Period Control Method 

Use

For determining the depreciation start and end date for asset transactions, you can set an appropriate period control in the period control method for the four transaction categories:

This enables you to set the depreciation start date for all acquisitions within the same year to the beginning of the year, for example. You can also set the depreciation start date for retirements to the first or last day of each period. Using the asset value date of a transaction (acquisition or retirement), the system determines the start date or end date of depreciation calculation using the period control.

Features

Standard Period Control

When you set up an asset company code, the system automatically generates period control rules. The most important of these include:

Depreciation start/end is always at the beginning of the period in which the acquisition or retirement takes place.

For transactions up to the middle of the period, the depreciation start or end date is dated from the beginning of the period. Transactions after mid-period, however, are dated from the beginning of the next period.

This rule corresponds to the first rule. However it is intended for depreciation calculation based on half periods.

(See example.)

For transactions on the first day of a fiscal year, the system calculates a whole year's depreciation, for transactions up to the middle of the year, half a year's depreciation and for transactions after mid-year, no depreciation.

(see the "pro rata at mid-period" rule)

Transactions up to the middle of the fiscal year have a depreciation start date on the middle of the year. Transactions after the middle of the fiscal year have a depreciation start date in the following year.

When you specify the fiscal year variant for the company code, the system automatically assigns calendar dates to the posting periods for these period control rules. However, the fiscal year variant has to be set up with either 12 or 24 posting periods.

You can modify these standard rules yourself, allowing you to flexibly define the relationship between the calendar date and the posting periods.

First year convention:

To 06/30

depreciation start date/end in period 0

From 06/30 to 12/31

depreciation start date/end in period 6

The system interprets period 0 as the start of the fiscal year (January 1), not period 1. Period 6 represents July 1.

Half-Periods

The number of posting periods in Asset Accounting generally corresponds to the number of posting periods in Financial Accounting. You can, however, double the number of depreciation periods if the basic number of posting periods corresponds to the number of calendar months (12). By setting a control indicator when defining the company code, you can specify the use of half-periods. By specifying the calendar date, on which the second half of a period begins (for example the 16th of the month) you can have the depreciation calculation start and end at the middle of a period. For more information, see Mid-Quarter Convention (USA) .

In order to use this option, you have to set a special indicator in the allocation rules of the period controls.

It is not possible to use half periods when you are using non-calendar fiscal months.

Variable Period Control

Using an indicator when defining the individual depreciation keys, you can specify that a key does not use the period control of its assigned period control method. Instead it uses period controls you define for the company code and fiscal year.

This may be necessary, for example, when depreciating according to US law, if you only apply the mid-quarter convention to acquisitions in specific company codes or fiscal years.

If you change the period control of assets, in which the depreciation start date was already set, you have to then change their depreciation start date manually.