SAP New GL Migration Scenarios in General Ledger Accounting

SAP New GL Migration Scenarios (General Ledger Accounting) is used to define the ledger to be updated during posting. Though we cannot define our scenarios, we can use customer-specific fields.

These New GL Migration scenarios are an important part of the SAP S4 HANA Finance implementation.

Defining and Assigning SAP New GL Migration Scenarios

With the fields updated in the scenarios in SAP New GL, we can fulfil various business requirements. For example, using the cost of sales accounting or segment reporting to produce a P/L statement.

We don’t need a ledger for each scenario. It is not necessary to define additional (non-leading) ledgers to assign additional scenarios. We can assign one or more scenarios to a ledger. Even all six standard scenarios you can assign to the same ledger. As per the image above in the example, we have assigned all available scenarios to the “0L” Ledger.

SAP New General Ledger Accounting Views

If we activate New GL in SAP, a financial accounting document always has two views.

1. Data Entry View
2. General Ledger View

Data Entry View in New GL

The Data entry view shows a document as we normally see or enter it in A/R, A/P or AA. I.e. Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable accounting or Asset Accounting.

The interdependencies between the account assignments have also remained the same as in the Data Entry View. The system defines a purchased service account (1041) in CO as a primary cost element. Therefore, it requires a cost-accounting-relevant accounting assignment (to cost center A102) at the time, when we enter the posting document.

Read: Document Type in SAP FICO

General Ledger View in New GL

While the data entry view shows the view when a user posts a document. In contrast, the General Ledger View shows only the elements of a document relevant to the general ledger.

Additionally, In the GL view, the system shows the document in both the leading ledger and the non-leading ledgers.

GL View Leading Ledger

GL View Non-Leading Ledger

What does the SAP GL View look like when the system assigns the Cost Center update (FIN_CCA) and Business Area (FIN_GSBER) scenarios?

Here, the GL view in the SAP Financial Accounting document shows account assignment to cost center A104 and business area UN1.

This is because the system assigns the cost center update and Business Area scenarios in SAP New General Ledger Migration to the leading ledger 0L. We see these two entities in the general ledger and displayed in the corresponding general ledger view.

Similarly, the system assigns the other scenarios also, to ledger “0L” and “N1”. Such as Profit Center update (FIN_PCA), and Segmentation (FIN_SEGM). Therefore displayed.

Read Related: Document Splitting in SAP New GL

Business Area SAP New GL Migration Scenarios

Business Area Scenarios in SAP New GL S4 HANA Finance poses an important point in this article. Let us know why.

The Business Area serves both as the company code and as a unit for external reporting for the company. Since a company operates in certain fields or industries. There you can create individual business areas in the system to provide an additional evaluation level.

Responsibilities for the business area are generally shared among several company codes. For example, for a line of business or divisions. The system can produce a business area financial statement or P&L statement. For this, it assigns objects from the following to the relevant business areas-

• SAP Controlling – Cost Center, orders, sales orders and so on
• Logistics (Material Master record) and,
• Asset Accounting.

As per the above diagram, the system has assigned the plant construction business area to the below:-

Service cost center

• Trade Fair Internal Order,
• Material Master,
• Sales Order and
• Asset from Plant equipment.

Profit Centre Update SAP New GL Migration Scenarios

Profit Centre Update as SAP New GL migration scenarios in SAP S/4HANA Finance is again, an important concept. You must know that the categorization by business areas is based on external accounting. Likewise, classification by profit center is based on internal accounting.

Accounting and financial controlling have converged

A differentiation between categorization by business areas, and classification by profit center has become less and less important. The choice between the business area and profit centers is becoming increasingly difficult.

Earlier SAP designed and implemented Profit Center Accounting purely to display results from an internal perspective. For this purpose, it mapped all revenue-generating and cost-generating controlling objects to profit centers. This includes cost center, orders, projects, sales orders, etc.

Then further updated it with the relevant data affecting net income.

Allocation to the Profit Centers

As per the above image, the SAP system allocates the following to profit centers.

• Profitability
• key figure (return on investment, or ROI)
• financial statement items of the current and fixed assets, and,
• Short-term liabilities also.

As a result profit center has become similar to the business area for assigning financial statement data and P/L data.

However, Profit Center Accounting is more flexible than the business area.

Options not available with Business Areas

Some options for mapping are not available with business areas, such as:-

• Profit Center hierarchy
• statical key figures
• profit center assignment
• and allocations at internal transfer prices represent additional developments.

The New G/L in S/4HANA Finance 2020 also includes Profit Centre Accounting. Centralized shared evaluations and reports are possible. Hence you can execute Assessments and allocations also be in New G/L.

Segmentation SAP New GL Migration Scenarios

The importance of international accounting standards (IFRS/US GAAP) is becoming more pressing. It also includes the need for segment reporting that takes into account all business activities within a company.

The segmentation scenario (FIN_SEGM) helps you meet this need. In this scenario, we update the Segment, Partner Segment and Profit Center fields.

The Segment Field

SAP system contains the SEGMENT field by default in FAGLFLEXT, the totals table of New G/L. It also defines Segments in Enterprise structure customizing rather than in New G/L customizing.

Segment reports allow a company to obtain an accurate overview of business activities spanning a range of markets, divisions, and products. You can map various organizational levels.

We have the Segment as essentially provided an option. This is because we frequently use the business area and profit center for other purposes. Thus we need to fulfil other requirements. We can define the segment in the master data of the profit center. The segment is derived by default from the profit center.

When we make a posting to the profit center, the system derives a segment and makes the same posting to it.

Defining SEGMENT

We may define the profit center as an account assignment object in many places. Such as,

• Cost Center
• Internal Order, and
• Logistics master data like the material master record.

This is why the system selects the profit center as the object from which it derives the segment.

If you select the segment as an Independent accounting unit, the system issues a reminder to enter the segment as an entity while creating a profit center. Thus, you can control the appearance of the system message, message number FAGL_LEDGER_CUST052 accordingly in customizing.

Limitations of SEGMENT

We cannot change a segment entered in the profit center without making additional settings. The entity has a grey background in the profit center master record that we cannot change in the default configuration.

Note – We can access the “V_FAGL_SEGM_PRCT” table and make the setting. This way we can change the SEGMENT field in the profit center master record.

Learn: more SAP FICO scenarios & real-time issues