First-hand knowledge.

Browse the Book

This chapter covers the architecture of SAP HANA, describes the scope
and deployment options of SAP S/4HANA, and discusses the basic fun-
ctions of the SAP Fiori user interface. These topics on SAP HANA and SAP
S/4HANA make up 10% of the Financial Accounting Associates exam.
The chapter includes real-world scenarios as well as practice questions
to help readers test their knowledge.

“Overview and Deployment

of SAP S/4HANA”

Contents

Index

The Author

Stefanos Pougkas

SAP S/4HANA Financial Accounting Certificati-

on Guide: Application Associate Exam
339 Pages, 3rd, updated and revised edition 2021, $79.95
ISBN 978-1-4932-2127-1

www.sap-press.com/5310
Chapter 1
Overview and Deployment
of SAP S/4HANA

Techniques You’ll Master

쐍 Explain the SAP strategy for digital transformation

쐍 Describe the SAP framework for the digital enterprise

쐍 Understand the role of the SAP Business Technology Platform

and intelligent technologies

쐍 Review basic SAP HANA technology

쐍 Describe the scope of financials for SAP S/4HANA

쐍 Choose the relevant deployment option for SAP S/4HANA

쐍 Explain the SAP Fiori design pillars

쐍 Use the SAP Fiori launchpad

쐍 Describe the basic SAP Fiori app types

46 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA Intelligent Enterprise Framework Section 1.3 47

In this chapter, we’ll explore the architecture of SAP HANA, describe the scope and
Note
deployment options of SAP S/4HANA, and discuss the basic functions of the SAP
The SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA topic makes up 10% of the total exam.
Fiori user interface (UI).

Real-World Scenario 1.2 Digital Transformation

As a consultant, you need to understand the underlying architecture that the
Because the technological world is expanding with unprecedented speed, it’s
SAP S/4HANA system is built on. SAP HANA is at the core of the SAP strategy,
imperative for businesses to not only catch up with these advances but also use
and you need to feel comfortable explaining this technology to your custom-
them to their competitive advantage. Computers and software are traditionally
ers in simple terms. SAP HANA is a faster database, but there’s more informa-
considered supportive to business, and digital transformation brings the digital
tion you should be able to pass on without scaring nontechnical people off. world to the forefront of innovation and makes it a key business driver on its own.
SAP HANA is often perceived as expensive, so understanding technologies Digital transformation in business implies the adoption and use of technologies
such as compression and columnar store on a high level can help you build a such as big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, artificial intelligence (AI), and
case to alter this perception for your potential customers. social media to drive business innovation and growth.
The SAP S/4HANA system is a separate product line from the old SAP ERP sys-
tem. SAP ERP is no longer the default go-to enterprise resource planning
(ERP) platform for SAP. This was a huge change and a business decision with 1.3 Intelligent Enterprise Framework
quite a large risk for SAP. It has proven to be successful, and more and more
The effect of digital transformation can be felt across business functions such as
customers are persuaded by the true benefits of the new system. But what’s
marketing, operations, human resources, administration, and so on. It forces orga-
special about it? How difficult is it to adopt? How can customers move to SAP
nizations and people to rethink and optimize how they execute business pro-
S/4HANA, and do they risk losing the (potentially) millions they have
cesses and how they can benefit from adopting automation in their day-to-day
invested in the “old” software? You need to be able to explain the reasons for
activities. SAP is investing heavily to support all facets of the digital enterprise and
this move by SAP and what it means for new and existing SAP customers.
has adopted a strategic framework to help businesses run while using progressive
Finally, SAP Fiori is the default graphical user interface (GUI) for end users in enterprise technology.
SAP S/4HANA, so you need to be able to use it with confidence, explain its
The SAP strategy for supporting the intelligent enterprise is focused on three key
components, and describe the benefits it brings. Explain the importance of a product offerings:
simple interface with great usability and applications that can be used on
쐍 Intelligent suite
mobile device and on desktops. You should also have knowledge of how the
The intelligent suite includes all the SAP applications that support the end-to-
tile groups, tile catalogs, roles, and users cooperate to form what the user sees
end business processes of the enterprise (Figure 1.1).
on his own SAP Fiori launchpad.

Digital Digital Customer Spend Financial People

supply chain manufacturing experience management management management
1.1 Objectives of This Portion of the Test
The purpose of this portion of the certification exam is to test your general knowl- SAP S/4HANA
edge of the SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP Fiori applications. The certification
exam expects you to have a good understanding of the following topics: Intelligent suite
쐍 Overview of SAP HANA in-memory architecture Figure 1.1 Intelligent Suite
쐍 SAP S/4HANA products, and architecture for financials
쐍 Deployment options for SAP S/4HANA 쐍 Digital platform
쐍 SAP Fiori launchpad features The digital platform refers to SAP Business Technology Platform, an open busi-
쐍 SAP Fiori app types ness platform for building and delivering business applications. The strategy
48 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA
put forward by SAP is to shift development focus from the core solutions into
the SAP Business Technology Platform to ensure the greatest flexibility both for
SAP and third-party developers while maintaining a lean and stable core.
쐍 Intelligent technologies
The third and final component (formerly referred to under the SAP Leonardo
product umbrella) is a technology framework that combines multiple modern
technological tools that can be used to improve applications by providing auto-
mation, detection, and prevention capabilities, among others. Some of the key
words include process automation, AI, machine learning, blockchain, data intel-
ligence, big data, IoT, and predictive analytics.
Traditional business applications and ERP software packages aren’t designed to
fully support businesses throughout this digital transformation journey. SAP saw
this growing gap as an opportunity more than 10 years ago and created SAP HANA
to be the core building block of business software that not only supports but also
drives digital transformation. Today, SAP HANA is at the core of virtually all SAP
product development. But what is SAP HANA, and why is it so important?
1.3.1 SAP HANA Architecture
In its simplest form, SAP HANA is a database management system. It performs all
the expected database functions of storing and retrieving data for applications
that sit on top of it, but SAP HANA is unique in how it performs these tasks. In addi-
tion, SAP HANA has embedded advanced analytics capabilities such as predictive
analytics and text analysis, mining, and search. SAP HANA also offers application
development services supporting a variety of programming languages. Finally,
SAP HANA provides a slew of data access, administration, and security support ser-
vices. Clearly, SAP HANA is much more than “just” a really fast database.
Interesting as all the features are, we’ll concentrate on the database architecture.
We won’t get too technical, and we’ll keep things in scope both for the certification
and the financial accounting associate role. The SAP HANA database has three
standout features that work together and make it unique:
쐍 In-memory database
Using RAM to store all data has only even been imagined as a possibility in the
past decade or so. Memory is faster than disk storage—in fact, much faster. In
best-case-scenario sequential reads, the best solid-state disks today can read
data at about 3 GB/s. Modern, fast memory reads, writes, and copies at rates
around 60 GB/s. That’s a factor of 20 against best-case-scenario disk drive
speed. Of course, this method is more expensive, but these costs usually aren’t
prohibitive for enterprises. In addition, the data storage capacities supported
aren’t as large, but modern servers can support tens of terabytes of capacity.
The memory size limitations aren’t critical in any but the most extreme cases
due to the other features of SAP HANA, described in the next list items.
Intelligent Enterprise Framework Section 1.3 49
쐍 Aggressive compression
All major databases support compression, but what you save in space, you lose
in speed. SAP HANA uses smart techniques to make compression a viable
option while sacrificing little speed. You can expect data in an SAP HANA data-
base to be compressed by a factor of 10 on average, meaning neither acquisition
cost nor storage capacity is a huge factor. One of the ways SAP HANA avoids los-
ing speed is by inserting only new data rather than editing existing entries;
decompressing and recompressing for changing entries is a costly proposition.
By only adding entries and appending the old ones, SAP HANA doesn’t go
through the compress/decompress cycle. With versioning, the system knows
always to read the latest entry for a given data set. This brings us to another
major technical difference that allows larger compression, discussed in the next
list item.
쐍 Columnar data storage
SAP HANA uses the columnar data store type for two major reasons:
– Much better compression
– Faster data retrieval for queries (when only a subset of the full table data set
is required)
Column storage also works great for data aggregation (SAP HANA is used for ad
hoc aggregation a lot) and parallel processing. Column storage is more com-
monly found in online analytical processing (OLAP) applications (e.g., business
warehouse systems), rather than online transactional processing (OLTP) sys-
tems (which a typical ERP system might be considered), for which row storage is
considered faster. Although SAP HANA supports both types of tables (develop-
ers can decide what works for their use case), the columnar store is where SAP
HANA shines.
1.3.2 Technology Enablers for Success with SAP HANA
Most databases are designed to work optimally with the technology available at
the time of their design. The de facto approach before SAP HANA was for applica-
tions to minimize disk access requirements and perform calculations in the code.
However, as technology continues to progress, this design is no longer the only
way to go. The following are the main technology drivers and trends that led SAP
to invest in SAP HANA:
쐍 Large-volume, extremely high-bandwidth, affordable memory
Memory has always been much faster, but 20 years ago, it was inconceivable to
be able to purchase and take advantage of the volumes that we can today.
쐍 New-generation microprocessors with multiple cores and larger optimized
caches
CPUs can now access data at much higher rates than in the past.
50 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA SAP S/4HANA Section 1.4 51

쐍 Expandable modular data centers 쐍 SAP Concur for travel management

Modular data centers now can be expanded by adding servers for more mem-
ory and processing power to scale to any new sizing requirements.
쐍 Cloud computing applications
These apps are used more and more by customers as an alternative to investing
in on-premise software, even for critical backend components. Customers save
on IT costs, and their solution is always up to date. The subscription model
makes the cost of ownership more transparent and increases flexibility because
the buy-in is smaller.
1.4 SAP S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA is the current ERP solution from SAP. As the name implies, it’s opti-
mized for SAP HANA. In fact, unlike all previous ERP solutions from SAP, it will
only work on SAP HANA. SAP S/4HANA comprises the SAP S/4HANA Enterprise
Management digital core, the component closest in scope to the SAP ERP solution,
and various line of business (LoB) solutions, which are generally cloud solutions
that are SAP products gained through mergers and acquisitions. These LoBs have
been and are being optimized to work together as a seamless, integrated solution
(Figure 1.2).
SAP Ariba
SAP
Customer SAP Concur
Experience SAP
S/4HANA
Digital Core
쐍 SAP Ariba for sourcing and procurement
Now let’s explore the digital core, in which you’ll find the financial components
this exam is about. SAP S/4HANA is a new breed of ERP system written specifically
with two major goals in mind:
쐍 Writing code to take advantage of SAP HANA
SAP removes architectural redundancies to simplify and speed up the system.
New code was developed for the core system architecture that did away with the
aggregation tables the old system relied on. The system doesn’t use separate
totals tables to store values; instead, totals are calculated on the fly from the line
items. The system also did away with the index tables used for reporting
because SAP HANA is fast enough to work on the line-item level. Indices
increase code complexity and have been removed. These are ambitious simpli-
fication steps that seem incompatible with the second goal.
쐍 Safeguarding existing customer investments
Writing a completely new logic for the SAP S/4HANA system was and is ambi-
tious. Doing so while maintaining compatibility with custom code written for
the previous SAP ERP system seems like it would require some form of witch-
craft. However, this is exactly what SAP programmers have managed. The exact
description of the mechanism isn’t in scope for this certification, but, in a nut-
shell, SAP HANA compatibility views make it possible to replicate obsolete
tables on the fly. In this way, an existing program that, for example, reads data
from an index table (removed in SAP S/4HANA) can continue to retrieve the
data because the system creates an on-the-fly replication of the original table.
Another manifestation of this goal is the option SAP offers to customers to
transform their SAP ERP systems into SAP S/4HANA systems and continue
business as usual without extensive downtimes.
Figure 1.3 shows how data is accessed for traditional applications that use compat-
ibility views and aggregates, along with the simplification achieved from reading
directly from line-item tables with SAP HANA–optimized apps.

Non-SAP HANA-Optimized
Compatibility View Compatibility View
Application
Aggregate/Index Aggregate/Index
SAP SAP
Fieldglass SuccessFactors

Compatibility View Compatibility View Compatibility View

Aggregate/Index Aggregate/Index Aggregate/Index

Figure 1.2 SAP S/4HANA: Digital Core

The following are the main LoB solutions you should be aware of: SAP HANA-Optimized
Application
Table Table
쐍 SAP C/4HANA, the customer experience and engagement suite
쐍 SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Fieldglass for human resource management
Figure 1.3 SAP HANA Application Simplification
52 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA SAP S/4HANA Section 1.4 53

Note Warning
For a little history, the first component of SAP ERP to be “simplified” through module uni- The any-premise edition is what was referred to as on-premise in previous releases of SAP
fication and removal of aggregates was Financial Accounting with the introduction of the S/4HANA. The certification and this book focus only on the any-premise edition of SAP
universal ledger in the SAP Simple Finance 1503 add-on (internally at SAP, this release was S/4HANA, although, of course, there is overlap with the cloud version).
referred to as SFIN2.0). The financials-only version of SAP S/4HANA was originally sold as
a separate product in parallel to the complete SAP S/4HANA suite, but they have now
been consolidated into a single, complete product.
1.4.2 SAP S/4HANA Adoption
Customers have four major options to start using SAP S/4HANA: a new implemen-
1.4.1 SAP S/4HANA Deployment Options tation, system conversion, landscape transformation, or Central Finance. Let’s drill
down into these adoption options:
There are currently three deployment options for SAP S/4HANA that customers
can choose from, as detailed in Table 1.1. 쐍 New implementation
In this case, customers can move from their legacy system (SAP ERP or a non-
SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP S/4HANA Any- SAP system) and implement SAP S/4HANA from scratch. This scenario is also
public edition private edition Premise known as a greenfield approach. Customers with older, highly customized ERP
Innovation lifecycle Quarterly Semiannual Annual, customer- solutions might prefer this option to clean up their systems and start over. This
led option is available for all editions of SAP S/4HANA.
Total cost of owner- Lowest Lower Higher 쐍 System conversion
ship (TCO) This is for customers who want to convert their existing SAP ERP system into an
System governance SAP-led Customer-influenced Customer-led SAP S/4HANA system. The benefit is that customers can move to SAP S/4HANA
without a reimplementation and with no major disruption to existing business
IT infrastructure SAP, public SAP, dedicated Customer-managed
processes. After the conversion is completed, customers can gradually update
Customization Within standards Within standards Open to modifica-
their processes to adapt to SAP S/4HANA and SAP Fiori. This option is available
tions
for on-premise and private cloud customers of SAP S/4HANA.
Extension Platform as a service PaaS, SAP BTP Open, SAP BTP
(PaaS), SAP BTP
Tip
System delivery New implementa- New implementa- New or SAP ERP con-
The specific tasks required of a financial accounting consultant during a system conver-
tion tion version
sion project are a part of the SAP Certified Application Professional – Financials in SAP
Table 1.1 SAP S/4HANA Deployment Options S/4HANA certification curriculum. However, this is out of scope for the application asso-
ciate certification.

For simplicity, and from a functional consultant perspective, you can simplify this
into two editions:
쐍 SAP S/4HANA Cloud (the first column, private edition)
In this edition, the scope and customizing possibilities are slightly limited (SAP
is looking to achieve scope and feature parity by the end of 2021).
쐍 SAP S/4HANA (the other two columns)
This edition provides the full scope of functionality and configuration flexibil-
ity. It’s referred to as any-premise as it can be deployed on local and cloud sys-
tem infrastructure with the same scope and functionalities.
Tip
SAP naming conventions mandate that when referring to the on-premise editions, the
product is SAP S/4HANA. The cloud edition is referred to as SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
쐍 Landscape transformation
This adoption method is for customers who want to consolidate multiple
diverse landscapes. In essence, this will entail consolidating the systems into a
single SAP S/4HANA system. This is generally not completed in a single step, but
with a gradual approach. Landscape transformation scenarios work on premise
and may selectively work with the cloud deployment as well.
쐍 Central Finance
Customers can take a gradual approach toward moving their landscapes to SAP
S/4HANA. With Central Finance, the source ERP systems remain intact, and
most business transactions are still performed in the source systems. The data
is then replicated into a central SAP S/4HANA system. For the replicated data,
you can then use the features and advantages of the Universal Journal and
reporting using the SAP S/4HANA system.
54 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA
1.4.3 SAP S/4HANA System Landscape
System landscapes can vary greatly depending on the customer requirements and
legacy ERP systems in use. A new installation for SAP S/4HANA would typically
require two basic productive systems: the SAP S/4HANA backend server and an
SAP Gateway server. The SAP S/4HANA backend is, of course, a required compo-
nent because without it, there is no ERP system. The SAP Gateway server is where
the connections and settings to SAP Fiori are established. You can access both with
the traditional SAP GUI. Figure 1.4 shows the SAP Logon window with the two-
system setup we use in SAP Training and Adoption courses for most SAP S/4HANA
Finance courses: T41 is the backend server, and T4N is the gateway server.
Figure 1.4 SAP Logon Screen with SAP S/4HANA Backend and SAP Gateway Server
Note
SAP Fiori is, in theory, an optional component of SAP S/4HANA; however, you aren’t tak-
ing full advantage of SAP S/4HANA without it, and as the product matures and is
enhanced, you’ll be using fewer and fewer of the new developments for it. Performing a
conversion of SAP ERP to SAP S/4HANA without implementing SAP Fiori must only be
seen as the first step toward adopting SAP S/4HANA.
1.5 SAP Fiori User Interface
SAP Fiori is the common design paradigm for SAP. The SAP Fiori design language
affects the look and feel of all things SAP, not only the interface of the new SAP
S/4HANA system. SAP recognized that everyday apps are becoming simpler to use
and more flexible. Business software needs to keep up with this development, or
else the disconnect between “work software” and “daily apps” will cause issues in
user acceptance, satisfaction, and productivity.
To create apps in SAP Fiori, you use the SAPUI5 framework. This framework is in
turn based on the open-source OpenUI5 framework, with the addition of a few
extra SAP-specific tools. SAPUI5 is an open-source framework; that is, anyone can
use it and implement improvements. The main development tools to work with
SAPUI5 include HTML5, CCS3, jQuery, and JavaScript. Basing the entire develop-
ment platform on open standards with general and broad acceptance ensures that
a lot of people will be familiar with the tools needed to develop SAP Fiori apps and
that the apps have great compatibility with multiple device platforms.
SAP Fiori User Interface Section 1.5 55
1.5.1 SAP Fiori User Experience Paradigm
The SAP Fiori design and user experience paradigm is built on five principles:
쐍 Role-based
Applications should be focused on providing the functionality required for a
specific task. Complex screens with infinite selection options and one app for
doing everything isn’t the aim.
쐍 Responsive
Apps should be usable on multiple devices and be able to adjust their interface
to fit the device size, input methods, and so on.
쐍 Simple
Apps should not need a manual or special training to be used. The apps should
be designed for a single user and use case, and they should require no more
than three screens end to end.
쐍 Coherent
The design has to be coherent between apps, and users should feel instant
familiarity when accessing new apps. In addition, apps should be designed with
technical coherence as well, meaning they can be ported to other systems and
speak the same language.
쐍 Instant value
Apps need to be useful immediately, meaning they need to be easy to install,
configure, and deploy in your IT landscape. On the user side, the purpose of the
apps should be clear, and users should have no problem learning how to use
them. Ideally, users who have seen a couple of SAP Fiori apps in action should be
able to move on to other apps without needing help or training.
1.5.2 SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA
SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA refers more specifically to the apps available for the sys-
tem. The SAP development teams are constantly developing new native apps for
SAP Fiori to replace the traditional and usually “busier” SAP GUI apps that SAP
S/4HANA inherited. Native apps can also make use of all the exciting new technol-
ogy available with SAP S/4HANA, such as conversational UI, machine learning,
immersive experiences, and the like. SAP S/4HANA Finance has a good head start,
and quite a few native apps are already available.
In addition to the native SAP Fiori apps, you can also launch SAP GUI apps from the
SAP Fiori launchpad. These apps will be launched in the web browser with an SAP
Fiori “look” design theme (see Figure 1.5). The scope of the SAP ERP apps is huge,
and not immediately having to replace everything at once gives SAP some breath-
ing room to create useful and simpler native apps without sacrificing scope cover-
age. Customers can always develop their own apps as well, and easily adding SAP
GUI apps to SAP Fiori allows any legacy custom ABAP apps to work through SAP
Fiori.
56 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA SAP Fiori User Interface Section 1.5 57

You can see an example of the SAP Fiori–look classic apps in Figure 1.5. The basic SAP Fiori apps fit into one of three categories:
design elements for these apps include the following: 쐍 Transactional apps
1 A text-based toolbar instead of icons Apps used to perform operations such as master record creation and mainte-
2 All labels right-aligned nance or posting transactions, such as the Clear Incoming Payments app shown
3 Condensed table rows in Figure 1.6.

4 New design icons with common design language

5 The SAP logo and buttons in the SAP Fiori header replace the in-app navigation
controls
6 Redesigned tab strips (the active tab highlighting)
7 Processing and closing actions moved to the footer of the screen

Figure 1.6 Transactional App Example: Clear Incoming Payments

쐍 Analytical apps
These are detailed reports used to drill down to finer details or “zoom out” to
the organization level you need. One of these, Overdue Receivables, is shown in
Figure 1.7.

Figure 1.5 SAP Fiori Look for HTML SAP GUI Apps

Tip
SAP GUI apps are referred to by SAP in the new system as SAP S/4HANA classic applica-
tions.

Figure 1.7 Analytical App Example: Overdue Receivables

58 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA SAP Fiori User Interface Section 1.5 59

쐍 Factsheet apps
Quick overviews of a specific object, with the basic details and even some key
performance indicators (KPIs) in one screen. You can often navigate directly via
links from one factsheet to another for related objects. Figure 1.8 shows an
example factsheet app—Supplier Invoice Search.

Figure 1.9 SAP Fiori Launchpad with the User Menu Expanded

Figure 1.8 Factsheet App Example: Supplier Invoice Search

SAP now offers more than 2,000 native apps built for SAP Fiori, and you can also
access and use the more than 9,000 classic SAP GUI and Web Dynpro apps direct
through the SAP Fiori landscape. SAP also offers more than 500 standard business
roles, ready to assign to users. These offer a preconfigured set of apps for you to
use as they are or to use as templates for you to combine in your own roles for
users.
Let’s explore the important characteristics and functionalities of the SAP Fiori
launchpad:
쐍 You access it from a web browser with a fixed URL. The URL can be shared with
anyone on the network. If they have a user name/password and are authorized,
they will be able to log on without further installations of local software (see the
top of Figure 1.10).

1.5.3 SAP Fiori Launchpad

The SAP Fiori launchpad is the user access point to the system, as shown in Figure
1.9. It’s a customizable web-based interface from which all the apps a user has
assigned can be launched. The apps don’t need to be from one specific system; the
tiles can launch apps and links for any system that’s connected and compatible.

Figure 1.10 Browser View of SAP Fiori

60 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA
쐍 Apps are displayed as tiles (or, rarely, as text links). The tiles can be static, mean-
ing they have a fixed icon, or active. Active tiles show some important informa-
tion directly without needing to be clicked. Active tiles update displayed
information at customizable periodic intervals and can be helpful to provide a
quick status overview for topics of interest, such as open payments, number of
open workflow messages, and more. The three last tiles in the Bank Account
Management group shown in Figure 1.10 are examples of active tiles.
쐍 The advanced search functionality isn’t limited to applications; there is a drop-
down list to search for many characteristics. The system will display informa-
tion for the searched-for object directly in a factsheet, as shown in Figure 1.11.
Figure 1.11 SAP Fiori Launchpad: Search for Cost Centers
쐍 An end user can customize the apps and app groups displayed in the SAP Fiori
launchpad. Selecting the Edit Homepage option (shown previously in the user
menu in Figure 1.9) allows a user to reposition, remove, and add apps (that the
user has access to), as well as move, add, rename, and remove groups com-
pletely. A user can at any time reset groups back to their default. You can see the
SAP Fiori launchpad in edit mode in Figure 1.12.
SAP Fiori User Interface Section 1.5 61
Figure 1.12 Editing the Homepage
Warning
The scope of apps each user can open, the initial grouping of apps, and the apps included
in these standard groups are all controlled by an administrator.
Within most native SAP Fiori apps, and especially for reports, a user has the option
to save the current view (with whatever inputs have been made) as a new tile.
Clicking on the tile directly from the SAP Fiori homepage will execute the app with
the settings defined when the tile was created. This is useful, for example, in KPI
reports when you want to have easy access to information for a specific combina-
tion of characteristic values. You can see the popup for creating your own tile in
Figure 1.13.
SAP Fiori has a state-of-the-art context help menu available to provide guidance
for end users directly in the application. You can access the help menu by selecting
the question mark icon in the launchpad header. The help menu includes general
application help, field explanations, and, in some cases, video tutorials on how to
use the app. The help menu for the Post General Journal Entries app is shown in
Figure 1.14.
62 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA SAP Fiori User Interface Section 1.5 63

Customers can use their own themes to fully customize the look of the SAP Fiori
launchpad. The colors, background, logos, fonts, and so on can all be changed from
the SAP-delivered standard theme. You can design multiple themes, and users can
select from among them. All such customizing is done with the UI theme designer,
as shown in Figure 1.15.

Figure 1.13 Save App View as Custom Tile

Figure 1.15 UI Theme Designer

The user can select the Settings option in the user menu to display information for
his user account, as shown in Figure 1.16.

Figure 1.14 Context Help in SAP Fiori Figure 1.16 SAP Fiori Launchpad User Settings
64 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA SAP Fiori User Interface Section 1.5 65

This is also where users select the theme and default language and region settings. SAP Fiori catalogs hold configuration information for apps. Here you maintain
Under User Profiling, the user can enable a customized search, which tracks the names, subtitles, icons, and other options for the more technical settings for your
user’s activity to tailor search results, and, if enabled, clear the search cache. tiles (these are useful to understand, but completely out of scope for this book).
Finally, the user can set default values proposed by apps for many system attri- After you’ve created a catalog, you assign it to a role (and the role to a user). The
butes, such as company code, plant, planner profile, and so on. application tiles inside the catalog define the applications a user has access to. If a
tile is included in an SAP Fiori tile group to which a user is assigned, but the tile
isn’t in any of the catalogs assigned, the user won’t be able to see the tile. You’ll
1.5.4 SAP Fiori Launchpad Designer need to assign the catalog to the user that the tile is in. You can create as many cat-
In SAP S/4HANA, you define roles that provide authorizations for performing var- alogs as required to meet the needs of end-user roles (see Figure 1.18).
ious functions, and then you assign these roles to users. A user can be assigned to
multiple roles. SAP delivers a standard set of roles and sample users through SAP
Best Practices content. It’s the same in the SAP Gateway server, but the business
roles you assign here contain SAP Fiori tile catalogs and tile groups. Catalogs and
groups are assigned to roles, which are in turn assigned to users. This assignment
defines which application tiles a user sees on his SAP Fiori launchpad, has authori-
zation to add to groups, and can launch through the app finder. You can rely on the
many SAP-delivered standard catalogs and groups if you don’t want to make
changes, or you can use them as a reference for your own. With the SAP Fiori
launchpad designer, you create the catalogs and the groups for your SAP Fiori
launchpad, as shown in Figure 1.17.

Figure 1.18 SAP Fiori Launchpad Designer: Catalogs

The name of a group and the tiles included in that group are assigned in the SAP
Fiori tile group configuration in the SAP Fiori launchpad designer (see Figure 1.19).
You can add tiles to the group from many different catalogs, but the user must be
assigned to all the relevant catalogs to see and use the tiles. You can select whether
the end user will be allowed to change a tile group on his own launchpad or not.
Finally, you select whether apps will be displayed as tiles or as links.

Warning
If you make changes to SAP-delivered catalogs or groups, these will be overwritten by
updated versions of the groups and catalogs provided by SAP. It’s always best to create
your own and assign tiles as needed. You can then assign these to your own roles.

Figure 1.17 Role Maintenance in SAP Gateway Server

66 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA
Figure 1.19 SAP Fiori Launchpad Designer: Groups
1.6 Important Terminology
In this chapter, the following terminology was used:
쐍 Columnar store
Data is stored in columns instead of in the more traditional rows; this allows
speedier read performance and greater compression capabilities. The downside
is suboptimal transactional processing.
쐍 In-memory technology
Data storage in RAM instead of in disks to capitalize on lower latency and read/
write times. The technology still makes use of disks for historic data and backup
purposes.
쐍 Intelligent technologies
Technological frameworks that are used in conjunction with SAP Business Tech-
nology Platform to develop next-generation applications. Relevant technolo-
gies include machine learning, IoT, process automation, predictive analytics,
blockchain, data intelligence, and big data.
쐍 SAP Business Technology Platform
SAP Business Technology Platform is a development and deployment platform
that aids in the creation of intelligent, integrated, and mobile-ready applica-
tions to support business operations.
Practice Questions Section 1.7 67
쐍 SAP Fiori
A new common design paradigm for all SAP applications. The design goal is to
make business apps intuitive to use and available on all platforms and devices.
SAP Fiori is based on the following design principles: role-based, responsive,
simple, coherent, and instant value.
쐍 SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA
A group of applications that are designed for SAP S/4HANA. There are three
basic app types: transactional, analytical, and factsheet.
쐍 SAP Fiori launchpad
The UI “cockpit” for SAP Fiori that is accessed through any modern web browser
without extra software requirements. It displays several applications in flat,
rectangular forms called tiles. The applications available depend on the user’s
role and authorizations. The SAP Fiori launchpad offers many Customizing
options for the end user, such as theme selection, custom grouping, and dis-
played application selection.
쐍 SAP Fiori launchpad designer
Administrator interface to customize the catalogs and groups available in the
system. You define the configuration for SAP Fiori tiles in the Catalog section
and for the tiles included in groups in the Group section.
쐍 SAP Gateway server
The server used to connect SAP Fiori to one or more SAP S/4HANA, SAP ERP, SAP
Business Warehouse (SAP BW), and other such backend systems. SAP Fiori app
configuration is performed here, as well as SAP Fiori user maintenance.
쐍 SAP S/4HANA
The new ERP system from SAP that leverages SAP HANA to simplify the code
and data structures. It’s designed to be the digital core for all business applica-
tions of the customer and to allow businesses to go digital. It’s offered on prem-
ise with a traditional ownership model and in the cloud with a subscription
model.
1.7 Practice Questions
These practice questions will help you evaluate your understanding of the topics
covered in this chapter. The questions shown are similar in nature to those found
on the certification examination. Although none of these questions will be found
on the exam itself, they will allow you to review your knowledge of the subject.
Select the correct answers, and then check the completeness of your answers in
the next section. Remember that, on the exam, you must select all correct answers
and only correct answers to receive credit for the question.
68 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA Practice Questions Section 1.7 69

1. Which SAP technological products provide the platform required for SAP to 6. True or False: In an environment of systems using SAP HANA, you can per-
support the digital transformation of an organization? (There are two correct form both OLAP and OLTP processing without duplication of the data for the
answers.) SAP BW and SAP ERP systems.

첸 A. SAP HANA 첸 A. True

첸 B. SAP Data Intelligence 첸 B. False
첸 C. SAP Fiori
7. SAP HANA makes extensive use of which high-speed hardware technology to
첸 D. SAP Business Technology Platform
offer more speed?

2. You want to develop a substantial enhancement for the purchase-to-pay pro- 첸 A. Read-only memory
cess in your SAP S/4HANA system. Where does SAP recommend you perform 첸 B. Solid-state drives (SSDs)
this enhancement?
첸 C. Graphics processing units (GPUs)
첸 A. SAP Analytics Cloud 첸 D. Multicore CPUs
첸 B. SAP Fiori
첸 C. SAP Business Technology Platform 8. True or False: SAP S/4HANA replaces SAP ERP, and development and support
are shifted completely to it.
첸 D. SAP S/4HANA core
첸 A. True
3. True or False: SAP S/4HANA (on premise) can be deployed on a cloud infra- 첸 B. False
structure.

첸 A. True 9. Which of the following product lines does the SAP S/4HANA system rely on
for procurement functions?
첸 B. False
첸 A. SAP Concur
4. The SAP HANA database relies on which of the following technologies for stor- 첸 B. SAP SuccessFactors
ing data? (There are three correct answers.)
첸 C. SAP Ariba
첸 A. In-memory 첸 D. SAP C/4HANA
첸 B. Aggregation
첸 C. Indexing 10. What technology did SAP leverage to eliminate aggregate tables from the SAP
S/4HANA system while maintaining compatibility with many legacy pro-
첸 D. Columnar store
grams?
첸 E. Compression
첸 A. Columnar store
5. Data in the SAP HANA database is stored in which two ways? (There are two 첸 B. Compatibility views
correct answers.) 첸 C. Data aging
첸 A. Random 첸 D. Indices
첸 B. Vector
11. True or False: Choosing between SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, pub-
첸 C. Column
lic edition, is also a matter of required scope and Customizing flexibility.
첸 D. Row
첸 A. True
첸 B. False
70 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA Practice Question Answers and Explanations Section 1.8 71

12. True or False: The only version of the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition, a 18. You use the search in your SAP Fiori launchpad to loop up information for a
customer can be on is the latest released version. cost center. What kind of app is used for the information shown in the search
results?
첸 A. True
첸 B. False 첸 A. Transactional
첸 B. Factsheet
13. A user wants to add an app to his SAP Fiori homepage but can’t find it in the 첸 C. Analytical
app finder. What does the admin have to do?
첸 D. List
첸 A. Assign the corresponding SAP Fiori tile group to the user.
첸 B. Assign the corresponding SAP Fiori tile catalog to the user.
첸 C. Add the tile to a tile group already assigned to the user. 1.8 Practice Question Answers and Explanations
첸 D. Add the corresponding tile catalog to the tile group. 1. Correct answers: A, D
SAP HANA is SAP’s default platform to support the digital transformation for
14. Where can an SAP Fiori end user change the theme of his SAP Fiori launchpad? businesses. In addition, the SAP Business Technology Platform provides the
첸 A. In the User Menu of the SAP Fiori launchpad infrastructure and tools for developing next-generation applications.

첸 B. In the Tile Catalog area of the SAP Fiori launchpad designer 2. Correct answer: C
Traditionally, such enhancements are made directly in the core SAP ERP com-
첸 C. In the Tile Group area of the SAP Fiori launchpad designer
ponent. This will indeed still work today in your SAP S/4HANA system; how-
첸 D. In the UI theme designer ever, SAP wants to shift such development to the SAP Business Technology
Platform. This is part of a strategy to keep the core running lean and as close to
15. True or False: Anyone with an appropriate user name and password can log on standard as possible. The other answers are wrong because SAP Analytics Cloud
to the SAP Fiori launchpad through a web browser. is a product for planning and reporting that uses intelligent technologies; and
첸 A. True SAP Fiori represents the UI level, so you would incorporate SAP Fiori as the
첸 B. False default UI of your enhancement, but it’s not where the enhancement is devel-
oped.
16. What kind of customizations can users make to their SAP Fiori launchpads? 3. Correct answer: A
(There are two correct answers.) True. There is no limitation on the location of the hardware that the on-premise
version of SAP S/4HANA is deployed on. A customer can choose compatible
첸 A. Change the name of tile groups.
third-party cloud vendors other than SAP. If a customer chooses to go with SAP
첸 B. Create their own tile groups. as the cloud infrastructure vendor for an SAP S/4HANA on-premise deploy-
첸 C. Change the names of tiles. ment, the product is called SAP S/4HANA Cloud, private edition; with other
첸 D. Change the icons on tiles. vendor infrastructures, it’s just SAP S/4HANA.
4. Correct answers: A, D, E
17. Which of the following are SAP Fiori design principles? (There are two correct In-memory is the most obvious answer here; columnar store is the preferred
answers.) SAP HANA data storage technique; and through compression, SAP HANA man-
ages to cut down on the infrastructure costs and support larger customers. On
첸 A. Role-based
the other hand, aggregates are supported but should be avoided as the idea is
첸 B. Routine
to have all the data at the highest granularity to provide flexible reporting. The
첸 C. Rational same is true for the indices because, with SAP HANA, they offer little speed
첸 D. Responsive improvement and sacrifice too much in the way of flexibility as they must be
predefined, and adding reporting characteristics is difficult.
72 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA
5. Correct answers: C, D
Column store is the preferred method for SAP HANA as discussed because it’s
better for reading data. Row storage is preferred by classic databases and is sup-
ported fully by SAP HANA.
6. Correct answer: A
True. SAP HANA was designed to fulfill the goal of combining optimal OLTP and
OLAP processing in one database. This simplifies the process of answering
questions such as “How did I come up with this number?” and saves on IT
resources by requiring fewer systems to support.
7. Correct answer: D
With many streams of data to process and large requirements for communica-
tion between memory and the CPU cache, you can use a lot of CPU cores at the
same time. Even though GPUs might seem the most out of place here, they
offer tremendous calculation power and are developing faster than CPUs.
Although many companies are considering using some of their special charac-
teristics in the business application world, and we might be hearing of more of
these exploits in the future, for now, they aren’t used by SAP HANA. SSDs offer
a big boost to traditional databases, and because SAP HANA uses disk drives for
many non-speed-critical processes (e.g., backup and aged data), they can be
used with SAP HANA. Unfortunately, they don’t offer much in the way of
improved speed due to the architecture. Read-only memory is irrelevant.
8. Correct answer: B
False. SAP S/4HANA is the successor to SAP ERP, but it doesn’t replace it. There
is still a huge customer base that relies on SAP ERP, and SAP has promised sup-
port until 2027 (at the time of publication) for these customers.
9. Correct answer: C
SAP Ariba is the product that supports the SAP S/4HANA digital core with pro-
curement. SAP SuccessFactors is for human resources, SAP Concur is for travel
management, and SAP C/4HANA supports everything around the customer
experience.
10. Correct answer: B
Compatibility views can be materialized on demand for data in line-item tables
of the SAP HANA database to support programs that read old aggregate and
index tables that are no longer in the system.
11. Correct answer: A
True. The product scopes still vary, with SAP S/4HANA being the more com-
plete solution currently and offering more customizing possibilities. The SAP
S/4HANA Cloud solution is a better fit for new subsidiaries of large enterprises
or companies interested in a lean digital core solution that is always up to date
with the latest features and functions and that can live with the (decreasing)
limitations of the public cloud solution. Note that the private edition option is
Test Takeaway Section 1.9 73
basically equivalent to the any-premise edition and differs mostly in the licens-
ing model (perpetual versus subscription licensing).
12. Correct answer: A
True. Quarterly updates in the realm of the multitenant public cloud solution
are always required. A customer can’t choose to skip a product release cycle
because the system is upgraded for all at the same time. All other editions give
customers more flexibility when selecting their upgrade path and frequency.
13. Correct answer: B
The SAP Fiori tile catalog defines which tiles a user is authorized to use. If the
user isn’t assigned to the right catalog, he won’t see the application tile even if
it’s part of a group he is also assigned to.
14. Correct answer: A
An end user will only typically have access to the SAP Fiori launchpad; other
SAP Fiori tools are for administrators. The user menu is where users control all
changeable settings for their SAP Fiori launchpads, including theme selection.
15. Correct answer: A
True. No special software needs to be installed; all modern, up-to-date web
browsers with HTML5 support will work. In our training system, we recom-
mend using the Google Chrome browser because it seems currently to offer a
better speed/compatibility mix.
16. Correct answers: A, B
Changing the name and look of tiles can only be done in the catalog view of the
SAP Fiori launchpad designer. End users can only access the SAP Fiori launch-
pad where they can manage their tile groups.
17. Correct answers: A, D
SAP Fiori principles mandate that applications should be role-based, catering to
specific tasks performed by specific users. SAP Fiori apps should also be respon-
sive, adjusting their interface to work optimally for different devices.
18. Correct answer: B
The result will be displayed with a factsheet app, which will provide key facts for
the object you searched for. You’ll have the option to navigate to a transactional
app, such as Manage Cost Centers, or an analytical app, such as a cost center
report. The List answer option isn’t an official app type in the SAP Fiori design
language.
1.9 Test Takeaway
You now have a good overview and understanding of the SAP HANA database. You
understand the benefits of the SAP HANA architecture and the technologies that it
uses to improve on traditional disk-based databases. You also got an introduction
to the SAP intelligent enterprise strategy and the new product portfolio that
74 Chapter 1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA

supports it, namely the SAP Business Technology Platform and intelligent tech-
nologies (together with SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, and the other cloud LoB solu-
tions).
In addition, you got a thorough introduction to SAP S/4HANA, the successor to
SAP ERP and the core software required for SAP’s vision of the digital business rev-
olution. You understand the deployment options available and should be able to
determine which option best fits a customer’s needs.
Finally, you gained insight into the SAP Fiori design paradigm and what it means
specifically for SAP S/4HANA. You learned about the basic SAP Fiori tools and how
the tile catalogs and groups control the apps a user sees and can use.

1.10 Summary
You’ve gained a high-level understanding of SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP
Fiori. You can now explain the basic concepts and benefits of these to customers
and can propose deployment options. You can also help users with basic SAP Fiori
operations.
This chapter is the only one not directly related to financial accounting in SAP
S/4HANA, and it’s also the most technical chapter in the book and exam. However,
the knowledge here is very important for both new and experienced consultants
with no prior experience with SAP S/4HANA.
In the next chapter, we’ll cover general ledger accounting business processes and
Customizing, starting first with the description of the core organizational units in
financial accounting with SAP S/4HANA.
 7

Contents

Preface ..................................................................................................................................................... 15
Introduction: The Path to Certification ........................................................................................ 19

1 Overview and Deployment of SAP S/4HANA 45

1.1 Objectives of This Portion of the Test ........................................................................ 46

1.2 Digital Transformation ..................................................................................................... 47

1.3 Intelligent Enterprise Framework ................................................................................ 47

1.3.1 SAP HANA Architecture ...................................................................................... 48
1.3.2 Technology Enablers for Success with SAP HANA ..................................... 49
1.4 SAP S/4HANA ........................................................................................................................ 50
1.4.1 SAP S/4HANA Deployment Options ............................................................... 52
1.4.2 SAP S/4HANA Adoption ...................................................................................... 53
1.4.3 SAP S/4HANA System Landscape .................................................................... 54
1.5 SAP Fiori User Interface ..................................................................................................... 54
1.5.1 SAP Fiori User Experience Paradigm .............................................................. 55
1.5.2 SAP Fiori for SAP S/4HANA ................................................................................ 55
1.5.3 SAP Fiori Launchpad ............................................................................................ 58
1.5.4 SAP Fiori Launchpad Designer .......................................................................... 64
1.6 Important Terminology .................................................................................................... 66

1.7 Practice Questions ............................................................................................................... 67

1.8 Practice Question Answers and Explanations ........................................................ 71

1.9 Test Takeaway ...................................................................................................................... 73

1.10 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 74

2 General Ledger Accounting 75

2.1 Objectives of This Portion of the Test ........................................................................ 76

2.2 Organizational Units .......................................................................................................... 77

2.2.1 Client ......................................................................................................................... 77
2.2.2 Company Code ...................................................................................................... 80
2.2.3 Company ................................................................................................................. 84
2.2.4 Profit Center ........................................................................................................... 86
8 Contents Contents 9

2.2.5 Segment .................................................................................................................. 87 2.8 Practice Questions ............................................................................................................... 146

2.2.6 Functional Area ..................................................................................................... 88
2.9 Practice Question Answers and Explanations ........................................................ 153
2.2.7 Business Area ......................................................................................................... 89
2.10 Test Takeaway ...................................................................................................................... 159
2.3 Integration with Non-Financial Accounting Organizational Units ............... 89
2.3.1 Integration with Controlling ............................................................................ 90 2.11 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 159
2.3.2 Integration with Logistics .................................................................................. 91
2.3.3 Integration with SAP ERP Human Capital Management ........................ 92
2.4 Master Records ..................................................................................................................... 92 3 Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable 161
2.4.1 Chart of Accounts ................................................................................................. 92
2.4.2 Creating a Chart of Accounts ........................................................................... 93 3.1 Objectives of This Portion of the Test ........................................................................ 162
2.4.3 Account Groups ..................................................................................................... 94
3.2 Business Partners ................................................................................................................. 163
2.4.4 Maintaining General Ledger Accounts .......................................................... 96
3.2.1 Categories ............................................................................................................... 163
2.4.5 Primary Cost and Revenue Accounts and Secondary Cost
3.2.2 Business Partner Roles ........................................................................................ 164
Accounts .................................................................................................................. 100
3.2.3 Role Grouping ........................................................................................................ 165
2.4.6 Profit Centers ......................................................................................................... 101
3.2.4 Number Range Definition ................................................................................. 166
2.5 Global Financial Accounting Configuration ............................................................ 104 3.2.5 Business Partner Types ....................................................................................... 167
2.5.1 Parallel Accounting .............................................................................................. 104 3.2.6 Business Partner Field Attributes .................................................................... 167
2.5.2 Configuring Ledgers ............................................................................................ 105 3.2.7 Customer and Supplier Account Groups ...................................................... 169
2.5.3 Deactivating Ledgers ........................................................................................... 107 3.2.8 Account Group Details ........................................................................................ 170
2.5.4 Ledger Group Definition ..................................................................................... 108 3.2.9 One-Time Accounts and Normal Accounts .................................................. 172
2.5.5 Extension Ledgers ................................................................................................ 109 3.2.10 General Data .......................................................................................................... 174
2.5.6 Accounts Approach .............................................................................................. 111
3.3 Payment Terms ..................................................................................................................... 182
2.5.7 Accounting Principles .......................................................................................... 112
3.3.1 Payment Term Definition .................................................................................. 182
2.5.8 Fiscal Year Variant ................................................................................................ 113
3.3.2 Installment Payments ......................................................................................... 185
2.5.9 Integration of Controlling with the General Ledger ................................. 115
3.3.3 Payment Block Reasons ...................................................................................... 186
2.5.10 Currencies ............................................................................................................... 115
3.3.4 Customer/Supplier Tolerance .......................................................................... 187
2.5.11 Document Types and Number Ranges .......................................................... 118
2.5.12 Posting Keys ........................................................................................................... 120 3.4 Invoicing .................................................................................................................................. 188
2.5.13 Tolerance Groups ................................................................................................. 122 3.5 Manual Payments ............................................................................................................... 195
2.5.14 Tax Handling .......................................................................................................... 123 3.5.1 Posting on Account .............................................................................................. 196
2.5.15 Analyzing Document Splitting ......................................................................... 127 3.5.2 Foreign Currency ................................................................................................... 197
2.5.16 Document Splitting Characteristics ............................................................... 130
3.6 Automatic Payments ......................................................................................................... 198
2.5.17 Document Splitting Steps ................................................................................. 131
3.6.1 Customizing the Payment Program ............................................................... 198
2.6 Business Transactions in the General Ledger .......................................................... 133 3.6.2 Company Codes .................................................................................................... 199
2.6.1 Posting General Ledger Documents ............................................................... 133 3.6.3 Customization ....................................................................................................... 201
2.6.2 Changing Documents ......................................................................................... 137 3.6.4 Country Level ......................................................................................................... 202
2.6.3 Reversing Documents ......................................................................................... 138 3.6.5 Payment Medium Workbench ......................................................................... 205
2.6.4 Cross-Company-Code Postings ........................................................................ 141 3.6.6 Automatic Payment Run .................................................................................... 209
2.6.5 Financial Document Clearing ........................................................................... 142 3.6.7 Payment Selection Parameters ........................................................................ 209
2.6.6 Default Values for Data Entry .......................................................................... 143 3.6.8 Review ...................................................................................................................... 211
2.6.7 General Ledger Overview ................................................................................... 144 3.6.9 Payment Run .......................................................................................................... 213
2.7 Important Terminology .................................................................................................... 144 3.6.10 Payment Media Creation ................................................................................... 214
10 Contents Contents 11

3.7 Dunning ................................................................................................................................... 215 4.7 Screen Layouts ...................................................................................................................... 268

3.7.1 Define Dunning Areas ......................................................................................... 216 4.8 User-Defined Fields ............................................................................................................. 270
3.7.2 Define Dunning Keys ........................................................................................... 216
4.9 Asset Master Data ............................................................................................................... 271
3.7.3 Define Dunning Block Reason .......................................................................... 217
3.7.4 Dunning Procedures ............................................................................................ 217 4.10 Integration with Plant Maintenance .......................................................................... 272
3.7.5 Dunning Level Maintenance ............................................................................. 219 4.11 Asset Transaction Types ................................................................................................... 273
3.7.6 Dunning Text Maintenance .............................................................................. 221
4.12 Asset Acquisitions ............................................................................................................... 274
3.7.7 Dunning Charges .................................................................................................. 221
4.12.1 Acquisition with Automatic Offsetting ........................................................ 275
3.7.8 Special General Ledger Indicators ................................................................... 223
4.12.2 Acquisition Integrated with Accounts Payable .......................................... 277
3.7.9 Company Code Settings ..................................................................................... 223
4.12.3 Asset Acquisition with Purchase Order Integrated with
3.7.10 Dunning Groupings ............................................................................................. 224
Materials Management ..................................................................................... 278
3.7.11 Dunning Details .................................................................................................... 225
4.12.4 Gross and Net Document Types ...................................................................... 280
3.7.12 Dunning Run .......................................................................................................... 226
3.8 Correspondence ................................................................................................................... 227 4.13 Asset Retirements ............................................................................................................... 282
4.13.1 Posting an Asset Sale Invoice ........................................................................... 282
3.8.1 Correspondence Types ........................................................................................ 227
4.13.2 Creating Asset Retirement ................................................................................ 283
3.8.2 Payment Differences ........................................................................................... 229
4.13.3 Asset Sale Line Items ........................................................................................... 283
3.8.3 Printing Correspondence ................................................................................... 230
4.13.4 Retirements Worklist .......................................................................................... 284
3.9 Special General Ledger Accounting ............................................................................. 230
4.14 Asset Transfers ...................................................................................................................... 285
3.9.1 Configuring Special General Ledger Indicators .......................................... 232
4.14.1 Intracompany Transfers ..................................................................................... 285
3.9.2 Down Payments and Down Payment Requests ......................................... 234
4.14.2 Intercompany Transfer ....................................................................................... 286
3.9.3 Posting to Different Reconciliation Accounts ............................................. 235
4.14.3 Transfer Methods ................................................................................................. 287
3.10 Reporting ................................................................................................................................. 237
4.15 Low-Value Assets ................................................................................................................. 288
3.11 Important Terminology .................................................................................................... 241
4.16 Assets Under Construction .............................................................................................. 289
3.12 Practice Questions ............................................................................................................... 243
4.17 Investment Support Measures ...................................................................................... 291
3.13 Practice Question Answers and Explanations ........................................................ 249
4.18 Asset Depreciation .............................................................................................................. 293
3.14 Test Takeaway ...................................................................................................................... 254
4.18.1 Calculation of Depreciation .............................................................................. 293
3.15 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 255 4.18.2 Time-Dependent Depreciation Definitions ................................................. 294
4.18.3 Depreciation Posting Run .................................................................................. 296
4.19 Asset Year-End Process ..................................................................................................... 297
4 Asset Accounting 257 4.20 Asset Reporting .................................................................................................................... 299
4.20.1 Asset Accounting Overview .............................................................................. 299
4.1 Objectives of This Portion of the Test ........................................................................ 258 4.20.2 Asset Value Report ............................................................................................... 301
4.20.3 Manage Fixed Assets ........................................................................................... 301
4.2 Fixed Asset Accounting ..................................................................................................... 259
4.20.4 Asset Balances Report ......................................................................................... 302
4.3 Chart of Depreciation ........................................................................................................ 260 4.20.5 Asset History Sheet .............................................................................................. 303
4.4 Depreciation Areas .............................................................................................................. 261 4.21 Asset Legacy Data Transfer ............................................................................................. 304
4.4.1 Configuration ......................................................................................................... 262 4.21.1 Migration Preparation Customizing .............................................................. 304
4.4.2 Derived Depreciation Areas .............................................................................. 264 4.21.2 Performing Manual Data Migration .............................................................. 305
4.5 Asset Class .............................................................................................................................. 264 4.21.3 Performing Data Migration with the Migration Cockpit ........................ 306

4.6 Account Determination .................................................................................................... 266 4.22 Important Terminology .................................................................................................... 308
12 Contents Contents 13

4.23 Practice Questions ............................................................................................................... 310
4.24 Practice Question Answers and Explanations ........................................................ 314
4.25 Test Takeaway ...................................................................................................................... 318
4.26 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 319
5 Financial Closing
5.8 SAP S/4HANA Financial Closing Cockpit ................................................................... 367
5.8.1 Task Templates ...................................................................................................... 368
5.8.2 Task List .................................................................................................................... 370
5.8.3 Dependency Configuration ............................................................................... 370
5.9 Methods for Intercompany Matching and Reconciliation ................................ 371
5.10 Important Terminology .................................................................................................... 373
5.11 Practice Questions ............................................................................................................... 375
321
5.12 Practice Question Answers and Explanations ........................................................ 380

5.1 Objectives of This Portion of the Test ........................................................................ 322 5.13 Test Takeaway ...................................................................................................................... 382

5.2 Financial Statement Version .......................................................................................... 323 5.14 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 383
5.2.1 Definitions for the Financial Statement ....................................................... 323
5.2.2 Financial Statement Version Item Hierarchy .............................................. 324
5.2.3 Financial Statement Item Definition ............................................................. 325
6 Organizational Assignments and
5.2.4 Account Assignment ........................................................................................... 327
5.2.5 Global Accounting Hierarchy for Financial Statement Version Process Integration 385
Maintenance .......................................................................................................... 328
5.2.6 Financial Statement Output with SAP Fiori ................................................. 330 6.1 Objectives of This Portion of the Test ........................................................................ 387
5.2.7 Financial Statement Report with ABAP ........................................................ 332 6.2 Bank Account Management ........................................................................................... 387
5.2.8 Output of Ledger Comparison Report ........................................................... 333 6.2.1 Bank Directory ....................................................................................................... 388
5.3 General Ledger Closing ..................................................................................................... 334 6.2.2 House Bank ............................................................................................................. 389
5.3.1 Posting Periods ...................................................................................................... 335 6.2.3 Bank Account Creation ....................................................................................... 390
5.3.2 Balance Carryforward ......................................................................................... 337 6.3 Document Parking .............................................................................................................. 392
5.3.3 Auditing ................................................................................................................... 338 6.3.1 Overview of Document Parking ....................................................................... 393
5.4 Accruals and Deferrals ....................................................................................................... 340 6.3.2 Document Parking Workflow Customizing ................................................. 394
5.4.1 Accrual/Deferral Journal Entry ......................................................................... 341 6.3.3 Document Parking with Workflow ................................................................. 398
5.4.2 Recurring Journal Entry ...................................................................................... 342 6.4 Journal Entry Verification ................................................................................................ 402
5.5 Accruals Management ...................................................................................................... 343 6.4.1 Verification Process ............................................................................................. 403
5.5.1 Manual Accruals Process .................................................................................... 343 6.4.2 Workflow Configuration .................................................................................... 404
5.5.2 Manual Accruals Configuration ....................................................................... 345 6.5 Validations and Substitutions ....................................................................................... 407
5.5.3 Purchase Order Accruals Process .................................................................... 348 6.5.1 Overview of Validations and Substitutions ................................................. 407
5.6 Closing Activities in Receivables and Payables ...................................................... 350 6.5.2 Substitution Definition ....................................................................................... 410
5.6.1 Balance Confirmation ......................................................................................... 350 6.5.3 Validation Definition ........................................................................................... 414
5.6.2 Foreign Currency Valuation .............................................................................. 352 6.5.4 Sets Definition ....................................................................................................... 416
5.6.3 Value Adjustments .............................................................................................. 357 6.5.5 Rules Definition ..................................................................................................... 418
5.6.4 Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Regrouping ............................... 359 6.6 Data Archiving ...................................................................................................................... 418
5.7 Closing Activities in Materials Management .......................................................... 361 6.6.1 General Customizing for Data Archiving ...................................................... 419
5.7.1 Physical Inventory ................................................................................................ 361 6.6.2 Object-Specific Customizing for Data Archiving ....................................... 420
5.7.2 Goods Receipt/Invoice Receipt Account Clearing ...................................... 362 6.6.3 Performing Data Archiving: General Ledger Account Example ............ 421
5.7.3 Stock Valuation ..................................................................................................... 366
14 Contents

6.7 Data Aging .............................................................................................................................. 425

6.7.1 Data Aging Customizing .................................................................................... 426
6.7.2 Data Aging Run ..................................................................................................... 428
6.8 Important Terminology .................................................................................................... 429
6.9 Practice Questions ............................................................................................................... 432
6.10 Practice Question Answers and Explanations ........................................................ 436
6.11 Test Takeaway ...................................................................................................................... 439
6.12 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 439

The Author ............................................................................................................................................. 441

Index ........................................................................................................................................................ 443

Index
A Archive ..................................................................... 429
ABAP ........................................................... 55, 78, 153
report ................................................................... 332
Account assignment .......................................... 327
financial statement version checks ......... 328
Account clearing .................................................. 362
Account determination ................. 266, 267, 308
Account group ............................ 94, 144, 172, 179
clearing with customer ................................. 179
correspondence ............................................... 179
customer ................................................... 169, 242
definition .............................................................. 94
details .................................................................. 170
house bank ........................................................ 179
individual payment ....................................... 179
maintenance ..................................................... 177
normal ................................................................. 172
one-time ............................................................. 172
payment methods .......................................... 179
payment terms ................................................ 178
posting block .................................................... 179
reconciliation account .................................. 177
sensitive fields definition ............................. 173
sort key ................................................................ 177
supplier ..................................................... 169, 242
tolerance group ............................................... 179
Accounting principle ......................................... 112
assignment ........................................................ 112
definition ............................................................ 112
Accounts approach ............................................. 111
Accounts payable ................................................ 162
closing activities .............................................. 350
Accounts payable/accounts
receivable regrouping ......................... 359, 373
Accounts receivable ............................................ 162
closing activities .............................................. 350
Accrual ..................................................................... 373
Accrual engine ...................................................... 373
Accrual item ........................................ 344, 346, 373
Accrual methods .................................................. 347
Accrual object ........................... 343, 344, 348, 374
Accruals management ....................................... 343
basic settings .................................................... 346
Active document split ....................................... 132
Additional learning resources .......................... 37
Aggressive compression ..................................... 49
Alternative payer/payee ................................... 174
Analytical app ......................................................... 57
Application area ................................................... 429
443
variant ................................................................. 429
Asset accounting ................................................. 258
assets under construction ....... 289–291, 309
low-value assets .............................................. 288
plant maintenance integration ................ 272
transactions ............................................ 273, 274
year-end process ............................................. 297
Asset Accounting Overview app ................... 299
Asset acquisition ................................................. 274
automatic offsetting ..................................... 275
integration with accounts payable ......... 277
materials management integration ....... 278
simulation ......................................................... 278
transaction data ............................................. 275
Asset class ............................................ 264, 265, 309
configuration ................................................... 265
definition ............................................................ 264
Asset depreciation .............................................. 293
calculation ......................................................... 293
depreciation key .............................................. 294
posting run .............................................. 296, 297
time-dependent ............................................... 294
Asset legacy data transfer ................................ 304
data migration ...................................... 305, 306
migration preparation ................................. 304
Asset master data ................................................ 271
creation ............................................................... 271
subnumber ........................................................ 271
Asset reporting ..................................................... 299
balance report .................................................. 302
history sheet ..................................................... 303
value report ....................................................... 301
Asset retirement .................................................. 282
asset sale invoice ............................................ 282
create ................................................................... 283
partial retirement ........................................... 283
worklist ............................................................... 284
Asset sale line items ........................................... 283
Asset transaction type ....................................... 309
Asset transfer ........................................................ 285
intercompany ................................................... 286
intracompany .................................................. 285
methods .................................................... 287, 288
Asset value date ................................................... 309
Asset Values app .................................................. 301
Audit Journal app ...................................... 334, 339
Auditing .................................................................. 338
Automatic payment ........................ 198, 206, 241
company codes ................................................ 199
444 Index
Automatic payment (Cont.)
country level ........................................... 202, 203
customization .................................................. 201
customizing ...................................................... 198
exceptions .......................................................... 212
parameters ........................................................ 209
review ........................................................ 211, 212
run ......................................................................... 209
B description ............................................................ 93
Balance carryforward ......................................... 337
Balance confirmation .............................. 350, 374
Balance Sheet Values by Account app ........ 366
Bank account management ............................ 387
create ......................................................... 389, 390
house bank ........................................................ 389
maintenance ..................................................... 390
Bank directory ............................................ 388, 430
Bank group ............................................................. 430
Billing document ................................................. 193
Book structure ........................................................ 15
Business area ........................................................... 89
definition .............................................................. 89
Business partner ........... 162, 163, 179, 225, 241
address ................................................................ 175
categories ................................................. 163, 241
communication ............................................... 175
customers ........................................................... 175
field attributes ................................................. 167
general data ...................................................... 174
grouping ............................................................. 241
groups ................................................................. 163
number range definition ............................. 166
organizations ................................................... 163
persons ................................................................ 163
role .............................................................. 164, 242
role definition ................................................... 164
role grouping .................................................... 165
supplier ..................................................... 175, 182
type ............................................................. 167, 242
C CO-PA, account-based .......................................... 91
C_ACTIVATE12 ....................................................... 21
C_S4CFI ...................................................................... 22
C_S4FCF_2020 ........................................................ 23
C_S4FTR_2020 ........................................................ 22
C_TS410_1909 ........................................................ 21
C_TS4CO_2020 ....................................................... 22
C_TS4FI_2020 ................................................... 22, 24
Callup point ........................................................... 430
Carry Forward Balances app ............................ 337
Carryforward ......................................................... 374
Cash management .............................................. 386
CCS3 ............................................................................. 54
Central Finance ....................................................... 53
Changing documents ........................................ 137
Chart of accounts ...................... 92, 145, 155, 267
alternative ............................................................ 92
blocked ................................................................... 94
country ................................................................... 92
create ...................................................................... 93
group ...................................................................... 93
maintenance language ................................... 93
operational .......................................................... 92
settings ................................................................... 93
Chart of depreciation ...................... 260, 267, 309
Client ................................................................. 77, 145
Client 000 ................................................................... 77
Client 001 ................................................................... 77
Client 066 ................................................................... 77
Client 200 ................................................................... 78
Client-dependent ................................................... 78
Client-independent ............................................... 78
Columnar store ....................................................... 66
Company ................................................................... 84
Company code ............................................... 80, 145
address ................................................................... 82
chart of accounts ............................................... 83
company ............................................................... 84
copy ......................................................................... 80
country chart/accts. ......................................... 83
create ...................................................................... 80
credit control area ............................................. 84
currency ................................................................. 80
definition ............................................................... 81
field status variant ............................................ 84
fiscal year variant .............................................. 84
global parameter ............................................... 83
posting period variant ..................................... 84
purchasing organization ........................ 91, 92
sales organization ............................................. 91
workflow variant ............................................... 84
Controlling ................................................................ 90
Correspondence ................................................... 227
example .............................................................. 230
payment differences ...................................... 229
printing ............................................................... 230
types .................................................. 227, 228, 242
Create Correspondence app ............................ 230
Create Supplier Invoices app .......................... 195
Cross-company-code posting ........................ 141
Currency .................................................................. 115
maintenance .................................................... 117
types ..................................................................... 117
Currency exchange rate .................................... 115
direct quotation .............................................. 117
indirect quotation .......................................... 117
maintenance ..................................................... 116
Current partition ................................................. 430
Customer/supplier tolerance ......................... 187
D inter-company ................................................. 120
Data aging ..................................................... 425, 430
activation ........................................................... 426
Customizing ...................................................... 426
run ......................................................................... 428
table partitioning ........................................... 427
Data archiving ............................................. 418, 430
administration ................................................. 422
cross-object ....................................................... 419
Customizing ...................................................... 419
define ................................................................... 421
general ledger example ................................ 421
job logs ................................................................ 423
object-specific ................................................... 420
Data medium exchange engine .................... 205
Default values ....................................................... 143
Deferral .................................................................... 374
Depreciation
configuration ................................................... 262
key ......................................................................... 309
Depreciation area ............................. 261, 267, 309
configuration ................................................... 262
definition ............................................................ 261
derived ................................................................. 264
Digital platform ...................................................... 47
Digital transformation ................................. 47, 68
Display Financial Statement app .................. 330
Document header ............................................... 133
Document line item ........................................... 136
Document parking .................................... 392, 393
holding ................................................................ 393
release approval path ................................... 397
release group .................................................... 396
subworkflows ................................................... 397
workflow .......................................... 395, 398, 400
workflow builder ............................................. 394
Document splitting .................................. 127, 145
activation ........................................................... 128
characteristics .................................................. 130
deactivate .......................................................... 129
inheritance ........................................................ 128
method ................................................................ 128
standard account assignment .................. 128
steps ..................................................................... 131
Document type ........................................... 118, 145
account types allowed .................................. 119
Index 445
Document type (Cont.)
authorization group ...................................... 119
batch input only .............................................. 120
customer/vendor check ............................... 120
definition ............................................................ 119
enter trading partner .................................... 120
exchange rate type ......................................... 120
maintenance ..................................................... 119
negative postings permitted ...................... 120
net document type ......................................... 120
number range ................................................... 119
reference number ............................................ 120
reverse ................................................................. 119
Down payments ......................................... 234, 235
Dunning .................................................................. 215
area ............................................................. 216, 242
block reason ................................... 217, 226, 242
charges ................................................................ 221
company code ........................................ 223, 224
configuration ................................................... 216
details .................................................................. 225
grouping ............................................................. 224
key ............................................................... 216, 226
letter ..................................................................... 221
level ............................................................ 219, 220
procedures ...................................... 217, 218, 242
program .............................................................. 242
run ......................................................................... 226
text maintenance ........................................... 221
E
Exam format ............................................................ 24
Exam scope .............................................................. 26
Extension ledger .................................................. 145
F
Factsheet apps ........................................................ 58
Field status error .................................................. 121
Financial accounting ................................... 75, 104
Financial accounting integration ................... 89
controlling ........................................................... 90
logistics ................................................................. 91
SAP ERP HCM ..................................................... 92
Financial closing .................................................. 322
Financial document clearing .......................... 142
Financial statement .................................. 323, 374
ABAP .................................................................... 332
definitions .......................................................... 323
hierarchy .................................................. 324, 325
item definition ................................................. 325
node ...................................................................... 326
446 Index
Financial statement (Cont.)
output with SAP Fiori .................................... 330
output with SAP Jam ..................................... 331
Fiscal year variant ..................................... 113, 145
definition ............................................................ 114
list .......................................................................... 113
period ................................................................... 114
Fixed-asset accounting ..................................... 259
Foreign currency .................................................. 197
valuation ............................................................ 374
Formula editor ...................................................... 430
Functional area ....................................................... 88
definition .............................................................. 88
G Standards .............................................................. 87
General ledger accounting ................................ 76
business transaction ..................................... 133
general ledger entries .................................... 136
overview dashboard app ............................. 144
posting ................................................................ 133
General ledger accounts .............................. 92, 96
account currency .............................................. 98
allocation .................................................... 99, 100
alternative account number ........................ 98
balance sheet account .................................... 96
cash account ....................................................... 96
copy ........................................................................ 80
field status group ............................................ 100
general data ........................................................ 96
integration with controlling ...................... 115
invoice document ........................................... 128
maintenance ....................................................... 96
master record ................................................... 100
nonoperating expense or income .............. 96
open item management ................................ 99
P&L account ........................................................ 98
primary costs or revenue ............................... 96
reconciliation account ................................... 99
retained earnings .............................................. 98
secondary costs ................................................. 96
sort key .................................................................. 99
special indicators ............................................ 223
tax category ........................................................ 98
General ledger closing ....................................... 334
posting period .................................................. 335
Goods receipt/invoice receipt account ...... 374
Gross document type ........................................ 280
H assignment .............................................. 109, 112
Head office ............................................................. 179
Held document .................................................... 430
Historical partition ............................................. 430
House bank ............................................................ 430
HTML5 ................................................................ 54, 73
I Low-value asset .................................................... 309
Individual value adjustment .......................... 374
In-memory technology ........................................ 66
Installment payments ....................................... 185
Intelligent enterprise ............................................ 47
Intelligent suite ....................................................... 47
Intelligent technologies .............................. 48, 66
Intercompany matching and
reconciliation ......................................... 371, 374
International Financial Reporting
Internet of Things .................................................. 47
Investment support measures ...................... 291
Invoice document ............................................... 127
Invoice payment
account assignment template .................. 189
details .................................................................. 189
held document ................................................. 190
screen variants ................................................ 189
Invoicing ................................................................. 188
J N
JavaScript ................................................................... 54
Journal entry verification ................................ 402
process ................................................................ 403
workflow configuration ............................... 404
jQuery .......................................................................... 54
L Open and Close Posting Periods app ........... 335
Ledger ....................................................................... 105
accounting principle ..................................... 106
configuration ................................................... 105
currency type .................................................... 106
deactivating ...................................................... 107
extension ledger .................................... 109, 110
fiscal year variant ........................................... 106
functional currency ....................................... 106
leading ledger ................................................... 105
parallel accounting using G/L
accounts ........................................................ 106
posting period variant .................................. 106
Ledger comparison report ............................... 333
Ledger group
create ................................................................... 109
definition ............................................................ 108
leading ledger ................................................... 109
list ......................................................................... 108
Ledger group (Cont.)
representative ledger ..................................... 109
Logistics ..................................................................... 90
M Payment run .......................................................... 213
Manage Bank Accounts app .................. 388, 390
Manage Fixed Assets app ................................. 301
Manage Global Accounting Hierarchies
app ....................................................... 86, 328, 329
Manage Journal Entries app ............................ 138
Manage Posting Periods app .......................... 336
Manage Workflows for General Journal
Entry Verification app .................................. 404
Manual accrual configuration ........................ 345
Manual accrual process ..................................... 343
Manual payments ............................................... 195
posting on account ........................................ 196
Master record ................................................. 92, 153
Materials management ....................................... 91
closing activities .............................................. 361
Monitor GR/IR Account Reconciliation
app ........................................................................ 363
Net document type ............................................. 280
O Posting period variant ....................................... 145
OLAP .................................................................... 69, 72
OLTP ..................................................................... 69, 72
openSAP .................................................................... 42
OpenUI5 .................................................................... 54
Organizational object ........................................ 430
Organizational unit .............................. 75, 77, 153
client level ............................................................ 90
Outgoing payment ............................................. 195
Overdue Receivables app ................................... 57
P Reconciliation account ........................... 235, 236
P_S4FIN_2020 ......................................................... 22
Parallel accounting ................................... 104, 145
accounts approach ........................................ 104
example .............................................................. 104
ledger approach .............................................. 104
Parallel valuation ................................................. 111
Parked document ................................................ 431
save ....................................................................... 398
Passive document split ..................................... 131
Index 447
Payment block ............................................ 184, 186
reasons ................................................................ 243
Payment media creation .................................. 214
Payment medium workbench .... 203, 205, 243
Payment methods ............................................... 243
Payment term .................................... 182, 185, 243
account type ..................................................... 184
baseline date ..................................................... 184
day limit ............................................................. 183
default baseline date ..................................... 184
definition .................................................. 182, 183
Physical inventory .................................... 361, 374
continuous ........................................................ 362
cycle counting .................................................. 362
periodic ............................................................... 361
Plant maintenance ................................................ 91
Post General Journal Entries app ....... 120, 133,
135, 403
Post Incoming Invoices app ............................ 398
Posting accrual ........................................... 340, 341
automatic reversal ......................................... 341
journal ................................................................. 341
Posting deferral .......................................... 340, 341
Posting key .......................................... 120, 145, 157
account type ..................................................... 122
conflicting field status .................................. 121
definition ............................................................ 121
range .................................................................... 122
Posting schema .................................................... 347
Practice questions ............................................... 146
Primary cost and revenue account .............. 100
Profit center .................................................... 86, 101
hierarchy ..................................................... 86, 101
maintenance ..................................................... 102
Profitability analysis ............................................ 91
Purchase order accruals .................................... 348
R
Reconcile GR/IR Accounts app ....................... 363
alternative ......................................................... 236
Recurring journal entry .......................... 342, 374
Release approval path ........................................ 431
Release group ........................................................ 431
Reporting ................................................................ 237
accounts payable overview ........................ 239
accounts receivable overview .................... 238
balances .............................................................. 240
characteristic .................................................... 374
item status ......................................................... 240
key figured ......................................................... 375
448 Index
Reporting (Cont.)
line item .............................................................. 240
Reverse Accrual/Deferral Documents
app ........................................................................ 341
Reversing documents .............................. 138, 139
reversal reasons ............................................... 140
Revise Payment Proposal app ........................ 213
Rules .......................................................................... 431
S deployment .......................................................... 52
Sales and distribution .......................................... 91
SAP Ariba .................................................................. 51
SAP Best Practices ....................... 38, 79, 264, 323
SAP Business Planning and
Consolidation ................................................... 322
SAP Business Technology
Platform ............................................... 47, 66, 363
SAP Business Workflow ................. 387, 431, 436
SAP Cash Application ......................................... 255
SAP Community .................................................... 42
SAP Concur ............................................................... 51
SAP Customer Experience ................................. 50
SAP ERP ................................................. 101, 110, 308
SAP ERP Financials .................................... 162, 386
SAP ERP HCM .......................................................... 90
SAP Fieldglass .......................................................... 50
SAP Financial Closing cockpit ........................ 322
SAP Fiori .............................. 46, 54, 67, 70, 73, 191,
234, 329–331, 387
app custimization ............................................ 60
browser ................................................................. 60
for SAP S/4HANA ....................................... 55, 67
launchpad ............................................................ 46
theme ..................................................................... 63
tiles ......................................................................... 60
user experience .................................................. 55
user interface ............................................... 46, 54
SAP Fiori apps reference library ...................... 41
SAP Fiori launchpad .......... 46, 55, 58, 60, 67, 73
designer .................................................. 64, 65, 67
SAP Gateway ..................................................... 54, 67
server ..................................................................... 64
SAP GUI ............................................ 54, 55, 306, 329
SAP HANA ................................................... 46, 48, 71
architecture ......................................................... 48
columnar store ........................................... 49, 69
compression ........................................................ 49
database ............................................................... 68
in-memory database ....................................... 48
SAP Help Portal ...................................................... 38
SAP Information Lifecycle Management .. 428
SAP Learning Hub .......................................... 30–32
SAP Learning Rooms ............................................ 31
SAP Live Access ............................................... 29, 31
SAP Live Class ........................................................... 29
SAP Logon .................................................................. 54
SAP Product Assistance ....................................... 40
SAP S/4HANA ..... 46, 50, 67, 69, 72, 77, 79, 104,
110, 163, 259, 262, 264, 272, 291, 322, 336
administrator settings .................................... 78
backend server .................................................... 54
customizing ...................................................... 140
system landscape .............................................. 54
SAP S/4HANA adoption ....................................... 53
landscape transformation ............................. 53
new implementation ........................................ 53
system conversion ............................................. 53
SAP S/4HANA Financial Closing cockpit ... 367
dependency configuration .......................... 370
task list ...................................................... 370, 375
task template ................................................... 375
task templates ................................................. 368
SAP SuccessFactors ................................................ 50
SAP Training and Adoption courses ............... 27
SAP user enablement videos ............................. 40
SAPUI5 ........................................................................ 54
Screen layout ......................................................... 268
definition ............................................................ 268
tab layout ................................................ 269, 271
Secondary cost account .................................... 100
Segment ............................................................. 87, 96
definition ............................................................... 87
reporting ............................................................ 146
Set .................................................................... 416, 431
basic ..................................................................... 417
create ................................................................... 416
multiset ............................................................... 417
Special general ledger accounting ................ 230
configuration ................................................... 232
indicator ................................................... 234, 243
indicators ........................................ 231, 232, 234
Standard ledger .................................................... 146
Stay-current materials ......................................... 37
Stock valuation ........................................... 366, 375
Substitution ....................................... 407–411, 431
define ................................................................... 413
fields ..................................................................... 411
method ................................................................ 412
rule definition .................................................. 418
Supplier Invoice Search app ............................... 58
T
Target audience ....................................................... 15
Tax code ........................................................ 125, 146
category .............................................................. 126
Tax code (Cont.)
management .................................................... 126
Tax handling ................................................ 123, 124
sales tax .............................................................. 124
value-added tax .............................................. 124
withholding tax ............................................... 124
Tax procedure ....................................................... 124
Technical clearing account .............................. 309
Time-dependent tax (TDT) .............................. 125
Tips .............................................................................. 35
exam taking ........................................................ 32
Tolerance group ......................................... 122, 146
maintainence ................................................... 123
Trading partner ...................................................... 85
Transaction
ABLDT .................................................................. 305
AS100 ................................................................... 308
AS91 ...................................................................... 305
BAUP .................................................................... 388
BIC2 ....................................................................... 388
F110 ....................................................................... 213
FB50 ...................................................................... 135
FBZP ...................................................................... 198
FTXP ..................................................................... 157
LSMW ................................................................... 308
LTMC .................................................................... 306
SU01 ............................................................ 190, 252
SU10 ...................................................................... 252
Transactional app .................................................. 57
Transactional data ............................................... 153
U variant ................................................................. 431
UI theme designer ................................................. 63
Universal Journal ... 76, 109, 111, 128, 179, 193
US generally accepted accounting
principles ............................................................. 87
User-defined field ................................................ 270
Index 449
V
Validation ........................................... 407–410, 431
definition ............................................................ 414
rule definition ................................................... 418
Valuation
area ....................................................................... 375
area definition ................................................. 353
configuration ................................................... 352
delta posting logic .......................................... 354
exchange rate differences ........................... 354
foreign currencies ........................................... 354
foreign currency .............................................. 352
method ................................................................ 375
results .................................................................. 356
run ......................................................................... 358
selection parameters ........................... 354, 355
Valuation method ............................................... 357
Value adjustment
flat-rate ..................................................... 357, 358
individual ........................................................... 357
Verify General Journal Entries –
For Requester app ........................................... 403
Verify Journal Entries – For Processor
app ........................................................................ 403
W
Warehouse management ................................... 91
Workflow ................................................................. 431
subworkflow ..................................................... 431
Z
Zero-balance clearing line formation ......... 132
 First-hand knowledge.

Stefanos Pougkas is the certification exam owner for the 1909

and 2020 exams, and has led the effort to design and write ques-
tions for these exams. More generally, at SAP Education, he is part
of the learning architect team and is responsible for the financials
curriculum. He is a subject matter expert for financials courses and
lead trainer in the global SAP Financials learning room.

Stefanos Pougkas

SAP S/4HANA Financial Accounting Certificati-

on Guide: Application Associate Exam
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