when posting training and education costs to cost center Finance & Administration. When this error is detected and verified by the cost center manager, it’s possible to correct the posting in controlling using the Repost Line Items app instead of using the Reassign Costs and Revenues app.

The Repost of Line Items app is used to correct posting errors in primary postings with CO account assignment. The reposting is linked to the initial reposted document. This enables you to track the reposting back to the primary postings.

The figure explains that after a posting to the wrong cost center in Financials Accounting, the error is corrected using the Repost Line Items app in Management Accounting. When using this app the document number of the original FI posting has to be used as reference document number. This will make sure you cannot repost more than this source amount and will also allow you a drilldown from the reposted data set to the original FI document.

The reposting of line items corresponds to a reversal posting on the sender object. This is because the system takes the debit/credit indicator from the line item and updates it immediately for the sender and receiver account assignment objects.

Note

  • You cannot repost to two receivers or repost a portion of the posted line items.
  • The changed document rows are checked by the system and the data is updated at once unless it contains errors.
  • The system uses a reference document number to create a link between the document of the original line item and the adjusted document.
  • You cannot repost any document that already has a reposting document.
  • You also cannot repost any document that is assigned to line item settlement or to billing.
  • If the sender and receiver are assigned to different company codes, reposting is not supported.
  • You cannot repost documents with a value of zero.
  • The value is only checked in the leading ledger.
  • If you are using an object with event-based WIP, the reposting needs to be handled manually.

Repost Line Items

Create a Journal Entry Posting on cost center 3000 and then repost the data from cost center 3000 to cost center 4000 referencing the Journal Entry Posting document. Check the resulting reposting document.

Steps

  1. Use the Post General Journal Entries tile to execute the following general ledger account posting on your primary cost center 3000 - Finance & Administration.

    Choose Company code1010, SA as Journal Entry Type, today's date as Journal Entry Date and Posting Date, the current period as Period, and USD as Transaction Currency. Post the following data:

    Line ItemCompany CodeG/L AccountD/CAmountTax codeCost Center
    1101061400000 (Training and Education)Debit1000 USDV03000 (Finance & Administration)
    4101010010000 (Petty Cash)Credit1000 USD------

    Note

    In the More Details section of your Line Items you will find an amount in EUR in theLocal Currency Amt field and you will find an amount in USD in the Amt in Add. Crcy1 field. Don't change nor remove the amounts in these fields!

    Post the journal entry.

    Take a note of the document number: ______________________________________________

    Return to the home page.

    1. In the Cost Center Accounting space, go to the Daily Activities section of your SAP Fiori Launchpad, choose the Post General Journal Entries tile.

    2. On the Header tab, enter today's date as Journal Entry date and Posting Date.

    3. Enter the current month as Period.

    4. Keep SA selected as Journal Entry Type.

    5. Enter 1010 as Company Code.

    6. Enter USD as Transaction Currency.

    7. In Line Item 1 of the Line Items (2) section, enter the data of the first row in the exercise table.

    8. Choose Enter.

    9. If > Line Item 1 doesn't expand automatically, choose > (Expand/Collapse).

    10. In the Account Assignment section, enter the cost center in the exercise table.

    11. Choose v (Expand/Collapse) next to Line Item 1.

    12. In the Line Items 2 row, enter the data of the second row in the exercise table.

    13. Choose Enter .

    14. Choose Post and note the document number:

      ____________________________________________________________________________

    15. Choose Navigate to last opened page (SAP icon).

  2. Open the Repost Line Items tile and enter your document number from the previous step into the Reference Document dropdown. Then choose Go. Choose Full Screen.

  3. In the Documents (1) section select your reference document and then choose Repost.

  4. In the Items (1) section replace cost center 3000 by cost center 4000. Then choose Create.

  5. In the Journal Entries (2) section open the Journal Entry link for Source Ledger 0L.

  6. In the dialog choose Display Line Items - Cost Accounting.

  7. In theLine Items (2) section open the Settings icon and select Cost Center, Partner Cost Center and Amount in Global Currency and check your posting result.

  8. Choose Navigate to last opened page (SAP icon).

Direct Activity Allocation

Direct Activity Allocation Principle

In day-to-day operations, a cost center may offer an internal activity to another cost center in the company or another project (so, for another controlling object). For example, an IT Services cost center can offer internal activities for other cost centers as part of a planned IT service or as a repair measure. The costs of this internal activity depend on the activity quantity used and on the plan price of the respective activity type.

In direct activity allocation, you enter the cost center that provides the activity (sender cost center), the object that receives the activity (receiver), the type of activity provided (activity type), and the activity quantity. In an activity allocation, only a cost center can be the sender. However, the receiver can be any controlling object, such as a cost center or WBS element.

During direct activity allocation, the sender cost center is credited and the receiver cost center is debited using a G/L account of G/L Account Type Secondary Costs (type 43 – Internal Activity Allocation). The value of the activity allocation is obtained by multiplying the quantity with the planned price of the period.

The graphic gives an example for a Direct Activity Allocation with Cost Center IT Services as the cost center which offers the activity and the three activity-receiving cost centers like cost center Back Office, Consulting Unit A and B.

Reposting of Activity Allocations

You can also use the Manage Direct Activity Allocation - New Version tile to repost internal activity allocations in order to adjust any incorrect account assignments. These repostings enable you to correct an internal activity allocation without the need to reverse the document first and then make an adjustment posting. That means the initial debit line is canceled and the activity allocation is reposted to the new receiver. The system creates a reference between the document from the source activity allocation and the adjustment document by means of a reference document number.

Note

  • You cannot repost any document that already has a reposting document.
  • You can also not repost any document that is assigned to line item settlement.
  • If the sender and receiver are assigned to different company codes, reposting is not supported.
  • It is not possible to repost to two receivers or to repost a portion of the posted activity quantity.

Execute a Direct Activity Allocation

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