Why Universal Parallel Accounting in Production Accounting?
In this blog, we will introduce the
Universal Parallel Accounting (UPA) solution (pilot adoption) for
Production Accounting in the
SAP S/4HANA 2022 and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition. The innovation of the
Universal Parallel Accounting solution is available since the
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition 2105. This innovation is well introduced in the blog
Finance in SAP S/4HANA Cloud 2105 including a comprehensive DEMO video and 4 blog series. As one of the blog series, the blog
Production Accounting for Universal Parallel Accounting introduced the key innovations in the area of Production Accounting in details. Please refer to the following key innovations by using
Universal Parallel Accounting for
Production Accounting.
- Input material usage is determined and posted by different ledgers
- Overhead is determined and posted to different ledgers
- Work in Process is calculated immediately to reflect the value of material usage, activity usage and overhead by different ledgers
- Delivery of finished goods to stock is valued and posted to different ledgers
- Variances are calculated immediately different ledgers
- Up to ten currencies are calculated and posted in parallel
Besides, to understand what
Universal Parallel Accounting offers for SAP S/4HANA, please refer to the blog posting
Universal Parallel Accounting in SAP S/4HANA where the high-level uses cases and motivation of
Universal Parallel Accounting are introduced in more details.
Please note that currently the
Universal Parallel Accounting solution is only available for pilot customers selected by SAP
, and it is only for the
new implementations of
SAP S/4HANA and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition. For existing customers, there is no migration path yet.
Universal Parallel Accounting in
SAP S/4HANA and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition is currently supported for the following countries:
USA, Germany, France, Japan, and Romania.
What is the Scope of Universal Parallel Accounting for Production Accounting?
The scope for
Universal Parallel Accounting in
SAP S/4HANA and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition is different from the existing solution without
Universal Parallel Accounting. For example,
Profit center valuation is not covered yet in
Universal Parallel Accounting and so on. There are also some existing solutions which are incompatible with
Universal Parallel Accounting architecture. For example,
Results Analysis is not supported with
Universal Parallel Accounting - please use
Event-Based Revenue Recognition instead. Classic
period-end based production accounting is not enabled for Universal Parallel Accounting, only
Event-Based Production Accounting should be used.
SAP Note 3191636 describes the detailed scope information, please check carefully.
Figure #1: Event-Based Production Accounting
As mentioned,
Event-Based Production Accounting is the prerequisite for using
Universal Parallel Accounting in
Production Accounting. Meaning, if
Universal Parallel Accounting is activated, only
Event-Based Production Accounting supported functionalities can be used. Regarding
Event-Based Production Accounting, please watch the video ‘
Introducing Event-Based Production Cost Posting’ under SAP Help Portal and blog post (
New in Production Accounting – Event-Based Production Cost Posting) to understand the logic and supporting scope. As shown in figure #1 above
, Event-Based Production Accounting is still only available for
Product Cost by Order but
not for Product Cost by Period yet.
Figure #2: Event-Based Result Analysis Key
As explained in the blog
New in Production Accounting – Event-Based Production Cost Posting, the key configurations (Define event-based result analysis keys, account determination rules and so on) for the Event-Based production accounting is shown in the figure#2 above. Please note that scrap and mixed price variances are not yet supported, and only the settlement to the Valid Receiver shown in figure#2 is supported.
Figure #3: Error Message SFIN_FI017_1
After activating
Universal Parallel Accounting in
Production Accounting, to avoid the usage of certain production scenarios which are not supported yet in
Event-Based Production Accounting (for example, product cost by period), error message
SFIN_FI017 will be provided when calling certain transactions (such as create a non-event-based production order) as shown in figure #3 above. Please refer to
SAP Note 3207464 for more details.
Figure #4 Error Message SFIN_FI017_2
In
SAP S/4HANA 2022 and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition,
Universal Parallel Accounting is also the prerequisite for using
Event-Based Production Accounting. If
Universal Parallel Accounting is not activated, it is not possible to use any functionalities in
Event-Based Production Accounting. To avoid the usage of
Event-Based Production Accounting without activating
Universal Parallel Accounting (for example, create Event-Based Result Analysis Key), the error message
SFIN_FI017 will be provided too as shown in figure #4 above.
How to Activate Universal Parallel Accounting in Production Accounting
If you are selected by SAP as pilot customer for
Universal Parallel Accounting in release
SAP S/4HANA 2022 or
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, the business function (FINS_PARALLEL_ACCOUNTING_BF) needs to be activated. Please follow the steps below in given order for activation of
Universal Parallel Accounting:
- Read the information contained in this scope information note and in the business function documentation carefully.
- Contact SAP and request the authorization for the business function activation.
- Once SAP has approved the activation, implement the correction instruction in SAP Note 3207221
Activate the business function using the
Switch Framework Customizing (SFW5) transaction. Be aware that the activation cannot be reversed.
Figure #5: Role Definition in Fiori
SAP Fiori is a prerequisite for using
Universal Parallel Accounting, and certain functionalities are only available via
SAP Fiori. As shown in figure #5 above, when
Universal Parallel Accounting is activated, only
Event-Based Production Accounting SAP Fiori apps can be used, and some classic period-based Apps will be not valid. For example, Run Variance Calculation Orders isn't needed in the new approach, but that you should use the Event-based Monitor regularly to ensure that nothing went missing. Please check the
SAP Note 3207925 for more details about roles and business catalogs for using
Event-Based Production Accounting Apps.
To activate the configuration of
Universal Parallel Accounting in
Product Accounting in
SAP S/4HANA 2022 and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, the
SAP Best Practice Content BEI still needs to be activated. After the activation of BEI, the following changes need to be performed for activating
Event-Based Production Accounting:
- Update Costing Sheet to Event-Based Costing Sheet.
- Update Assignment of Costing Sheet to Valuation Variant.
- Change Assignment of Results Analysis Key and Costing Variant for Order Type.
What are limitations for the Universal Parallel Accounting in Production Accounting?
The
Universal Parallel Accounting in
Production Accounting (Event-Based Production Accounting) cannot be used by the following production scenarios in the
SAP S/4HANA 2022 and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition yet, and SAP will expand the scope over future releases:
- Sales-order-related production (MTO) with non-valuated sales order stock
- Sales-order-related production (MTO) valuated sales order stock with sales order as account assignment
- Engineering-to-order production (ETO) with valuated project stock
- Engineering-to-order production (ETO) with non-valuated project stock
- Make-to-stock production in repetitive manufacturing with product cost collectors
- Production order/process order assigned to product cost collectors
- Manufacturing orders with distribution rules other than PP1(full settlement), for example distribution rule PP2, PP5, PP6 are not supported
- CO production orders
- Joint production used in valuated sales order stock (MTO) and valuated project stock (ETO)
- Joint production with process materials
- Split valuation with mixed costing
- Collective order without automatic goods movement
- Combined order
- Cross company production
Where to get more information about the Universal Parallel Accounting in Production Accounting?