Review Booklet for Group Financial Statements (Version 2.0)

[Stefan-Kraus]

 

Introduction

The Group Financial Statement Review Booklet guides you as a group accountant to achieve more transparency into group financial statements.

1. Review booklets are business applications, which embed insights into the relevant business context and help answer critical business questions for your daily job - out of the box.

1. In addition, review booklets represent a new category of Fiori applications, which combine application logic and guidance with integrated multidimensional insights.

Review booklets fulfill the promise of insight to action within embedded Analytics.

From a technology perspective those Fiori applications are enabled by a new multidimensional analysis control (known as pivot table) delivered as SAP UI5 component contributed by our analytics teams in SAP Analytics Cloud.

A first version of this application was released with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Release 2202.
You might have seen the earlier version here.

In S/4HANA Cloud Edition Release 2308 the review booklet concept was taken to the next level in multiple ways.

With our latest version, you will experience...

1. A new way to design guided pages - optimized to answer business questions.

1. A new flexible analysis control - optimized for multidimensional data. 

1. An easy way to switch between guided views and generic slicing and dicing/pivoting.

1. A new side panel hosting application specific and analytic features

Please also note that there is a more up-to date version available for S/4HANA CE2408 - click here

When to use such a Review Booklet?

Let's first introduce the use case supported in the current release:

As a Group accountant you need to monitor and validate multiple aspects of the financial statements during the closing process.

Typically, this work is done under high time pressure with many recurring considerations and validation tasks on aggregated group data, both top-down as well as bottom-up.

Predefined business pages optimized to deal with those tasks are delivered out of the box provide a huge value for group accountants. Those pages include all aspects of the closing work, allow guided navigation, best practices for how variances are calculated and analyzed, as well as interactive filtering and drill-down.

Trust and full transparency into the filters are just as important as well as the ability to slice and dice the data.

In this application we combine predefined pages in a guided mode as well as interactive analysis in multidimensional flexible layouts.

Let's go through an example:

- Open the app using predefined views-

After launching the app you will see a typical Fiori application, where you benefit from many Fiori capabilities (such theming, navigation, documentation, etc.)

In the top left corner you find predefined views (also called Variants) where relevant filters, layouts and data for a planned review meeting are saved.

You can open such a view to load the relevant pages:

In the filter bar you can see the variables on booklet level, which are applied to all pages of the booklet.  As you can see in the screenshot below, the booklet is filtered to the year 2022. If needed, you can change the filters and press Go:

- Use guided pages, prepared to answer business questions-

As a result, you see guided pages, which are prepared to answer dedicated business questions and allow to understand related variance calculations.

For example, let's have a look at the  Closing YTD vs. Previous YTD variances:

As shown in the screenshot below, you can use SAP Companion to get an overview and detailed explanation of all those pages delivered in a Review Booklet.

The data is presented in a multidimensional pivoting control, which allows you to view multiple dimensions, measures and structures arranged on row and column headers.
This allows to use a powerful context menu to adapt filters, layout and use multiple analytical features (see screenshot below).

- New side panel hosting analytical features-

On the right side you can now use a new side panel, which hosts all the needed features on page level.

First you find page filters, which add page-specific variables and dynamic filters to a page.

next you can choose flexible multidimensional layouting, number formatting and many other analytical features.

In the screenshot below you can see how easy it is to adapt a guided page, which you us as start page, using the multidimensional pivoting side panel.
This allows you to add/remove dimensions, measures and structures to/from rows and columns.
For example you can drag the consolidation unit and drop it to the columns and of course see the related details.

- Different page types supporting related business questions-

Another example for such a page type the a pivot table with waterfall chart you see below.

In order to support the application logic needed for certain business questions, we offer different page types to structure the pages and related visualization.

This page types include, for example

• Single Pivot Table

• Pivot Table with Time Series Chart

• Pivot Table with Waterfall Chart

• Two Pivot Tables with merged rows and columns

• etc.

Why the Review Booklet approach is more than just a new app

- From where we come-

Let's first connect to what you probably already know from "S/4HANA Embedded Analytics":

We are all on our path towards the intelligent enterprise bringing application and analytical data much closer together.

If you now have a closer look at the evolution of the Analytical UIs at SAP, you can distinguish...

1. A business applications path where Fiori  applications play a mayor role to support business processes and host all the application logic.

1. On the Analytics Technology path BI Tools evolved, such as the analytical engine and analytical queries enabling multidimensional reporting and as well as dashboarding within SAC.

Based on all the feedback we received we were encouraged by our customers to bring application logic and analytical technology closer together within SAP Fiori.


 

- Fiori Application built with Analytical UI5 Components-

This results in a new approach to build SAP Fiori Applications, which embed and reuse analytical UI5 Controls contributed and delivered by SAP Analytics Cloud.

Accordingly analytical controls and features within the SAP Fiori programming model are delivered within SAP UI5. This allows to enrich Fiori applications with embedded multidimensional insights and many related dialogs and features.

In addition this allows to connect application logic and multidimensional insights closer and bring contextual decision making and intelligent automation to the next level.

 

-  Analytical Foundations -

We are building on top of multidimensional accounting data, which is part of our virtual data model.

The Analytical Engine in combination with Analytical Queries defines a multidimensional model, which is optimized to

• Aggregate Currency Amounts

• Support Pivoting and Drill Downs

• Calculate Totals and Subtotals,

• Show and work with Hierarchies,

• Introduce complex Calculations, Variances, etc.
  
  

- From a more Technical Perspective -

Let's finally connect the dots to the architecture pictures you most likely know from embedded analytics in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

Our Group Financial Statement Review Booklet is calculated based on the CDS (Core Data Services) model in Group Reporting using analytical queries. Those queries are exposed via the Analytics (OLAP) engine using our multidimensional protocol (InA).

Multiple front-ends can now consume multidimensional data using the Firefly library centrally contributed by SAP Analytics Cloud. For SAP Fiori Applications a new UI5 Library "Dragonfly" is used, which provides controls, dialogs and analytical features for multidimensional data.

Further detail features to know

Feature / What you want	Where to click	Preview
On booklet level you will find those filters, which apply to all pages. In addition you can use page filters on page level: Page filters include variables defined in the underlying query or dynamic filters, which you can create on the fly. (e.g. via context menu)	Open Side Panel "Page Filters" and view the page-specific filters. You can adapt those by choosing the value help, context menu or add additional filters on the fly.
Under proposed filters you will find hierarchical filters, which are shown prominently in the side panel.For example you want to filter your profit and loss statement on a page by consolidation units and groups.	Open Side Panel "Page Filters" and choose the tab "Proposed Filters". Proposed filters are predefined in the booklet model and allow to display the most prominent filters for a page.
You want to show your amounts in millions or thousands. This shall be done for a measure or dedicated structure members.	Position cursor on "Amount in Group Currency" or a structure and select "Scaling" from the context menu. Alternatively you can use the number formatting side panel.
You want to change the dimension properties to adapt display, sorting and hierarchies?	Position the cursor on a dimension name in the header, such as "Consolidation Unit" and then select "Properties" from the context menu.
You want to get the complete information on all applied filters on booklet as well as on page level?	Choose "Context Information" in the side panel.
You have a larger page and you want to freeze header rows and columns for easier reading.	Position your curser on header row or column and choose "Freeze Headers"
You want to define Conditional Formatting rules to apply certain conditions to your data.	Open the Formatting Side Panel and add a Conditional Formatting rule. Please make sure that you also filter on the relevant structures in case you have more advanced variance calculations as you find them in Group Reporting.
You want to export the page to spreadsheet?	Go to Exporting Side Panel and choose "Export to Microsoft Excel".

More Information / Further Resources: 

You will find more information on this topic using the following ressources:

Help Documentation

Getting Started/Initial Setup Infos with the App.

 

Questions and Answers:

Question:	Answer:
What does "powered by SAC" mean?	We are reusing the same controls and access libraries in Fiori/UI5 as we use in SAP Analytics Cloud. With this we achieve improved consistency across our analytic capabilities.
Do I need a license for SAP Analytics Cloud for this use case?	No, the analytic controls are delivered via SAP UI5.
Can I use this application in SAP S/4HANA On Premise?	At the moment this application is only available in S/4HANA Cloud CE2308 We follow the cloud first strategy. For our On-Premise customers: we can make the review booklet available as preview for a small group of customers with 2023FPS0, please reach out to us.