SAP ABAP IMG Activity SIMG_CFMENUCX01_AD01 (Add Characteristics)
Hierarchy
☛ SAP_FIN (Software Component) SAP_FIN
   ⤷ EC-CS (Application Component) Consolidation
     ⤷ FC00 (Package) Cons: General consolidation (cannot be assign.to FC01-FC09)
IMG Activity
ID SIMG_CFMENUCX01_AD01 Add Characteristics  
Transaction Code S_ALR_87009622   (empty) 
Created on 19990311    
Customizing Attributes SIMG_CFMENUCX01_AD01   Add Characteristics 
Customizing Activity SIMG_CFMENUCX01_AD01   Add Characteristics 
Document
Document Class SIMG   Hypertext: Object Class - Class to which a document belongs.
Document Name SIMG_CFMENUCX01_AD01    

The SAP standard consolidation database includes various preset characteristics, such as the consolidation unit, the financial statement (FS) item, the subitem, etc. If the information requirements of your group demand additional fields, you can define your own socalled custom characteristics.

This step shows you two ways to add characteristics to the consolidation database:

  • You can add up to five subassignments to the FS item.
  • You can add navigation attributes to the characteristic consolidation unit. The system then automatically assigns the same attribute to the characteristics partner unit and investee unit as well.

After adding a characteristic, the system generates the associated ABAP Dictionary objects and maintenance views.

To the consolidation database, you can also add characteristics based on structures that already exist in the SAP system (e.g. Region). However, you can also add characteristics, the structures of which still need to be generated.

Recommendation

Since custom characteristics extend the consolidation database, you should carefully examine which characteristics are to be added. SAP recommends, in particular, that you first finish creating the new characteristics, and that you make sure that want to use this set of data, before you activate the new characteristics and start the generation. This way you can avoid time-consuming deletions if a characteristic must be removed. Also, keep in mind that you can no longer delete a characteristic once you have posted data with the characteristic.

Example

  • Examples of subassignments for FS items are the Product Group and the Geographic Region.
  • An example of an attribute for consolidation units is the Company Type.

Standard settings

The standard SAP system already includes the following subassignments for FS items:

  • Partner unit
  • Subitem category and subitem
  • Transaction currency
  • Acquisition year
  • Acquisition period
  • Unit of measure

The standard SAP system already includes the following attributes for the consolidation unit:

  • Country
  • Company
  • Consolidation business area
  • Profit center
  • Controlling area

The attributes company, cons business area, profit center and controlling area are particularly useful when you use the integrated collection of reported financial data from your consolidation units.

Activities

  1. Reorganize the field catalog. When this is done, the system copies the system field catalog into the customer field catalog. Choose Extras -> Field catalog -> Reorganize.

    If you use integrated collection of reported data, during the reorganization you should include SAP's standard attributes in the selection. Note that, initially, these attributes are not included in the Reorganization selection screen.

  2. If desired, create one or more new characteristics.

    Enter the technical name (field name) of the new characteristic. The technical name must begin with the letters "ZZ".

    Also set the appropriate indicator to define how the structure of the characteristic is to be built.

    Technical Background Information:

    Description, type, and length are properties of characteristics that you can enter directly or define by assigning a data element or domain. Data elements and domains are ABAP Dictionary objects that act as a central store of table field properties:

    • A data element defines the meaning of a field in business terms with texts and a reference to a domain.
    • A domain describes the technical properties of the field and defines permissible values for the characteristic if either of the following conditions is met:
      • - There is a list defining fixed values
      - There is a reference to a check table

      Normally data element and domain assignments are used to refer to check tables. You can, however, create a characteristic without any validation or texts by assigning a standard domain (for example CHAR07, NUM12).

      Ways to create a characteristic:

  1. Assigning a data element
    Activate this indicator and assign a data element. The domain assignment is made by assigning the data element.
    Note: If you run the elimination of IU profit/loss in transferred inventory and the system reads the required additional financial data from the totals database, you need to create the characteristic "product group" and assign it to data element FC_PRGRP.
  2. Assigning a domain
    Activate this indicator, then specify the meaning and assign a domain. By assigning a domain you define the type and length of the characteristic, and possibly you refer to fixed values or a check table.
  3. Referencing a characteristic
    Activate this indicator, then specify the description and set a reference to another characteristic. This has the effect of assigning the domain of the referenced characteristic.
  4. Creating a characteristic with a new data element and check table
    Activate this indicator, the specify the description, type (character or numeric), and length (1-32). The system generates a new check table for the characteristic.
  5. Creating a characteristic without a check table (using a standard domain)
    Activate this indicator and specify the description, type (character or numeric), and length (1-32). The system does not generate a check table.

Caution: Assigning data elements or domains does not itself ensure that validation, reading characteristic value texts, and Possible Entries Help will work as expected. The following conditions must be given:

  • The domain must have a check table or fixed values.
  • There must be either a text table with references to the check table, or the texts must be in the check table itself.

These conditions are always fulfilled by fields in the standard field catalog.

  1. If needed, define compound relationships between characteristics in the detail screen of Characteristic Maintenance.

    Some characteristics are dependent on other characteristics; that is, the values of dependent characteristics are meaningless in theabsence of values for independent characteristics. Such a relationship is called a characteristic compound. Technically, a check table then contains a key that consists of two parts.

    Example: The Region, a dependent characteristic (check table T005S), forms a compound characteristic with the Country, an independent characteristic, because a region can be maintained or interpreted only if a country is specified.

    Note the following restrictions when defining compounds:

    • Compounds can only be defined for characteristics that have a check table.
      When a data element/domain is assigned, a compound is predefined by the existing check table.
    • Compounds can only be defined while creating a dependent characteristic. You do this by specifying the independent characteristic in the detail screen.
    • Only single compounds are permitted. Multiple compounds cannot be made.
    • The compound must be defined while creating a new characteristic, and before the new characteristic is saved. This is because the save process generates the check table for the characteristic.

      Note: You do not use characteristic compounds to create regular assignments between two fields (such as, consolidation unit A having the local currency USD). Rather, a compound characteristic describes the structural dependency of one field on another (as in FS item 1111 in cons chart of accounts 01 being a different item than FS item 1111 in cons chart of accounts 02).

  2. Specify further properties of the characteristic:
    • Define the display options and the sequence number of the characteristic for reports and so forth.
    • Activate the Subassignment indicator for all characteristics used as subassignments for FS items.
    • Activate the Fixed value in breakdown category indicator for all subassignments whose value is determined by the breakdown category (e.g., as with the characteristic subitem category).
    • Activate the Default value indicator if applicable. Then the characteristic appears in the implementation step Define Default Values. A default value is not necessary and cannot be set if you activate the Fixed value in breakdown category indicator
  3. Enhance the checking specifications if needed:
    • For characteristics without a standard check table, you can enter a text table, a text field, and a long text field. The text fields must use the field type character. You can also specify a view name, usually a view of the check table and text table.
    • If the system fails to automatically determine the transaction codes for displaying and changing the master data, you can specify them manually.
  4. To the characteristic consolidation unit assign any newly created characteristics as an attribute. Only independent characteristics can be assigned as attributes to consolidation units.

    These attributes are used for sorting your consolidation units.

    Note: Prerequisite for assigning attributes is

Business Attributes
ASAP Roadmap ID 203   Establish Master Data 
Mandatory / Optional 2   Optional activity 
Critical / Non-Critical 1   Critical 
Country-Dependency A   Valid for all countries 
Assigned Application Components
Documentation Object Class Documentation Object Name Current line number Application Component Application Component Name
SIMG SIMG_CFMENUCX01_AD01 0 HLA0009480 Consolidation 
Maintenance Objects
Maintenance object type C   Customizing Object 
Assigned objects
Customizing Object Object Type Transaction Code Sub-object Do not Summarize Skip Subset Dialog Box Description for multiple selections
IMGDUMMY D - Dummy object CX0A1 Add Characteristics 
History
Last changed by/on SAP  19990414 
SAP Release Created in