Last Updated on July 4, 2022 by Pradeep
It takes time to become an SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant
Becoming an SAP S4 HANA Finance consultant is not a cakewalk. Let’s be honest.
It’s not just that you would hunt job sites, apply a few good ones, and shortly get a call. Instead, you need to follow a strategic plan.
If someone is assuring you the job of a S/4HANA Finance consultant, right after their training, even without having experience, trust me you are getting fooled. There is no shortcut to success.
You need to acquire sufficient knowledge and experience. And it truly takes some time.
However, if you are serious about it and have patience, then this article would surely help you achieve your goal.
Snapshot of this article
- Who is a S/4HANA Finance consultant?
- Roles and Responsibilities (Technical & Non-Technical)
- Pre-requisites for becoming an SAP S/4HANA Finance Consultant
- What would you do in the initial stage? – 5 Preparatory Points
- What would you do in the practical stage? – 8 Action Points
Who is an SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant?
An SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant works for the implementation or Roll Out project. He is also responsible for all developments related to Finance, Management Accounting, Receivable Management, Asset Management, Treasury Management, Bank Management, etc.
Roles and Responsibilities of an SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant
The job role of SAP S4 HANA Finance is not much different than a sap fico consultant. However, they work on different platforms (i.e. ECC vs. S/4HANA). Thus, due to the advancement of HANA technology, there is a difference in their consultant’s functioning too.
The SAP S/4HANA Finance Consultant plays technical and non-technical duties.
Non-Technical Duties
They support the customer by understanding their requirements.
They prepare documentation and blueprints of the project. Similarly, they perform end-user training and make sure of the smooth completion of letting the project go live successfully.
Technical Duties of an SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant
On the technical front, he mainly does the work of implementation. He implements financial and management accounting into the SAP S4 HANA system of the company.
He decides how the project would flow from the start point till the end of the implantation. Every step he plans and shares with his team and project manager. They all make a final decision and then proceed with the set plan.
Some tasks are truly important for the fulfilment of the project. These include making GAP analysis and implementing ASAP Methodology.
ASAP Methodology
The ASAP Methodology involves the different phases of the project that makes the SAP project possible within the set timeframe and deadlines.
The Pre-requisites to being an SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant
- Domain Experience– Good Knowledge of the domain for up to a minimum of 2-3 years (core domain).
- Qualification – post-graduation in finance (MBA, CA, CWA, MCOM).
- SAP System development knowledge – for configuration of SAP S4 HANA Finance into the system.
- Good communication skills – client interaction, user training, conducting workshops.
Who can become?
- A core user – during project implementation who represents the customer side
- SAP FICO consultants – who want to upgrade their profile to get more career opportunities
- SAP FI power users, super users
- Managers in sap-enabled organizations (these are people generally defined as core users during the implementation projects)
What do you need to do to become SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant?
To become an SAP consultant, you need to take a holistic approach. It is not that you would just get training and start working as a s/4hana consultant. It takes time to reach that stage. And thus, you need to be strategic and keep patience. You should also be sure that you want to become one.
For this, I have made this guide which would help you to be sure of your decision and know how to go step by step to achieve your goal.
1. First you watch your interest
Do you want to get into the SAP sector? For this, you need to ask some questions to yourself. For example, are you enthusiastic about technology and the IT sector? Are you ok to travel to different places for work? Likewise, you self-analyze whether you find it easy to talk to different people and comfortable with communications. Do you love systems, and software, and want to work in an interconnected environment? And most importantly, are you ready to work hard? So in other words, you need to do a self-analysis.
If you see the answer to these questions is yes, then go ahead.
2. Research what Employers want from an SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant
You need to see what the current trend in the SAP job market is. For this, you can study the job sites and see what employers are looking for. You can also go through the websites of many SAP-enabled companies and check their vacancy page. This will help you to get familiar with the skills they need. This way you would know where you need to work upon. Once you get the skills and subjects you need to learn, then proceed to learn them.
3. Now start reading free resources
Don’t immediately jump over to join a training institute or academy. There is much free stuff available on Google. So take benefit from them to fill yourself with basic knowledge. This will help you to grasp the training in a better way and you would have more questions to ask your trainer. Thus, you read the free articles on SAP Finance written by real industry experts in SAP.
4. Watch SAP Finance related Videos on YouTube
Once you read concepts and basic scripts, start to watch videos on SAP FICO and S/4HANA Finance from good trainers and consultants.
5. Now Re-analyze your decision to become an SAP consultant
Did you find all this interesting? If yes then great! You can surely go for becoming a consultant.
If yes then move ahead.
It’s not a day or a month’s activity to become a consultant. It will take a few years to achieve the ultimate goal. Following are the steps you should take to reach your destination of becoming a S/4HANA Finance Consultant.
Practical Steps to take to become an SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant
- Refresh Basic Accounting Skills and Principles
- Learn SAP FICO
- Keep on practising
- Start with an SAP end-user job
- Go for SAP FICO Certification
- Work as SAP FICO Associate Consultant
- Learn SAP S/4HANA Finance
- Look for SAP S/4HANA Finance Consultant jobs
Let’s go into the details of all the above points.
1. Refresh Basic Accounting Skills and Principles
Revise your accounts books and have a quick reading of the basic accounting principles. SAP FICO work is full of Accounts and Financial accounting principles. So, to learn it fast, you should be clear on accounting skills.
However, this does not mean that you cannot learn FICO or S/4HANA Finance without accounting knowledge. But it would be a bit difficult to learn without knowing basic accounts.
Since you need to pass journal entries, look through the P&L statement, Trial Balance and balance sheets.
Likewise, you would work on Accounts payables, Accounts receivables, cash management, bank accounting, taxation, and General ledgers. All these need a sound knowledge of accounts. So, read them thoroughly.
2. Learn SAP FICO
To become an SAP S/4HANA Finance consultant, it’s not compulsory to learn SAP FICO. But you need to understand that SAP FICO is the base of the SAP Financial application. By learning FICO your concepts would get clear and it would be easier for you to upgrade and learn S/4HANA Finance. Hence, find a good and reputed trainer in SAP Finance and learn SAP FICO thoroughly.
Learn configuration and implementation
You need to learn to configure finance applications into the sap ERP system. Also need to learn the configuration of management accounting SAP CO too which is equally important.
The main role of an SAP FICO consultant is to do the project implementation. Thus, learning the configuration and implementation of Finance and controlling is the most important step while preparing for becoming a Finance consultant.
3. Keep on practising
Apply all your learned skills in practice. This would help you to see your progress and learn from your mistakes. You would know your weak points to improve and your strengths to use as your USP while appearing in interviews.
4. Start with an SAP end-user job
The majority of companies usually don’t hire fresher in consultant roles. They want experienced professionals with related domains. So if you don’t find a job at the consultant’s level, then look for the SAP FICO user’s role. It is easier and good in numbers. This would help you to enter into the right domain and get experience from the related niche.
Understand the process and workflow
This would help you to get in frequent contact with consultants and better understand their daily work life and responsibilities.
Related: SAP FICO – The First step to S/4HANA Finance
5. Do SAP FICO Certification
Though an SAP certification is not mandatory to become an SAP S/4HANA Finance Consultant, but always beneficial. A certified and experienced professional mentioned in your profile would surely give you the desired jobs faster and easier.
Certification is like a benchmark of SAP Skills, which develops trust in an employer for a candidate. So I suggest you go for it.
Please note, that a valid certification is provided by SAP authorized Partner institutions only. So do check the authenticity and legality of those who claim to provide the SAP certification.
6. Work as an SAP FICO Associate Consultant
After working for 1-2 years as an end-user, the next step is to look for a job as an SAP FICO consultant.
Importantly, you need to go step by step to reach your ultimate goal of becoming an SAP S4/HANA Finance Consultant. So, it’s a good decision to start the SAP implementation work in ECC.
We have two points here. First, employers hiring for S/4HANA Consultants need a person with 2-3 years of core domain experience. Hence, they prefer FICO consultants.
Secondly, it’s easier for you to become a FICO consultant at this stage of your career than S/4HANA Finance.
Your profile as a FICO consultant
You can become an associate consultant on a support project or an implementation project. Else you can join even in a profile. You should work for 1-2 years here as a FICO consultant.
7. Learn SAP S/4HANA Finance
Here is the point where you should learn SAP S4 HANA Finance. This you should do along with your current job as a FICO consultant. This is because, working on live projects, helps you to learn HANA more clearly and you can also connect your real-time case studies with your new training. What’s better than this kind of learning? Isn’t it?
Do check: SAP S/4HANA Finance 1909 Training
8. Be ready now to work as a SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant
By this time, you are fully ready to become a sap s/4hana consultant, so go ahead and apply to the relevant jobs in your desired profile. If you have really worked hard and learnt the subject thoroughly and have practised it sufficiently, I am sure your dream job is just a step away.
Put your profile on top job sites. Go through the vacancies in them. Apply those that match best to your strengths and skills.
Interviews sessions for SAP S4 HANA Finance Consultant Role
How you perform in interviews, all depends on your preparation and your grip over the subject. Thus, the more you have understood the module, the more you would be confident to answer the questions in the interview.
At the end
The whole process may seem lengthy to you. But it’s not though. If you see, it just takes 2-3 years of experience in total before applying for the SAP S/4HANA Finance consultant’s job. This much is legible considering the importance of the profile you are applying to. And secondly, there is no shortcut to success. You should go steadily and consistently. That would only help you to achieve your goal.
The position of an SAP consultant needs maturity and practical experience. Thus, to become one, you need to go through a step-by-step process.
