Document Name: FSG Report Writing Guidelines Date: 10/06/2006 Author: Daniel North !

RAF"NA##S $imited %ersion: &

Table of Contents
1 Purpose 2 High Level Development Plan - Roles & Responsibilities
2'1 Report De(elopment #rocedure 2'2 *our Application Structure + ,-isting FSG Reports

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3
&'1 &'2 &'& &'1 &') &'6

!" Report #aming Conventions

Ro. !rder Naming /on(entions /olumn Set Naming /on(entions /ontent Set Naming /on(entions Ro. Set Naming /on(entions Report Naming /on(entions Naming /on(ention /onclusions

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6 0 0 2 2 2

% Report Co&ing '(est Pra)ti)es*

1'1 1'2 1'& 1'1 1') 3est #ractice: Ro. Sets 3est #ractice: /olumn Sets 3est #ractice: /ontent Sets 3est #ractice: Ro. !rders 3est #ractice: Reports

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4 11 11 12 1&

!" Ro,-Column .verri&es

1% 15 1$
16 16

$ Co&ing in Re)on)iliation Controls Report Co&ing Tools

6'1 AD" is 5est 6or: 6'2 !racle /ore Application Screens in G$ are 5est 6or:

/ 0sing Control 1alues for Curren)2 & (u&gets 3 4nternational Reporting 5ith !"
2'1 2'2 2'& 2'1 $anguage Rigid /ode %alues and Descriptions 7ori8ontal/%ertical Report Formats' /ontinental St9le 3alance Sheet and #+$

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12 12 12 12

!" Transfer to Pro&u)tion

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21 22 2&

4'1 Suggested #rocedure 4'2 !racle Functionalit9 4'& FSG :rans6er "ssues

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10'1 10'2 10'& 10'1

!" !upport & 7aintenan)e Pro)e&ures

;aintenance + Support Structure ;aintaining 3udgets Statistical 3alances /hart o6 Account /hanges

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21 21 2) 2)

10') !ther /onsiderations 10'6 <sing FSG =Standard> Reports 10'0 FSG S?$ Scripts

2) 26 20

11 Leveraging 8D4 Tools & un)tionalit2

11'1 Report Scheduling 11'2 FSG Drilldo.n 11'& 7ierarch9 ,ditor'

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22 22 22

19R!4.# H4!T.R:
VERSION 1'0 2'0 &'0 DATE @une 1444 2000B2006 @ul9 2000 COMMENTS First dra6t A D North <pdated 6or (arious client sites <pdated 6or %W<C

D4!TR4(0T4.# COMPANY & ROLE #<3$"/ NAME ACTION

R91495 8#D 8PPR.18L COMPANY & ROLE NAME DATE SIGNATURE

1 Purpose
:he purpose o6 this document is to present a high le(el strateg9 and practical approach 6or the implementation and maintenance o6 a suite o6 FSG reports to support the 6inancial reporting reDuirements o6 a group o6 companies running !racle General $edger'

2 High Level Development Plan - Roles & Responsibilities

3e6ore an9 .idespread FSG report de(elopment is undertaEen it is necessar9 to de6ine the roles and responsi5ilities .ithin the 5usiness and proFect team' :his is to ensure that consistent report coding standards are used and also to ensure that there is a single person .ho has o(erall responsi5ilit9 6or FSG reports and the glo5al consistenc9 o6 Ee9 reports' :his is reDuired so that there is there is a report gateBEeeper to per6orm Dualit9 and reasona5leness tests to reports 5e6ore the9 are released to production'

2;1

Report Development Pro)e&ure

Within the production en(ironment the a5ilit9 to update FSG reports and their components should 5e (er9 tightl9 controlled' :he reason 6or this is 6irstl9 to pre(ent man9 untested reports 5eing entered into production and secondl9 to pre(ent e-isting reports and their components 5eing updated .ithout the Eno.ledge o6 all users that rel9 upon them' :he procedure 6or adding or updating FSG reports is 6or the change reDuestor or a regional report administrator to .rite them in a de(elopment en(ironment or enlist the assistance 6rom a mem5er o6 the !racle proFect or support team' ;ost users should ha(e a le(el o6 access in de(elopment that allo.s them to create FSG reports' ,(en i6 the users are coding the report themsel(es an FSG template should accompan9 all FSG reDuests' :his means that i6 at some stage the .riter has to seeE assistance the9 are a5le to re(ie. the scope and o5Fecti(es o6 the report and a 5etter placed to assist' :he dri(er 6or an9 changes to e-isting reports needs to 5e the report o.ner .ho .ill also need to sign o6 an9 changes 5e6ore the9 are mo(ed into production' :his is also true o6 an9 ne.l9 de(eloped reports .hich .ill need to 5e signedBo66 59 the report o.ner e(en i6 the9 are not the report .riter' !nce it has 5een determined FSG is the most suita5le tool 6or pro(iding the solution then the report reDuestor G .ith the assistance i6 reDuired H can complete an FSG reDuest template (ia the helpdesE or !racle support team' :his can then 5e used to help tracE the de(elopment o6 the report through to production'

2;2

:our 8ppli)ation !tru)ture & 9<isting !" Reports

"6 9ou are not sure a5out the details o6 9our set o6 5ooEs and chart o6 accounts structure then asE 9our !racle s9stem administrator to run the 6ollo.ing scripts 6or 9ou' Set !6 3ooEs /on6iguration !(er(ie. http://...'ora6inapps'com/<serFiles/Files/Cno.ledge3ase/&2B210210't-t /hart !6 Accounts Structure http://...'ora6inapps'com/<serFiles/Files/Cno.ledge3ase/20B)&12)0't-t

:hese .ill detail ho. man9 sets o6 5ooEs 9ou ha(e .hich 5ooEs share chart o6 accounts and also the details o6 the chart o6 accounts such as .hich (alue sets are shared'

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!" Report #aming Conventions

"6 9ou are running a single production instance then some o6 the FSG components are (isi5le across all countries' For this reason (er9 tight control should 5e Eept o(er report naming con(entions' :his means that i6 a report or report o5Fect is 6or the use o6 a speci6ic countr9 then it should 5e clearl9 indicated as such .ith consistent naming con(entions' :o reduce the sheer num5er o6 reports on the s9stem e(er9 opportunit9 to share components 5et.een countries should 5e taEen' :he proposals 6or managing the naming con(entions are as 6ollo.s' Firstl9 i6 the component is glo5al G such as nonB/oA speci6ic /olumn Sets H or i6 it is a standard component added to each chart o6 accounts then it should 5e pre6i-ed .ith the compan9 identi6ier in this case =%S> 6or %ision "ndustries' For countr9 speci6ic reports or components a t.o letter count9 identi6ier 6ollo.s the compan9 identi6ier and precedes the name o6 an9 component' "n most cases this can 5e the three character set o6 5ooEs code' For e-ample the components used 59 the Spanish ta- 5ooE ma9 5e preceded 59 the letters =,S>' For e-ample: VS is a global component that can be seen across all chart of accounts VSES, VSUS, VSGB represent standard global components in the Spanish, American and British chart of accounts respectively. ES, US & GB are local components that only relate to a specific country and do not need to be maintained globally.

A6ter the countr9 identi6ier 9ou ma9 .ant to then gi(e an indication as to .hether the component is speci6ic to the ta- 5ooEs or the management 5ooEs' For e-ample ESTX P&L : Is specific to the Spanish statutory books VSESMT P&L Is the standard global management !" in the Spanish #oA

:he 5ene6it o6 using this method o6 identi6ication is that although the reports and components are not (isi5le across di66erent sets o6 5ooEs .hen 5eing su5mitted modi6ied or Fust re(ie.ed on paper the9 are still clearl9 indicated as 5elonging to a speci6ic countr9 and t9pe Geither management or ta-H :his .ill also aid re(ie. and maintenance in the 6uture .hen 9ou are re(ie.ing report components using S?$ or tools such as !racle Disco(erer that looE across man9 sets o6 5ooEs' !ne o6 the aims o6 a coBordinated implementation o6 FSG report should also 5e to .here(er possi5le reduce the num5er o6 reports on the s9stem' :he scope 6or doing this (aries greatl9 5et.een components there6ore a 5rie6 discussion on the opportunities a(aila5le to each component is pro(ided in the 6ollo.ing =3est #ractices> section' When adding generic components to the s9stem as much in6ormation a5out that component as possi5l9 should 5e pro(ided .ithin the name' 7o. this can 5e done (aries 5et.een components 5ut some suggestions are gi(en 5elo.'

3;1

Ro, .r&er #aming Conventions

"6 each set o6 5ooEs in 9our en(ironment has a di66erent chart o6 accounts then Ro. !rders are onl9 (isi5le in the set o6 5ooEs in .hich the9 ha(e 5een coded' 7o.e(er as Ro. !rders interact closel9 .ith the /olumn Sets it is important the Ro. !rders are standardised as much as possi5le so that the9 can 5e used .ith the generic /olumn Sets' "n order to standardise components such as Ro. !rders across multiple sets o6 5ooEs 9ou can either use the FSG trans6er program to trans6er 5et.een 5ooEs across di66erent en(ironments or 9ou can use an unsupported update script to rename the components in a de(elopment en(ironment prior to trans6er' :he merits o6 each approach are discussed in the maintenance section o6 this document' When naming a generic Ro. !rder there are three things that need to 5e con(e9ed'

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:he segments the Ro. !rder alters :he segment (alue / description / 5oth :he .idth o6 the description

Some simple e-amples o6 ho. this can 5e achie(ed are as 6ollo.s'

ROW ORDER NAME %SG3;: 1%2%&%DG20H MEANING Standard glo5al component on the <C chart o6 accounts in the management 5ooEs sho.ing the segment 1 (alue segment 2 (alue and segment & (alue and description all .ithin 20 characters' As a5o(e 5ut 6or the <S chart o6 accounts' A component speci6ic to the French chart o6 accounts in the ta- 5ooEs G As opposed to a glo5al standard H sho.ing the segment 1 (alue segment 2 (alue + description segment & (alue and description and segment ) (alue all .ithin 1&0 characters'

%S<S;: 1%2%&%DG20H FR:I 1%D2%D&%D)%G1&0H

3;2

Column !et #aming Conventions

/olumn Sets are o6ten the onl9 component that can 5e used across multiple charts o6 accounts 5ecause as long as no account assignments are included then the9 are not linEed to an9 particular /oA' Firstl9 the names should 6ollo. the pre6i-es mentioned a5o(e so the9 .ould start as either %S %S,S or ,S 6or a glo5al component standard local or a local component' :he name then needs to con(e9 the some or all o6 the 6ollo.ing in6ormation to the users #eriod t9pe Amount t9pe "ntended use /alculations

As /olumn Sets are a much more 6le-i5le component than Ro. !rders then the naming con(entions cannot 5e so strict' 3ut some suggestions are gi(en 5elo.'
COLUMN SET NAME %S #:D12 Rolling ;onthl9J*:D G20H MEANING From this it is possi5le to determine that the /olumn Set is glo5al and can 5e seen across all charts o6 accounts and gi(es 12 period to date columns .ith rolling monthl9 o66sets has a 9ear to date total column at the end and has an o66set o6 20 /haracters 6or the description so that it can 5e used .ith Ro. !rders that 6it into the 20 /haracters as per the e-amples a5o(e' :he description o6 this /olumn Set sho.s that the column has a comparison o6 current period to date .ith the same period last 9ear and an actual (ariance 5et.een the t.o' "t also has a comparison o6 current period 9ear to date 5alance .ith the same period last 9ear and a (ariance 5et.een to the t.o' Finall9 that it has the space 6or a 20 character description on the le6t hand side o6 the report' :his /olumn Set is 6or the <S chart o6 accounts onl9 and has the entit9 (alue G 3alancing Segment H hard coded 59 column'

%S #:D+*:D to $* %arG20H

<S:I *:D Act 59 ,ntit9G20H

3;3

Content !et #aming Conventions

Generall9 /ontent Sets cannot 5e shared across chart o6 accounts' :he pre6i- 6or content sent names 6ollo.s that o6 the components a5o(e G %S %S,S ,S KH and then in addition to that the 6ollo.ing in6ormation needs to 5e pro(ided in a /ontent Set name' :he account segments re6erenced :he displa9 options selected 0/22/

 Some e-amples o6 generic /ontent Set names are pro(ided 5elo.

CONTENT SET NAME %S<S;: 1R,2R,&R, %SG3;: 1#, <S;: 2#, Regional Summar9 MEANING :his is a glo5al /ontent Set in the <S ;anagement 5ooEs' "t e-pands each ro. in a report 59 segments 1 2 + &' :his is a glo5al /ontent Set in the G3 ;anagement 5ooEs' "t .ould pro(ide a separate report 6or each segment1 (alue' :his is a /ontent Set speci6ic to the <S management 5ooEs and gi(es a page G spreadsheet ta5 in AD" H 59 segment 2 (alues 5ut the additional description sho.s that it is summarised 59 region at the parent le(el'

3;%

Ro, !et #aming Conventions

:he naming o6 Ro. Sets i6 liEel9 to 5e (er9 speci6ic as the9 all ha(e (er9 clear user de6ined purposes' Some e-amples are pro(ided 5elo.'
ROW SET NAME ,S:I Statutor9 #+$ %SG3;: /orporate #+$ %S":;: 3alance Sheet <S;: :echnolog9 Spend Anal9sis MEANING Spanish :a- 5ooE statutor9 #+$ Ro. Set Glo5al standard corporate #+$ in the G3 chart o6 accounts Glo5al standard 3alance Sheet in the "talian chart o6 accounts <S ;anagement 5ooEs technolog9 spend anal9sis'

3;5

Report #aming Conventions

As a guideline a Ro. Set name can usuall9 5e applied to the report that it is used 5ecause the Ro. Set is the main 5asis o6 a report' *ou can then add additional in6ormation or name o6 other components used' "t is also recommended that 9ou ha(e a standard la9out 6or reports so that .ith a 5asic name such as =%SG3 /orporate #+$> the users can assume that it has a standard la9out such as a #:D + *:D /olumn Set then 9ou onl9 ha(e to add additional descriptions .hen other la9outs are used' Some e-amples o6 di66erent (ersions o6 the same 5asic report are pro(ided 5elo.'
REPORT NAME %SG3 /orporate #+$ %SG3 /orporate #+$ 3udget %SG3 /orporate #+$ Department Summar9 %SG3 /orporate #+$ #:D ;onthl9 REPORT DESCRIPTION Glo5al standard corporate #+$ in the G3 chart o6 accounts .ith #:D + *:D columns Glo5al standard corporate #+$ in the G3 chart o6 accounts .ith actual 5udget and (ariance 6or #:D + *:D Glo5al standard corporate #+$ in the G3 chart o6 accounts 59 department parents' Glo5al standard corporate #+$ in the G3 chart o6 accounts rolling month 59 period

3;$

#aming Convention Con)lusions

"6 these naming con(entions are o5ser(ed then a great deal o6 clarit9 .ill 5e added to the FSG report components' :his is especiall9 use6ul once the users start to create their o.n adBhoc reports 59 selecting speci6ic components on su5mission rather than Fust selecting preBde6ined reports' Generall9 in the component descriptions 9ou can cop9 the name 5ut .here needed 9ou can add other in6ormation such as an indication o6 .h9 the component is not suita5le 6or other countries' For e-ample =Suita5le onl9 6or French :a- 5ooEs as the Set o6 3ooEs is hard coded> All o6 the a5o(e are Fust suggestions so 9ou should select those that .orE and are applica5le to 9our 5usiness and s9stem structure' For e-ample i6 9ou don>t ha(e ;anagement + :a- 5ooEs in !racle then 9ou don>t need to distinguish 5et.een :I + ;: in the naming con(entions' "6 9ou onl9 ha(e one glo5al chart o6 accounts then 9ou can also simpli69 the con(entions as 9ou don>t need the glo5al pre6i-es' 2/22/

% Report Co&ing '(est Pra)ti)es*

:he 6ollo.ing su5 sections pro(ide guidelines that should 5e used to code consistent FSG report components' When coding more complicated FSG reports such a consolidation control cross currenc9 or interBcompan9 then it ma9 5e necessar9 to .orE against some o6 these recommendations to achie(e a solution' Where possi5le e-amples o6 this t9pe o6 scenario ha(e 5een gi(en' :his should not 5e looEed upon as a user guide or training manual 5ut is aimed at people alread9 trained on report .riting' When used in conFunction .ith a .ell de6ined report speci6ication 6rom the user this section should pro(ide the prompts and points o6 ad(ice that ena5le the .riter to de(elop a report DuicEl9 that is still in line .ith the glo5al report .riting con(entions' "t should also pro(ide enough in6ormation 6or the e-perienced report .riter to a(oid ha(ing to re6er 5acE to =FSG Report Writing 3asics> presentation' As a high le(el reminder a list o6 tips is pro(ided 5elo.' :hese should 5e considered .hene(er an FSG component is added to the s9stem o6 modi6ied' Do not start until the user pro(ides a completed report speci6ication' "6 no legac9 report or e-ample e-ists then plan 9ou report on paper or e-cel 6irst' /hecE i6 there is an e-isting component that can 5e used as a 5asis and copied' <se the appropriate tool 6or the Fo5' AD" / !racle screensL Al.a9s thinE o6 the least complicated and most transparent method o6 .riting a report e(en i6 it taEes a little longer' "t .ill sa(e maintenance in the long run' Document an9 assumptions made or changes to speci6ication during the .riting o6 a report' /ode in controls to a report so that an9 discrepancies are DuicEl9 (isi5le G Ro. Sets + /olumn Sets H'

%;1

(est Pra)ti)e= Ro, !ets

:he coding o6 Ro. Sets has the potential to 5ecome (er9 complicated as there is no limit on ho. long the9 can 5e' When coding the account assignments it is al.a9s 5ene6icial to le(erage the setB up o6 the application its 6unctionalit9 and di66erent tools a(aila5le' For e-ample don>t code man9 child ro.s separatel9 .hen 9ou can set up a parent account and Fust e-pand the displa9 to sho. all the children'
SET-UP OPTION Name Description + ACTION Follo. the naming con(entions outlined in the pre(ious section' :he line num5er should al.a9s 5e coded in increments o6 10 20 &0 etc' :his is so that i6 ne. lines need to 5e added later then it can 5e done .ithout ha(ing to renum5er the entire report' :he =$ine "tem> is the ro. name that is actuall9 seen on the report' "t is important that this is named .ith the ad(ice o6 the users especiall9 .ith ta- and statutor9 reports as precise naming o6 the report lines is o6ten a statutor9 reDuirement' "t is also recommended that 9ou split maFor sections o6 the report using line num5ers' For e-ample on a #+$ the income can 5e lines 10 20 &0 :hen the e-penses )10 )20 )&0 and so on and then the proFect calculations and margin 1010 1020 10&0' :his .ill gi(e plent9 o6 room to add more detail to each section later' Generall9 it is DuicEer to code all the lines in the applications rather than in AD"' Format !ptions Generall9 lea(e these options until last' !nce the report is running and 9ou ha(e a print out then go through .ith the users and decide .here to place all the 6ormat options' :he onl9 points to note is that the underline character is user de6ined so 9ou can use =BBBBB= 6or su5totals and =MMMMM> 6or grand totals' Also page 5reaEs are not necessar9 unless speci6icall9 reDuest 59 the user in a certain place as the application

$ine + $ine "tem

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.ill insert a page 5reaE to 6it the page si8e' !nce all the ro.s ha(e 5een creating 59 using the up and do.n arro.s to mo(e 5et.een ro.s' Generall9 it is DuicEer to code the 6ormat options in the applications rather than in AD"' Ad(anced !ptions :he ro. name is used to re6erence a gi(en ro. .hen entering the calculations' "t is not seen in the outputted report' 7o.e(er to a(oid con6usion it is 5est to cop9 the name directl9 6rom =line item> though 9ou ma9 need to a55re(iate this as onl9 a limited num5er o6 characters are allo.ed' :he percent o6 ro. 6ield onl9 needs to 5e 6illed in i6 speci6icall9 reDuired 6or a percentage column in the report i6 reDuired then the seDuence num5er G line num5er H o6 the =total> ro. should 5e entered in e(er9 other ro. that maEes up that total' $ea(e the o(erBride ro. calculations 5o- unticEed unless speci6icall9 reDuired' Generall9 it is DuicEer to code the 6ormat options in the applications rather than in AD"' 3alance /ontrol For most FSG reports .here the accounts are descri5ed on the ro. and the columns determine the period and amount t9pe all o6 these options can 5e le6t 5lanE in the Ro. Set' As .ith the 5alance control options these are generall9 contained at the /olumn Set le(el and should 5e le6t 5lanE unless speci6icall9 reDuired' :he onl9 e-ceptions to this are the t.o ticE 5o-es 6or =Displa9 Ro.> and =Displa9 Nero> ' :he displa9 ro. 5oshould al.a9s 5e selected unless it is a calculation that 9ou speci6icall9 .anted hidden' :he displa9 8ero 5o- should generall9 5e unticEed to limit report si8e 5ut can 5e ticEed to pro(ide a consistent si8e to the report and act as a control so that the users Eno. that the report is looEing at those accounts e(en i6 the9 ha(e no 5alance' When entering the account assignments it is usual to lea(e most 6ields 5lanE G Which .ill then picE up all ranges H and enter assignments onl9 6or those speci6ic /oA segments that are o6 interest' When entering account assignments tr9 .here(er possi5le to use the parent account structure rather than ranges o6 child accounts it .ill reduce 5oth report comple-it9 and maintenance reDuirements' :he displa9 options are entirel9 user de6ined 5ut remem5er to use a Ro. !rder to manage descriptions i6 9ou are going to e-pand the ro.s' Also the use o6 =3> 6or 5oth does not looE good on the 6inished report more control o6 the 6ormatting is a(aila5le i6 9ou e-pand a ro. and then add a second ro. .ith the total' :his .ill ena5le 9ou to add 6ormatting such as =BBBBBBB= 5e6ore the line' :he summar9 ticE 5o- should generall9 5e le6t 5lanE' "t is possi5le to run FSG reports directl9 on summar9 accounts .hich is use6ul i6 9ou are ha(ing data5ase per6ormance issues' 7o.e(er these can cause erroneous results i6 9ou do not care6ull9 match 9ou account assignments to speci6ic summar9 accounts on the Ro. Sets and /ontent Sets' <nless speci6icall9 reDuired to report across multiple 5ooEs the set o6 5ooEs 6ields should 5e le6t 5lanE G So3' is determined 59 9ou responsi5ilit9 H so that the Ro. Set can 5e used 59 an9 other set o6 5ooEs that shares the same chart o6 accounts' :he acti(it9 is generall9 set to =Net> unless 9ou speci6icall9 .ant either Dr or /r' "t can 5e 5ene6icial to de6ine the initial structure o6 the ro.s in the core applications and then open the Ro. Set in AD" to de6ine all the account assignments particularl9 i6 9ou ha(e 5een gi(en all the ranges in a spreadsheet as 9ou can map then to the AD" la9out and load them automaticall9' ,(en i6 9ou ha(e de6ined all the account ranges 6rom .ithin the core applications it is .orth.hile opening the Ro. Set de6inition in AD" to re(ie. and sign o66 .ith the users as 9ou can see all the account ranges in a spreadsheet 6ormat' /alculations :hese are entirel9 user de6ined and generall9 uniDue to a speci6ic Ro. Set' !perators a(aila5le include the 6ollo.ing GJ B O / P A(erage ,nter ;edian StdDe( A5s H' <sing these operators it is possi5le to 5uild Duite comple- multiBline calculations and e-ample o6 .hich can 5e 6ound in the section 5elo. =#ontinental Style Balance Sheet' "t is also .orth .hile .orEing through comple- calculations on a spreadsheet 6irst G the operators a5o(e are also a(aila5le in e-cel H to con6irm the results 9ou are e-pecting as it is DuicEer and easier to (alidate a 6ormula in ,-cel than (ia FSG' Finall9 as a general rule the 6irst (alue line should 5e =,nter> other.ise it can cause erroneous results .ith comple- calculations /alculations are 5est done .ithin the core applications rather than AD"'

Displa9 !ptions

Account Assignments

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%;2

(est Pra)ti)e= Column !ets

/olumn Sets are a (er9 6le-i5le report component' :he9 pro(ide the structure and 6ormat o6 a report G #:D *:D Actual 3udget H .hilst the Ro. Set pro(ides the account assignments' 7o.e(er there are man9 6eatures in a /olumn Set that ena5le it to interact .ith the Ro. Set it is run .ith to create a completel9 di66erent report' Set-up Option
Name + Description /olumn Attri5utes

A tion
,nter the /olumn Set name in accordance naming con(entions section a5o(e' :he position in the columns relates to num5er o6 characters 6rom the le6t o6 the page that the column should start' "6 9ou are going to run the reports 6rom the core applications G instead o6 or as .ell as AD" H then it is important to s9nchronise the num5er o6 characters in that the 6irst column starts on as this determines the .idth a(aila5le 6or the ro. descriptions used in the Ro. !rders'' :he 5est method is to ha(e t.o or three standard .idths so that these can 5e used .ith a range o6 standard Ro. !rders .ith the same .idth settings' For e-ample 10 20 + 1&0 /haracters and then ha(e Ro. !rders de6ined to match each o6 this' :his .ill pre(ent an9 un6oreseen 6ormatting .here the s9stem tries to sDuee8e descriptions or use up a(aila5le space in an uncontrolled manner' :he seDuence num5ers should 6ollo. the same rules as the Ro. Sets and the 6ormat masE and 6actor used are dependent upon the reporting con(entions o6 the compan9 and the .idth a(aila5le to each column' For e-ample reporting in units .ith a 6ormat masE o6 =444 444 444 444'44> .ould not 5e possi5le .ith a column .idth o6 1) characters so it .ould 5e necessar9 to report in thousands 6or e-ample = 444 444 444> .hich .ould 6it .ithin the space a(aila5le' "t is ad(ised that 9ou agree a corporate standard and sticE .ith it as the de6ault'

3alance /ontrol Ad(anced !ptions

An amount t9pe such as #:D or *:D al.a9s needs to 5e de6ined in a /olumn Set 5ut unless speci6icall9 reDuired all other options can 5e le6t 5lanE' :he column name is used as a re6erence in calculations 5ut it is ad(isa5le to la5el the same as the column heading to a(oid con6usion G :o a limit o6 &0 characters H' /olumn description is as column name' As per Ro. Sets Note: $e(el o6 detail should 5e le6t 5lanE unless it has 5een decided to use this 6unctionalit9 6or the .hole report'

Displa9 !ptions

/alculations

As per Ro. Sets "6 9ou are using calculations in 5oth the ro. and /olumn Set then re6er to the section called =FSG Ro.//olumn !(errides> 6or more in6ormation on ho. the9 .ill interact together'

Account Assignments /olumn Set 3uilder

As per Ro. Sets though re6er to the ad(ice 5elo. .ith regards to using account assignments in 5oth ro.s and columns' *ou should use this 6eature' "t is the 5est .a9 to (isualise ho. the columns .ill looE on a report and the onl9 .a9 to ensure the correct headings' ,nter 9our o.n la5els .here necessar9 and maEe use o6 the relati(e =+> headings that automaticall9 picE up the accounting period as +#!" or the 5udget as +3<DG,:' :his is also used to 5uild or manuall9 de6ine the column headings that .ill appear on the report' use the create de6ault 5utton initiall9 and then update manuall9 .ith an9 changes 9ou .ant'

%;3

(est Pra)ti)e= Content !ets

/ontent Sets .ill 5e most 6reDuentl9 used component in management reporting to add a ne. dimension or le(el o6 detail to an e-pense or re(enue report' For statutor9 reporting the use o6 /ontent Sets is liEel9 to 5e limited ss most statutor9 reports onl9 looE at a single countr9 and are generall9 not interested in a cost centre 5reaEdo.n' Some e-amples o6 .here /ontent Sets ma9 5e use6ul are as 6ollo.s: 11/22/

A #+$ report gi(es details o6 e-penses 59 account and the 6igures 6or tra(el and accommodation are (er9 high' :o highlight the source o6 these e-tra e-penses a /ontent Set could 5e applied to the report that 5reaEs out each o6 the cost centre/acti(it9/proFect segment (alues on the chart o6 accounts so that each proFect can either ha(e its o.n report or each e-pense is listed 59 the cost centre/acti(it9/proFect .ithin a single report page G spreadsheet ta5 in AD" H' Set-up Option
Name Desc' + :9pe

A tion
Name and descri5e the /ontent Set as per the naming a5o(e and select the t9pe o6 seDuential G re6er to the section on =;a-imising data5ase per6ormance> 6or more details on this H' When selecting the displa9 options remem5er that a /ontent Set .ill A$WA*S o(erBride the settings in a Ro. Set' As per a5o(e the account assignments in a /ontent Set .ill al.a9s o(erBride those in either a ro. or /olumn Set' "6 possi5le .hen coding a /ontent Set tr9 and maEe the account ranges as generic as possi5le .ithin the constraints o6 the speci6ic reDuirement' :here6ore onl9 re6erence segments that 9ou speci6icall9 need to and maEe the ranges as large as possi5le' :his is especiall9 true i6 9ou use securit9 rules to limit access to things such as department codes as the securit9 rule .ith taEe care o6 limiting the output to the departments speci6ic to each compan9' Displa9 ::he de6ault is =N> .hich means no o(erride /: : :otal 59 /olumn' #, : ,-pand 59 page G or spreadsheet :A3 in AD"H' #: : :otal 59 page G or spreadsheet :A3 in AD"H' R3 : 3oth e-pand and total 59 ro.' R, : ,-pand 59 ro.' R: : :otal 59 ro.'

Displa9 !ptions' Account Assignments

Account Assignment GDispla9 SettingsH

:he most commonl9 used options are R, #, + #:' R, is used to e-pand ro.s in more detail 59 speci6ic segments 'R3 + R: are not so common Ro. Sets tend to 5e .ritten in summar9 an9.a9' When a report is run in AD" #, + #: .ill e-pand it 59 spreadsheet ta5s so 6or e-ample 9ou could de6ine a content set that had t.o lines' :he 6irst .as a #: on the parent 6or all /ost /entres to gi(e a summar9 6or the compan9 on the 6irst ta5 then the second line could 5e a #, on the same parent cost centre so that all su5seDuent ta5s .here a report 59 cost centre' Summar9 Settings Generall9 set to =N!> unless 9ou need to summarise the ranges re6erenced in the /ontent Set' :his setting can 5e Duite di66icult to predict 5ecause it interacts .ith the settings in the Ro. Set the use o6 parent structure and the displa9 settings in the ro. and /ontent Set'

%;%

(est Pra)ti)e= Ro, .r&ers

*ou should aim to de6ine a suite o6 standard Ro. !rders Gand /ontent Sets H that are consistent across all charts o6 accounts .here the /oA structure is similar' *ou can then select a Ro. !rder 6rom this standard suite can to 5e applied to an9 reports created' :his .ould greatl9 reduce ongoing maintenance and support as 9ou should onl9 occasionall9 ha(e to create ne. Ro. !rders or /ontent Sets i6 it is a reDuirement particular to one set o6 5ooEs or o66ice' :he use o6 a Ro. !rder should 5e considered a6ter the report has 5een created the displa9 options 6or the Ro. Set and /olumn Set esta5lished and the /olumn Set has determined the .idth a(aila5le 6or descriptions G10 20 1&0H' For most reDuirements a standard generic Ro. !rder should alread9 5e in e-istence on the s9stem and can either 5e used or copied and modi6ied' Set-up Option
Name Desc + :9pe RanE 59 /olumn

A tion
Name and descri5e the Ro. !rder as per the naming con(entions a5o(e' :his re6ers to the report column that 9ou .ant the descriptions to 5e sorted and 6ormatted 59' :his option is onl9 reall9 rele(ant i6 9ou .ish to order the ro.s 59 the 5alances on a particular column' "6 le6t 5lanE then the report .ill order on the 6irst column .hich is suita5le in most situations'

12/22/

SeDuence + Segment

,nter a seDuence 6or all segments o6 the chart o6 accounts e(en i6 the9 are not .anted' :his means that 9ou can enter a .idth o6 =0> 6or those un.anted segments and a(oid erroneous results i6 the total Ro. !rder .idth does not match the /olumn Set .idth' :his is entirel9 user de6ined' "t a66ects the displa9 order o6 each o6 the e-panded segments in turn' Again entirel9 user de6ined' Select %alue Description or %alue and Description' @ust remem5er to maEe enough room 6or the descriptions in the .idths 5elo.' Width in num5er o6 characters is dependant upon the segments selected 6or displa9 the .idth o6 each segment and .hich ones ha(e descriptions' For a (alue onl9 the .idth should the same num5er o6 characters as that segment J1 so 6or a segment o6 2 characters use a minimum .idth o6 &' For descriptions allo. around 1)B2) character' "6 9ou do not .ant to see a particular segment then select a .idth o6 =0>' :he total o6 all segments should eDual one o6 the standard .idths o6 10 20 or 1&0 that 9ou plan to match to the /olumn Sets so adFust the segment .idths accordingl9 to match one o6 these totals'

!rder 39 Displa9 Width

%;5

(est Pra)ti)e= Reports

:here is not a great deal o6 de6inition reDuired to create a ne. report as the9 are 5asicall9 the linEing o6 e-isting components' Some general rules are that i6 a particular com5ination o6 components is 5eing run se(eral times as .eeE as an adBhoc report then it is .orth de6ining as a ne. report so that it is easier 6or the users to run consistentl9' Set-up Option
Name + Description

A tion
Follo. the naming con(entions outlined in the pre(ious section 5ut also add in a description and a report title' :he latter is (er9 important as this is the title that .ill appear on the output report and ma9 in some cases 5e a statutor9 reDuirement to pro(ide the report .ith the correct name ,(er9 Report must ha(e a Ro. Set and /olumn Set 5ut other components are optional and 9ou ha(e the 6le-i5ilit9 to all 5e added .hen a report is su5mitted so 9ou do not necessaril9 need to hard code /ontent Sets and Ro. !rders .ith each report' An e-ample might 5e 9ou corporate #+$ report' *ou could de6ine t.o (ersions' #+$ Summar9 : :his is Fust the /olumn Set and Ro. Set and does not sho. account le(el detail' #+$ Detail : :his is the same as a5o(e 5ut .ith a /ontent Set using =R,> and a Ro. !rder to e-pand the account and cost centre in6ormation in detail on each ro.'

Report /omponents

:he users .ould then ha(e the option o6 running the summar9 (ersion and selecting other /ontent Sets and Ro. !rders i6 the9 .anted di66erent la9outs such as the account e-panded 59 ro. 5ut a separate report 6or each cost centre' !ther /omponents <nless this is a scheduled report to 5e run 6reDuentl9 such as each night or .eeE 9ou can generall9 lea(e these options 5lanE as the9 are all a(aila5le .hen the report is run' For e-ample : !egment .verri&e : can 5e selected .hen the report is run to re(ie. a speci6ic cost centre or to run 6or all cost centres at once use a /ontent Set' *ou do not need to de6ine separate reports 6or each cost c Curren)2 : :his is usuall9 le6t 5lanE to picE up the 6unctional currenc9 o6 the set o6 5ooEs 5ut 9ou can also enter a speci6ic currenc9 5ut onl9 i6 translated 5alances e-ist 6or that currenc9' Roun&ing .ptions = "t is sometimes statutor9 reDuirement to per6orm this in a certain order' =Round then /alculate> or =/alculate then Round> other.ise lea(e as de6ault' Level of Detail = :his .orEs .ith the le(el o6 detail on the ro. set de6inition to ha(e di66erent reports 6rom the same de6inition' :his can 5e le6t 5lanE and the de6ault .ill 5e =Financial Anal9st> .utput .ption = :he de6ault is te-t and this .ill .orE .ith pu5lishing the reports

1&/22/

as te-t direct 6rom the apps and .ith pu5lishing to spreadsheets (ia AD"' :he other options are to change the 6ormat o6 reports pu5lished 6rom the apps 5ut are redundant i6 AD" is 5eing used'

Note: When selecting a Ro. !rder and /ontent Set 6or use in a report 9ou should al.a9s match the segments select each or them' For e-ample: !VSIT "RE#RE$RE% can 5e used .ith Ro. !rder !VSIT "V#V$VD&'()% 5ecause the segments match 5ut not *it+ !VSIT "V#VD&'()% 5ecause the /ontent Set is e-panding segment & 5ut the Ro. Set is not telling the report ho. to displa9 it' Also 9ou can use other Ro. Sets in di66erent orders as long as the9 re6er to the same three segments there6ore it is oE to use = VSIT "V$V$VD&'()% + =VSIT $V#V"VD&'()> .ith that same /ontent Set mentioned a5o(e'

!" Ro,-Column .verri&es

$his section %as originally from an &racle metalink note

:his section contains in6ormation on the e66ects o6 speci69ing di66erent (alues 6or the same 6ield at Ro. Set /olumn Set and/or /ontent Set le(el in a FSG report' :hese points are use6ul 6or all t9pes o6 FSG report especiall9 .hen coding comple- intersecting FSG reports or .hen looEing 6or a pro5lem in an e-isting report' 3elo. is a listing o6 6ields that are common to 5oth Ro. Set and /olumn Set' "6 9ou assign D"FF,R,N: (alues 6or these 6ields the 6ollo.ing .ill result: R.5 overri&es C.L07# for the follo,ing fiel&s= Amount :9pe #eriod !66set /hange Sign /hange Sign on %ariance Displa9 Nero Factor Format G*ou canQt use s9m5ols in 9our ro. 6ormat such as RH $e(el o6 Detail Runtime !(erride G,-' speci69ing di66erent 5udgets 6or 9our ro. and columnH

C.L07# overri&es R.5 for the follo,ing fiel&s = Acti(it9 !(erride /alculation

.verri&e 9<)eptions "6 9ou assign accounting 6le-6ields in 5oth 9our ro. and column FSG taEes the intersecting segment (alues to determine the 5alance to report' Assign the same summar9 option in 9our ro. and column' *ou .ill not get a meaning6ul result other.ise Assign the same currenc9 to 9our ro. or column or lea(e one o6 the 6ields 5lanE' !ther.ise 9ouQll get a 8ero amount' "6 9ou speci69 the same calculation precedence at 5oth 9our ro. and column le(el 9our column calculation taEes precedence' :here are also 6ields in the Ro. Set and /olumn Set that are common to the /ontent Set' /ontent Set .ill A$WA*S o(erride the (alues 9ou enter in 9our Ro. and /olumn Set'

11/22/

$ Co&ing in Re)on)iliation Controls

When coding a complicated report it is (er9 eas9 to loose tracE o6 .hat accounts ha(e 5een included and .hich ha(e 5een missed' :his is usuall9 checEed manuall9 .ith a list o6 the chart o6 account segment (alues printed out on paper and then ticEed o66 against the Ro. Set de6inition' :his is o5(ious a method that is time consuming and open to mistaEes there6ore it is al.a9s prudent to code in a couple o6 control totals through out the report' :his is done 5u9 using speci6ic ranges to test the logic and consistenc9 o6 9our parent structure and the account assignments in the Ro. Set' For e-ample i6 9ou ha(e the 6ollo.ing parent account structure 9ou ma9 ha(e a report that speci6ies detail accounts' *ou could use a hidden calculation ro. on the parent or grand parent le(el to (alidate that the 5alance o6 all 9our detail pa9roll ro.s in the report eDuals the parent account 5alance 6or =00100>
"R8#D-P8R9#T
00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts 00100 A #a9roll /osts

P8R9#T
01000 A Salaries 01000 A Salaries 01000 A Salaries 01000 A Salaries 01000 A Salaries 01000 A Salaries 01000 A Salaries 01000 A Salaries 01002 A #ensions 01002 A #ensions 01002 A #ensions 01002 A #ensions 01002 A #ensions 01002 A #ensions 01002 A #ensions

D9T84L 8CC.0#T
10000 3asic #a9 1000) !(ertime 10010 !ther !(ertime 10011 Stand59 #a9ments 10012 /all !ut #a9ments 1001& Shi6t #remium/<nsoc 7ours #remium 1001) ,mplo9ers Nat "ns /ontri5s 10016 /lass N"/1A 10020 ,mplo9ers #ension /ontri5s 10021 #ension #ro(ision 10022 Sta66 ,66iciencies 1002& ,mplo9ers Superannuation G<## 10021 ,mplo9ers Superannuation S//#S 1002) $A #ension Scheme /ontri5s 10026 FRS 10 #ensions Actuarial Gain / $oss GS:RG$H

39 inserting t.o e-tra ro.s 6irstl9 a calculated total o6 the detailed ro.s and secondl9 a control total that simple asEs 6or the 5alance o6 accounts 10000B10444 or the 5alance o6 00100 the coding o6 the can 5e checEed' "6 there is a di66erence then is it clear that either an account is 5eing included t.ice or something is 5eing missed out' *ou can unticE the displa9 8ero 6lag on this calculation ro. and add a description that sa9s =III ,RR!R III> so that on the report it onl9 displa9s .hen there is a pro5lem and it is clear to an9one re(ie.ing the report that something needs in(estigating' "6 these checEs are carried through to production then the9 ser(e as a long term control and .ill e(en picE up pro5lems i6 the9 onl9 5ecome apparent later' :his is particularl9 use6ul 6or capturing une-pected changes to the chart o6 accounts hierarch9 that ma9 6ind their .a9 into production' "deall9 9ou should create a dedicated FSG report to (alidate the chart o6 accounts that could 5e run as part o6 the month end process' :he report could taEe the 6ollo.ing 6ormat G e-tended to all (alues across the trial 5alance' <sing this la9out the 5alance at each le(el G /hild #arent Grand #arent H should match and i6 it doesn>t then it is o5(ious that there is a pro5lem'
D9!CR4PT4.#
Grand #arent #arent /hild

8CC.0#T
00100 01000B01004 10000B14444

(8L8#C9
)61 002 114'00 )61 002 114'00 )61 002 114'00

1)/22/

Report Co&ing Tools

FSG reports can either 5e coded directl9 into the core !racle applications or using the AD" tool' Whiche(er tool is used has no e66ect on the 6inished report and reports coded in one method are (isi5le and 100P usa5le in the other' Cno.ing .hen to use !racle application screens and .hen to use the AD" tool is something that comes 6rom e-perience o6 .riting FSG reports and 6rom personal pre6erence as to .hich tool is most user 6riendl9' 7o.e(er the points 5elo. pro(ide assistance in selecting .hich tool to use'

$;1

8D4 is best for=

%isualising ho. the report .ill e(entuall9 looE' Formatting o6 5acEgrounds/6onts/ colours etc using the AD" templates' ;ass maintenance o6 account assignments G See e-ample 5elo. H Final changes and signBo66 .ith user A AD" is much more (isual and so users .ill 6ind it easier to relate to and understand issues' !ne o6 the most 5ene6icial 6eatures o6 using AD" to .rite a report is that the account assignments used in a Ro. Set can 5e displa9ed in an ,-cel 6ormat' When using AD" to edit the Ro. Set account assignments the usual ,-cel edit 6eatures are a(aila5le' :his means that it is possi5le to per6orm a 6ind replace cop9 paste and cut on the entire reports account assignments' "t is e(en possi5le to create an automated macro to cop9 account ranges 6rom other nonBAD" spreadsheet'

$;2

.ra)le Core 8ppli)ation !)reens in "L are best for=

"nitial coding o6 components and the attri5utes' Na(igation in application is DuicEer in AD" especiall9 once 6amiliar .ith the screens ;aintenance o6 names titles and 6ormatting such as line and page 5reaEs in man9 components at once as 9ou can use the up and do.n arro.s to mo(e DuicEl9 5et.een ro.s' /op9ing components and reports

16/22/

/ 0sing Control 1alues for Curren)2 & (u&gets

/ontrol %alues are used to add 3udget ,ncum5rance and /urrenc9 in6ormation to FSG reports' :he9 are re6erenced on the columns and/or ro.s as num5er and then in the report this num5ers are linEed to 5udgets and currenc9' :he ad(antage o6 this method is that 9ou can hard code the control (alues in the detailed components G Ro.s + /olumns H and then each 9ear .hen the 5udget changes Fust update the control (alues on the report once and linE that (alue to a ne. 5udget' Access the this screen 59 pressing the control (alues 5utton on the report de6inition screen though it is onl9 a(aila5le .hen control (alues e-ist in one or more o6 the report components' *ou can enter multiple control (alues i6 9ou .ant to use more than one currenc9 or 5udget' When using control (alues to de6ine currenc9 9ou ha(e to select a currenc9 t9pe o6 ,ntered or :ranslated' :his .ill onl9 appl9 to the ro.s or columns .ith the matching control (alue' "t is di66erent to selecting the currenc9 on the report de6inition .hich applies to the .hole report and onl9 .orEs .ith translated 5alances' Some e-amples o6 ho. 9ou .ould used control (alues on /olumn Sets are as 6ollo.s' For actual and 5udget (ariance reports 9ou .ould add a control (alue to the 5udget columns' "6 9ou ha(e se(eral iterations o6 5udget during the 9ear such as a ?1 ?2 + ?& 5udget 9ou .ould use di66erent control (alues on each column to re6erence the di66erent 5udgets' "6 9ou ha(e to report in di66erent translated currencies 6or local regional and glo5al reporting' For e-ample a <C compan9 running primar9 5ooEs in G3# ma9 ha(e to report to ,urope region in ,<R and head o66ice in <SD' *ou could use t.o control (alues on the 2nd and &rd columns 6or the translated ,<R and <SD 5alances'

An e-ample o6 ho. 9ou .ould used control (alues on Ro. Sets is 6or an FSG report that reconciles 5anE accounts or intercompan9 control accounts 9ou could use se(eral ro.s either .ith a di66erent control (alue 6or the main entered currencies to re(ie. the 6oreign currenc9 entries passing through the account'

10/22/

3 4nternational Reporting 5ith !"

:he purpose o6 using separate charts o6 accounts and separate sets o6 5ooEs is to pro(ide the 6le-i5ilit9 to meet the (arious and incompati5le reDuirements o6 each countr9' :he areas .here some o6 these reDuirements e66ect FSG reporting are discussed 5elo.'

3;1

Language

"n some countries such as 3elgium and $u-em5ourg the authorities are Duite open to account descriptions 5eing in ,nglish as long as the statutor9 list o6 account (alues has 5een used' 7o.e(er other countries such as German9 Spain "tal9 + France reDuire that the descriptions appearing in each report are in the nati(e language o6 the countr9' :his reDuirement can 5e met in a num5er o6 .a9s' :he local chart o6 account child ranges can 5e in a local language and then the FSG report coded so that the ro.s are e-panded to sho. these descriptions' "6 the children are still in ,nglish 5ut the report must 5e in local language then a parent structure in local language can 5e created and then the FSG coded to picE up the parent and not the child descriptions' "6 the parent structure is alread9 in ,nglish then the FSG report can 5e coded .ith the desired description on each line' :his is time consuming i6 done manuall9 5ut it is possi5le to load all the descriptions automaticall9 using an e-cel template mapped to the report 5uilder in AD"'

3;2

Rigi& Co&e 1alues an& Des)riptions

:his is a reDuirement in man9 ,uropean countries .here the9 ha(e to use a national =#lan /ompta5le>' :his is normall9 dealt .ith 59 using a separate statutor9 set o6 5ooEs 5ut i6 this is not (ia5le 6or 9our proFect then it ma9 5e possi5le to deal .ith this using the report techniDues mentioned a5o(e 5ut this is stretching the reDuirement Duite a lot and ma9 not 5e accepted 59 the local controller' Some sample =#lan /ompta5le> chart o6 accounts are a(aila5le on the ...'ora6inapps'com .e5site 6or France 3elgium and Spain'

3;3

Hori>ontal-1erti)al Report ormats;

"n some countries the users ma9 present a legac9 report that is in a hori8ontal GliEe a dou5le page o6 a 5ooEH 6ormat instead o6 the t9pical (ertical 6ormat' "6 this situation arises then the right hand side o6 the report should 5e mo(ed do.n as a 5locE so that it creates a (ertical st9le report' :his solution .ill meet the legal reDuirements as the data and descriptions o6 the report ha(e not changed e(en the 6ormat o6 each report 5locE remains unchanged the di66icult9 m9 5e in persuading the report users .ho ha(e al.a9s had a reports such as a 5alance sheet in a hori8ontal 6ormat'

3;%

Continental !t2le (alan)e !heet an& P&L

Another common reDuirement in ,urope is 6or certain accounts such as clearing accounts retained earnings and pro(isions to appear as an asset or a lia5ilit9G or Re(enue/,-penseH depending i6 the 5alance is a credit or de5it' <n6ortunatel9 there is not an eas9 automatic .a9 to achie(e this 5ut it is possi5le 59 .orEing .ith the Ro. Set calculations on speci6ic accounts' An e-ample o6 the 6ormula reDuired is pro(ided 5elo. o6 a statutor9 Spanish #+$' "n this e-ample W"# has to 5e sho.n as an income or e-pense depending i6 it is a Dr or /r 5alance'

12/22/

$ines 20 + 2) sho. ho. this appears as re(enue' Notice ho. line 20 is not displa9ed at all 5ut line 2) is al.a9s displa9ed as it .ill 5e 8ero or a de5it'

$ines 1610 + 161) are the same range o6 accounts sho.ing on the e-penses side o6 the #+$

:he 6ormula is as 6ollo.s to onl9 sho. a credit (alue Gto onl9 sho. a de5it the replace the =B= .ith =J> on line 20 H Line Ope,-to, '( +( -( ABS , . Ro*.V-/ue )o% * )o% * +

*ou ha(e to taEe care that an9 calculations else.here in the report are looEing at the A3S lines and not the hidden lines' <sing the e-ample a5o(e 6or W"# mo(ements' :his can 5e an increase or a decrease 5ut not 5oth' :here6ore i6 ro. 20 + ro. 1610 5oth ha(e a W"# mo(ement o6 100 Dr the9 cannot 5oth 5e included in the total re(enue and total e-penses' "nstead 9ou should use ro.s 2) and 161) so that onl9 line 161) sho.s 100 and line 2) sho.s 8ero' :he renaming is also important' For e(er9 acti(e 6ormula line the ro. name should 5e pre6i-ed .ith QA3S: Q :his .ill allo. DuicE checEing o6 the report con6iguration later and e-pedite updates o6 6ormula such as in the e-ample 5elo.'

14/22/

Also the line item 6or e(er9 hidden ro. should 5e updated .ith the pre6i- o6 Q7"D, Q so that these can 5e identi6ied on the report and also to allo. DuicE re(ie. o6 the con6iguration' "6 9ou .ould liEe help in implementing this solution then ...'ora6inapps'com can pro(ide a 6i-ed price ser(ice to update 9our reports'

20/22/

+
+;1

!" Transfer to Pro&u)tion

!uggeste& Pro)e&ure

:he procedure 6or a ne. FSG report or component to reach the production data5ase should 5e consistent .ith 9our polic9 6or an9 other s9stem change' First o6 all the change must 5e coded in the de(elopment en(ironment' !nce the report has 5een completed in a D,% en(ironment it can then 5e migrated to a <A: en(ironment .ith recent and realistic G$ data .here the user .ill 5e e-pected to test the report and sign o6 its 6ormat and content' !nce sign o66 is o5tained the report can then 5e migrated to production' :his process is e-plained in the diagram 5elo.'
FSG ReDuest and Speci6ication document is completed and signed o66

FSG Report is coded into the de(elopment en(ironment'

:he speci6ication and coding o6 the report is re(ie.ed in light o6 the reFection

Report is migrated 6rom de(elopment to <A: en(ironment

Appro(ed

Report o.ner re(ie.s the dra6t report and appro(es/reFects

ReFected

Appro(ed

Report o.ner re(ie.s the dra6t report and appro(es/reFects ;igration to production must 5e accompanied 59 : B<ser Sign B o66 B Speci6ic ;aintenance #rocedures B Noti6ication to !racle support maintenance team

ReFected

Appro(ed

Documentation

Report is migrated to #roduction and a(aila5le 6or users'

21/22/

+;2

.ra)le un)tionalit2

:he trans6er o6 reports and components 5et.een en(ironments is undertaEen using the standard !racle program =FSG :rans6er>' :he program is run 6rom the target en(ironment G #roduction H and pulls the report components 6rom the pre(ious en(ironment G<A: H according to the parameters selected 5elo.'

+;2;1 Define Database Lin?s

NAV 0 GL Supe, U1e, 2 Setup 2 S31te4 2 D-t-5-1e Lin61 3e6ore the program can 5e run checE the setup in the target en(ironment to maEe sure that the data5ase linEs e-ist to the en(ironment 9ou .ant to pull the reports 6rom' <sing the e-amples a5o(e in <A: 9ou .ould .ant a linE to D,% and in #roduction 9ou .ould .ant a linE to <A:'

+;2;2 Transfer Reports

NAV 0 GL Supe, U1e, 2 Repo,t1 2 Re7ue1t 2 St-n8-,8
/ote : If the re0uest doesnt e*ist then contact you system administrator as it may have been removed.

:his can onl9 5e run 6rom the =target> en(ironment' !nce the reDuest is selected complete the 6ollo.ing parameters'

,-planation o6 the parameters as 6ollo.s' P-,-4ete,

/omponent :9pe

/omponent Name

E9p/-n-tion Ro. Set /olumn Set Ro. !rder /ontent Set and Displa9 Set can all 5e trans6erred indi(iduall9' "6 the component t9pe selected is either a Report or Report Set then this .ill trans6er not onl9 the report de6inition 5ut also A$$ o6 the attached components that do not alread9 e-ist in the target en(ironment' Also note that 9ou should 5e care6ul using the =All> component as this seems to mean e(er9thing and ignores an9thing 9ou put in the component name 6ield' G !ccurs in R11')'4 H :he 6ull name o6 the component 5eing trans6erred can 5e t9ped or 9ou can use a .ildcard =P> .ith part names to trans6er multiple components' :his 5ecause the 6ield accepts .ildcards and part names so unless the complete component name is entered there is al.a9s the possi5ilit9 that other components ma9 5e mistaEenl9 picEed up and trans6erred as .ell' Some additional comments : :his 6ield does not support either the picE list or 6ind 6unctions so the correct name needs to 5e t9ped in manuall9' Ne-t enter Fust a =P> as it .ill tr9 to trans6er all components so 5e as speci6ic as possi5le .hen using =P> Some (ersions o6 R11i ha(e an intermittent error .ith the trans6er o6 components .ith long names' :he error usuall9 occurs .ith names longer that 21 character 5ut has 5een not to occur .ith short names 22/22/

Source D3 /oA :arget D3 /oA Source Data5ase

.here other characters such as an open 5racEet =G= .ithout a close =H> ha(e 5een used in the component name' :his is al.a9s the same as the target /oA and should 5e .ritten in 59 hand a6ter the target D3 /oA> has 5een selected 6rom the picE list'
:his 6ield contains a picE list'

:his is al.a9s the data5ase that the report is 5eing copied 6rom'

+;3

!" Transfer 4ssues

When trans6erring .hole reports at once the program .ill onl9 import those components that don>t alread9 e-ist there6ore i6 the report 5eing trans6erred contains a standard /olumn Set such as *:D Actual then the program .ill detect that this alread9 e-ists in #rod and not import the /olumn Set the report .ill still .orE as it .ill no. re6erences the e-isting /olumn Set in the production en(ironment' :his is a (er9 use6ul sa6et9 measure as it pre(ents components getting accidentall9 updated .hen running a trans6er' :he danger o6 this 6eature is that i6 9ou are trans6erring a report that contains a custom Ro. + /olumn Set and these alread9 e-ist in production then the components .ill not ha(e 5een updated .hen the trans6er is run' :his can 5e o(ercome 59 maEing sure that the components 5eing trans6erred ha(e their namesaEes deleted 6rom production 5e6ore the trans6er program is run then al.a9s care6ull9 re(ie. the FSG trans6er log 6ile to ensure that the trans6er occurred as e-pected' "6 9ou con6iguration up uses multiple sets o6 5ooEs and a di66erent chart o6 accounts 6or each set o6 set o6 5ooEs then there are some di66erences in ho. (isi5le certain components are across di66erent 5ooEs' :he 5asic rules are e-plained 5elo. An9 component that re6erences and chart o6 accounts is onl9 (isi5le to the sets o6 5ooEs using that chart o6 accounts' :his includes Ro. Sets Ro. !rders and /ontent Sets' Where t.o 5ooEs use the same chart o6 accounts then these components are shared' /olumn Sets are generall9 (isi5le across all 5ooEs and chart o6 accounts until the9 ha(e an account assignment added to one o6 the columns at .hich point the9 are stamped .ith a speci6ic /oA "D' "6 this is in an e-isting generic /olumn Set it .ill then 5ecome unusa5le 6or all other sets o6 5ooEs and cause reports re6erencing that /olumn Set to end in error' :o .orE .ith these =6eatures> a num5er o6 5asic procedures need to 5e 6ollo.ed' For e-ample each component should 5e coded in the same set o6 5ooEs in the de(elopment en(ironment that it is intended 6or in the production en(ironment and naming con(entions should 5e tightl9 6ollo.ed'

2&/22/

16

!" !upport & 7aintenan)e Pro)e&ures

16;1 7aintenan)e & !upport !tru)ture

:his is usuall9 the last stage o6 implementing the FSG reporting strateg9 to 5e considered' Rather liEe training it can 5e di66icult to en(isage a detailed report maintenance plan 5e6ore the reports and sta66 are in place' :he maintenance plan is usuall9 an actual set o6 procedures de(eloped 59 the proFect team and deli(ered to each countr9 or compan9' :hese procedures are 6airl9 standardised and in the case o6 FSG reports relate mainl9 to the Ro. Set o5Fects' :opics include : Dealing .ith /!A changes additions remo(als and changes in hierarch9' *ear on 9ear 5udget changes or e(en 6irst second and third session 5udgets .ithin a 9ear #rocedures 6or modi69ing e-isting reports and adding ne. reports or components' /hanges to the statistical 5alances liEe headcount or o(erheads that are used .ith reports' ;aintenance procedures can 5e 5roEen do.n into either routine or ad hoc changes depending upon their nature' A de(elopment en(ironment should al.a9s 5e used to maEe changes in and then the path to #roduction discussed in the section a5o(e should 5e 6ollo.ed to ensure that the Dualit9 o6 the reports is maintained'

16;2 7aintaining (u&gets

3udgets are assigned to an FSG report 59 using a control (alue in the particular ro.s and columns that use 5udgets and then assigning in each report the control (alue to a particular 5udget' :his has the ad(antage o6 allo.ing the reports to 5e 6le-i5le enough to 5e changed 6or each 5udgeting period 59 updating the linE 5et.een the single control (alue and the 5udget at report rather than ro. or column le(el' :he procedure o6 assigning a 5udget to a report is (er9 DuicE and all reports could 5e updated in a 6e. hours' Assuming three 5udgets each 9ear and a total o6 &0 reports using 5udgets then this is no more than si- hours o6 maintenance per 9ear' :he a5o(e estimates are 5ased on the 6ollo.ing assumptions' An9 de(iation 6rom these ma9 mean that increase maintenance is reDuired' :hese assumptions are as 6ollo.s' 3udgeting and 5udget uploads are done on a corporate and not cost centre le(el' :here6ore a single 5udget !rg is used and a single 5udget uploaded and assigned 6or each period' All report .riters use a consistent control (alue 6or assigning this single 5udget' /urrent 5udgets are N!: compared to pre(ious ones' A single report does not ha(e more than one 5udget assigned' :he DuicEest method o6 updating the 5udget assignments to reports is as 6ollo.s' NAV 0 GL Supe, U1e, 2 Repo,t1 2 De:ine 2 Repo,t1 #lace the cursor in the report name 6ield and put in Duer9 mode' "6 9ou ha(e used consistent naming con(entions 9ou should 5e a5le to 6ind all 5udget reports .ith the =P3udP> entered in the report name or description' :his .ill return all the matching report then the up and do.n arro. Ee9s can 5e used to mo(e 5et.een reports' From the 6irst report press the =/ontrol %alues> 5utton and this .ill open a second smaller screen .here the report is linEed to a 5udget' "6 the report does not need a 5udget then this screen .ill 5e gre9ed out' 21/22/

Return to the report name 6ield in the 6irst screen' 12ou should keep both screens open at once so that you can scroll do%n through the reports and still vie% the control values screen.3 When 9ou reach a report that does not ha(e the control (alues gre9ed out mo(e to the 3udget 6ield o6 this screen to the right o6 the control (alue' <se the list o6 (alues to select the correct 5udget' <se =/ntrlJ/> + =/ntrlJ%> to cop9 the 5udget name into all su5seDuent 5udget reports' Return to the report name 6ield and then scroll to the ne-t report reDuiring a 5udget' ;o(e to the /ontrol %alue 6orm and =/ntrlJ%> the name o6 the 5udget into the appropriate 6ield'

16;3 !tatisti)al (alan)es

FSG reports ma9 5e set up to use statistical 5alance 6or e-ample the use o6 a statistical 5alance 6or headcount or num5er o6 hours to calculated the e66icienc9 o6 a di(ision' Although the reports themsel(es .ill not reDuire maintenance the statistical 5alances that the9 rel9 upon .ill reDuire maintenance at each 9ear end or possi5l9 each month i6 the statistical data changes monthl9' :he 5iggest risE .ith the use o6 statistical measures in FSG reports is that the maintenance is 6orgotten and does not 5ecome apparent until the report is run 6or the 6irst time in the ne. accounting 9ear' "n most e-amples it .ill 5e (isi5le 5ecause i6 the maintenance is 6orgotten then the report .ill tr9 and produce calculations on N<$$ (alues' 7o.e(er care must 5e taEen .hen using statistical reports as it ma9 not al.a9s 5e so clear i6 the maintenance has 5een carried out or not'

16;% Chart of 8))ount Changes

An9 changes to the production chart o6 accounts including the addition o6 ne. (alues change o6 meaning or deletion o6 e-isting (alues .ill 5e prompted at the reDuest o6 the 5usiness' :he process in place 6or maEing an9 changes should ensure that all the !racle users .ill 5e made a.are o6 the change 5e6ore the9 are migrated to the production en(ironment' 7o.e(er it is possi5le that changes could 5e made .ithout the Eno.ledge o6 all report o.ners' :o protect against this possi5ilit9 there are a num5er o6 standard reports G FSG + /oA listing H that can pro(ide the report o.ners .ith the in6ormation needed to tracE do.n suspected changes' :he ta5le 5elo. pro(ides a DuicE guide to the t9pes o6 /oA changes that ma9 occur' T3pe O: COA C+-n;e Segment %alue Description is altered /hange o6 Segment (alue meaning Ne. segment (alue is added /hild is added to #arent (alue Segment %alue is Deleted E::e t on <SG ,epo,t1 :he ne. description .ill 5e displa9ed on all reports using Ro. !rders to manage ro. descriptions' 7ardB/oded ro. names .ill not change ;a9 either 5ecome rele(ant to a gi(en FSG or ma9 e(en need remo(ing 6rom an e-isting report' ;a9 need adding to or e-cluding 6rom report' Will automaticall9 5e included in reports re6erencing the parent' ;a9 cause a ne. ro. to 5e added to reports using e-panded parents Will no longer appear on report run 6or remo(al date on.ards' A tion ,e7ui,e8 None B <nless ro. name has 5een hardBcoded 59 the report .riter <nderstand implications o6 change and update report accordingl9 <nderstand implications o6 change and update report accordingl9 /onsider e66ect on an9 6i-ed templates used .ith the report' None

16;5 .ther Consi&erations

2)/22/

When deciding upon the appropriate course o6 action reDuired to maEe allo.ances 6or the chart o6 accounts change the 6ollo.ing 6actors must also 5e considered 7a(e account ranges 5een used or speci6ic accounts re6erencedL 7a(e parent accounts 5een used' L "6 the ne. account is a natural account then consider the dependent local account'

Fortunatel9 there is a standard report that can 5e used to help .ith the maintenance o6 FSG reports' :he =FSG Where <sed> report can 5e run .hene(er a user suspects that a report ma9 need updating' 3ased upon the segment (alues entered .hen this report is run the output .ill pro(ide a list o6 all the report components and the position in each component .here the segment (alue is used' :he report user can then checE i6 the segment (alue is 5eing picEed up at all and i6 it is in the correct place' An description o6 the =FSG B Were <sed =report and others is pro(ided in the ne-t section'

16;$ 0sing !" '!tan&ar&* Reports

!racle General $edger comes seeded .ith a num5er o6 standard reports that are designed to pro(ide in6ormation a5out the FSG reports set up 59 users on the s9stem' :hese reports can 5e run 6rom the menu path displa9ed 5elo. and all are run .ith (er9 simple parameters'

16;$;1 !ummar2 !" Component Listings

:hese pro(ide a list o6 each indi(idual entr9 o6 a gi(en report component and pro(ide the name description and an additional column o6 similarl9 high le(el in6ormation' :he Report summar9 listing is a list o6 e(er9 FSG report on the s9stem and pro(ides the name o6 each o6 the attached components'
Report Summar9 $isting /olumn Set Summar9 $isting Re(ie. the report components and report options associated .ith each report de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' Re(ie. the names and descriptions o6 all /olumn Sets de6ined 6or 9our current set o6 5ooEs' General $edger displa9s the chart o6 accounts structure associated .ith each /olumn Set' Re(ie. the names and descriptions o6 all Ro. Sets de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' General $edger displa9s the chart o6 accounts structure associated .ith each Ro. Set' Re(ie. the names descriptions and processing t9pes o6 all the /ontent Sets de6ined 6or 9our current set o6 5ooEs' Re(ie. the names and descriptions o6 the report sets 9ou ha(e de6ined'

Ro. Set Summar9 $isting

/ontent Set Summar9 $isting Report Set Summar9 $isting

16;$;2 Detaile& !" '!tan&ar&* Reports

:he detailed reports pro(ide in6ormation on indi(idual report components 6or each o6 the detailed reports a speci6ic component must 5e selected'
Report Detail $isting Re(ie. detailed in6ormation a5out a speci6ic report or a5out all reports de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' For each report this listing prints the report components report options and report details' Re(ie. detailed in6ormation a5out a speci6ic /olumn Set or a5out all /olumn Sets de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' General $edger 6irst prints 9our /olumn Set heading then the details o6 each column de6inition' Displa9 options 6or each column appear in a 5o-' Finall9 General $edger prints 9our account assignments and 9our calculation and e-ception de6initions i6 an9' Re(ie. detailed in6ormation a5out a speci6ic Ro. Set or a5out all Ro. Sets de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' General $edger prints the details o6 each ro. de6inition .ith displa9 and 6ormat options 6or each ro. appearing in a 5o-' General $edger also prints 9our account assignments and 9our calculation de6initions i6 an9' Re(ie. detailed in6ormation a5out a speci6ic Ro. !rder or a5out all

/olumn Set Detail $isting

Ro. Set Detail $isting

Ro. !rder Detail $isting

26/22/

Ro. !rders de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' For each Ro. !rder this listing prints the ranEing and displa9 options' /ontent Set Detail $isting Re(ie. detailed in6ormation a5out a speci6ic /ontent Set or a5out all /ontent Sets de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' For each /ontent Set this listing pro(ides the processing t9pe and the account assignments' General $edger also prints a concatenation o6 the displa9 t9pes 6or each segment (alue range and .hether 9ou chose to report on summar9 5alances onl9' Re(ie. detailed in6ormation a5out a speci6ic report set or a5out e(er9 report set 9ou ha(e de6ined in 9our current set o6 5ooEs' :his listing prints the report components and report options o6 each report assigned to 9our report set including 5udget and encum5rance in6ormation'

Report Set Detail $isting

16;$;3 5here 0se& Report

:his is a (er9 use6ul report to use .hen undertaEing report maintenance' For e-ample "t can 5e used to compare the usage o6 an e-isting cost centre .hen compared against that o6 a ne.l9 added cost centre' !nce a comparison o6 usage has 5een made the report components can 5e updated accordingl9 to include or e-clude the ne. cost centre'
Where <sed Report Determine .here speci6ic segment (alues are used in 9our Ro. Sets /olumn Sets and /ontent Sets' :his report prints each report component seDuence num5er description and account range that includes the segment (alue 9ou reDuest .hen 9ou run 9our report'

16;$;% Chart of 8))ount Listings

"6 9ou are using either an FSG report and suspect that some changes ha(e 5een made to the chart o6 accounts since the last time that 9ou ran the report then 9ou can run one o6 the 6ollo.ing listings' All o6 the /hart o6 Accounts listing pro(ide li(e data 6rom the production s9stem at the time o6 su5mission so the9 .ill sho. an9 changes as soon as the9 ha(e 5een made' Again these can 5e run as standard reports 6rom the !racle application' A 5rie6 description o6 the most rele(ant reports is pro(ided 5elo.'
/hart o6 Accounts $isting Re(ie. the chart o6 accounts 6or 9our current set o6 5ooEs including detail and summar9 accounts' General $edger 6irst prints 9our ena5led detail accounts then 9our disa5led detail accounts and 6inall9 9our summar9 accounts' ,ach o6 these three groups 5egins on a ne. page' Within each o6 the three groups 9our accounts are sorted 59 their account segment (alues' Re(ie. all (alid child segment (alues 6or each parent segment (alue 6or a speci6ic account segment' :his listing includes descriptions 6or 5oth the parent and child segment (alues and the rollup group Gi6 an9H to .hich 9our parent segment (alue 5elongs' General $edger sorts this listing in ascending order 59 account parent segment (alue' Within each parent segment (alue General $edger sorts the child segment (alues in ascending order' Re(ie. a list o6 all parent segment (alues 6or an account segment' :his listing includes in6ormation a5out each parent segment (alue such as the rollup group to .hich each parent segment (alue 5elongs .hether each parent segment (alue is ena5led and its range o6 child segment (alues' General $edger sorts this listing in ascending order 59 parent segment (alue'

Rollup Detail $isting

Rollup Range $isting

16;/

!" !@L !)ripts

"n addition to the standard !racle reports mentioned a5o(e 9ou can also use the sDl scripts in the ...'ora6inapps'com Eno.ledge 5ase to re(ie. and audit 9our FSG report de6initions at a detail le(el'

20/22/

11 Leveraging 8D4 Tools & un)tionalit2

11;1 Report !)he&uling
!racle Reporting tools all come .ith the 6unctionalit9 to schedule reports to run a preBset times and dates or e(en preBset inter(als' :his should 5e le(eraged as much as possi5le to remo(e the strain on the ser(er and net.orE during normal o66ice hours and taEe routine reporting to o(erBnight schedules' :his can 5e achie(ed 6rom the !racle applications AD" or the Disco(erer tools' :o integrate this solution most e66ecti(el9 then the We5 pu5lishing 6eatures o6 AD" can 5e used to process and distri5ute reports o(er the "ntranet' :his 6eature allo.s the reports to 5e pu5lished to pass.ord protected intranet sites and updated at preBset times' ,ach pu5lished report can also 5e accompanied 59 an ,-cel spreadsheet a(aila5le 6or do.nload should more in depth anal9sis o6 the report 5e reDuired' Another ad(antage o6 this method is that the reports are pu5lished to a single .e5 site and the 6ull ,-cel sheet is onl9 pulled across the net.orE i6 the user speci6icall9 reDuests it' :his eliminates the .asted net.orE time taEen 59 Fust checE the 5ottom line o6 6igure 6or (er9 large reports'

11;2

!" Drill&o,n

"t is possi5le to drill 6rom the 6inancial 5alances in an FSG report right do.n into the Fournal lines 6rom the originating su5Bledger' :his 6eature should al.a9s 5e considered .hen the users are asEing 6or a report that gi(es transaction le(el detail' What are the9 reall9 asEing 6or L Do the9 genuinel9 need a custom transaction listing or are the9 Fust asEing 6or it to 5e a5le to reconcile 6inancial 5alances' "6 the latter is true then it is possi5le that the drill do.n 6eature o6 AD" is a suita5le solution' Re6er to the AD" documentation on ...'ora6inapps'com 6or more in6ormation on this'

11;3 Hierar)h2 9&itor;

With release 10'0 the 7ierarch9 ,ditor that used to 5e located in the G$ application has 5een mo(ed to the AD" tool' :his allo.s drag and drop editing o6 each segment in the chart o6 account structure G .hich is (er9 dangerous in the .rong hands H 5ut more use6ull9 it can 5e restricted to (ie. onl9 mode (ia pro6ile option and allo.s the users to (isualise the chart o6 accounts hierarch9 graphicall9 .ithout the risE o6 une-pected updates 5eing made' :his is particularl9 5ene6icial as users should not ha(e access to the 6le-6ield (alue screen in the core applications'

22/22/