Bank Account Management - Two Step Verification Approval

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1. Introduction

Using Approval Processes for Bank Account Management

For risk control reasons, most companies implement approval processes for master data management. For bank account management, you can implement the following bank account control modes to safeguard your bank account master data:

• Dual control


• Two-person verification


• Workflow

Comparison of Bank Account Control Modes

The table below compares the three control modes of bank accounts:

Feature / Configuration Option	Dual Control	Two-Person Verification	Workflow
Approve a change	In the Manage Bank Accounts app, the approver chooses the Activate button.	In the Approve Bank Account Changes - Two-Person Verification app, the approver chooses the Approve button.	In the My Inbox - For Bank Accounts app, the approver chooses the Approve button.
Reject a change	Not supported. Revisions that are not accepted remain inactive revisions.	In the Approve Bank Account Changes - Two-Person Verification app, the approver chooses the Reject button.	In the My Inbox - For Bank Accounts app, the approver chooses the Reject button.
Cancel a change	The person who has submitted the revision can delete it.	In the Manage Bank Accounts app, the change submitter chooses the Cancel Changes button.	In the My Sent Requests app, the change submitter chooses the Cancel Request button.
Comment on a decision	Not supported	In the Approve Bank Account Changes - Two-Person Verification app, the approver can enter a note when approving or rejecting a change.	In the My Inbox - For Bank Accounts app, the approver can enter a note when approving or rejecting a change request.
Process changes made in the Maintain Payment Approver app	Supported	Supported	Supported
Block the bank account from editing when it's in a process	Not supported	A bank account is blocked from editing when a change is pending verification in a two-person verification process.	A bank account is blocked from editing when a bank account is in the workflow process.
Email/Launchpad notifications	Not supported	Supported	Supported .
Configure approval steps	Not supported. Only one-step approval is supported.	Not supported. Only one-step approval is supported.	Approval steps can be configured using the Manage Workflows - For Bank Accounts app.
Configure approvers	All users authorized to activate bank accounts (authorization object F_CLM_BAM, activity 63), excluding the change submitter, can approve a change.	All users authorized to activate bank accounts (authorization object F_CLM_BAM, activity 63), excluding the change submitter, can approve a change.	You can define different approvers for different workflow steps using the responsibility rules or teams and functions.
Consider sensitive fields defined in the configuration activity Define Settings for Bank Account Master Data	Any change to the bank account triggers the dual control process.	Only changes to sensitive fields trigger the two-person verification process.	Only changes to sensitive fields trigger the workflow process.

 

2. Two-person verification Approval mode

In this blog, our discussion would be limited to the new addition to the bank control process i.e. Two-Person verification. With this mode, revisions are saved when users create or edit bank accounts in the following scenarios. The revisions must be verified and approved by another authorized user before they become effective.

• Opening a new bank account


• Copying an existing bank account to create a new one


• Modifying a bank account


• Changing a payment approver in multiple bank accounts


• Closing a bank account


• Reopening a bank account that is already closed

 

Prerequisite: To use Two-person verification, maintain the following settings:

Cash Management Scope = 02 (Full scope)

Bank Account Control Mode = 04 Two-Person Verification.

We can maintain the above settings in the path below:

Spro Path: Financial Supply Chain Management -> Cash and Liquidity Management -> General Settings -> Define Basic Settings

 

Let’s understand this with the help of the example below:

Create Bank account - The purpose of this step is to create a new bank account in the S/4HANA system by entering Header data, general data, contact persons & connectivity path data.

Fiori App – Manage Bank Accounts

With all bank control modes, you would only be able to save it as “Save as Inactive”, unlike direct revision where you can save the changes directly.

 

Once the required data is entered, we need to click on the “Submit for verification” tab to trigger the process of two-person verification.

 

We can also provide our comments before the final submission to the approver.

 

Activate Bank Account Request - In this step, a second operator can approve the new bank account.

Please note that the submitter and the approver will share the same authorization roles, however, the submitter will not be able to approve the bank creation/change requests.

The approver will use the manage bank accounts Fiori app to access the bank account and then verify the changes on that account.

 

After reviewing the bank account, the approver will see the option to “Approve” or “Reject” the changes requested by the submitter.

Note: This is the main difference between the Dual control and Two-person verification. In Dual control, the second operator will only have the option to “activate” the bank account, but in Two-person verification mode, the operator can either "approve or reject" based on his review of the bank account.

The approver can also provide his comments before approving the changes in the bank account.

 

To conclude, we in this blog understood the concept of the Two-person verification bank account control mode and the basic differences between dual control & the two-person verification control modes. Hope this blog would help you to understand the concept of dual control modes available in bank account management in S/4HANA.

 

3.References

More Details related to the overall functionality of Using Approval Processes for Bank Account Management can be found on the SAP help page in the link below:

Using Approval Processes for Bank Account Management | SAP Help Portal

Do share your thoughts and feedback in the comments!