Presented by John Jordan and Janet Salmon
John and Janet’s new book, on publication Jan 26, 2023, immediately entered the SAP Press Bestsellers top ten.
The first edition in 2007 was the first-ever book on SAP Controlling (CO), which explains SAP CO in an easy-to-understand way and has continued to attract positive feedback from our SAP Controlling community.
The 2nd edition was released in 2011 with a revised and improved layout and new content based on SAP ERP 6.0, continued as a bestseller, and remained in the SAP Press catalog.
To completely transform the book to the latest SAP S/4HANA version, John asked Janet Salmon, Chief Product Owner of Management Accounting at SAP SE, to co-author with him. They have included S/4HANA version 2021 screenshots and content throughout the book and S/4HANA version 2022 in the new chapter 7 on event-based processing, SAP Fiori Apps, and the future direction of SAP S/4HANA.
Chapter 7 discusses new options for variance analysis delivered with SAP S/4HANA Cloud when you use scope item 3F0 (Event-Based Production Cost Posting) and SAP S/4HANA 2022, with the business function for universal parallel accounting.
In this webinar, John and Janet present a chapter-by-chapter review of the updated contents and structure and, in the process, you'll gain an overview of SAP Product Costing.
Q&A
Q: I guess in ECC, there was target cost v1, v2, etc.WIP at target, partial deliveries?
A: You might be referring to period-end processing in ECC. With S/4HANA 2022 period-end processing is still available. All options you mention in your question are available in both ECC and S/4HANA.
Q: In the context of PER settlement rules vs FUL - What is the rationale behind the naming of Scope Item IDs, e.g. BEG - Standard Cost Calculation…we get a lot of questions lately from clients?
A: There isn’t really a rational for the naming. When we request a new scope item, we get given a number (it is not like e.g. SAP transaction codes where there is/was a naming convention). If a scope item already exists (e.g. BEG), we have to choose whether to extend when we add additional settings (e.g. new costing variants) or create a new one for e.g. actual costing.
Q: In order variance reporting we are using target & planned & actual costs to undestand if variance is coming from change of BOM & routing or as usage variance vs. expected usage. But planned costs are based on planned order quantity and actual & target costs are based on delivered quantity. Is the recalculation of planned order costs considering the delivered quantity available in the reporting now or will be soon?
A: Target costs are calculated based on the plan and actual delivered quantity. Plan costs are not calculated, they are entered by the user. The Fiori apps calculate target costs based on the actual quantity on the fly.
Q: Can you expand on the event-based variance calculation process? Does it mean overheads are allocated and variance calculated and posted when the order gets like status TECO?
A: TECO status cannot be predicted since the user manually sets it. With Event-Based processing, TECO should mean variances are calculated as you describe. Additionally, overhead is calculated with each underlying business transaction (goods issue for material overhead, confirmation for production overhead, etc). Variances are usually calculated with final goods receipt, but would be calculated when the status TECO is set, if the order never gets the “final delivery” status.
Q: If I'm using Actual Costing, do I need to run Variance Analysis?
A: Yes.
Q: Is Event-Based Processing Mandatory with S/4HANA 2022?
A: In the cloud, yes.
Q: What fields in the Universal journal enhance variance analysis?
A: Operation and Work Center.
Q: What are the most important Fiori Apps in Variance Analysis?
A: Production Cost Analysis App and Analyze Costs by Work Center/Operation App.