You can use consolidation areas to:

• consolidate the financial statements of subsidiaries according to generally accepted accounting principles (for example, the first consolidation area)
• consolidate data for management purposes, for example based on profit centers (for example, the second consolidation area)

See also the example shown later.

• Only the version and the time characteristics – fiscal year variant, fiscal year and period – must be used as permanent parameters.
• You can also define the consolidation unit and the consolidation group as permanent parameters.
• Characteristics that are not status relevant cannot be used as permanent parameters – for example, financial statement item, subassignment, transaction type.

For each characteristic used as a permanent parameter you can define whether it is displayed in the header of all consolidation screens.

You can define a single value or a range of values for each permanent parameter that needs to have a unique value. When doing this, you select a "data slice" from within the data streams (for example, within the totals data) which the consolidation area can use to read and write data. When you assign a single value to a permanent parameter, the value of that characteristic can no longer be modified.

The following exceptions apply for the roles financial statement item and the dimension:

• If you define the characteristic with the role financial statement item as being dependent on the consolidation chart of accounts, you must define the consolidation chart of accounts in the consolidation area as being unique (that is, with a single value).
• If you define the characteristic with the role consolidation unit as being dependent on the dimension, you must define the dimension in the consolidation area as being unique (that is, with a single value).

You want to perform both of the following types of consolidation:

• according to GAAP (statutory consolidation)
• for internal purposes (management consolidation)

To do this, you create two consolidation areas, each with its own data model, both of which are based on the same InfoCube.

For both consolidation areas you use the same data stream for the totals records; both consolidation areas use the same characteristics (dimension, consolidation chart of accounts, version, fiscal year, period, consolidation group, consolidation unit, partner unit, financial statement item), and both areas use the same characteristics and key figures for the local currency and group currency.

You use the characteristic dimension to segregate the consolidation areas in the same data stream. This is why you specify a condition for the dimension in the form of a single value when defining each consolidation area.

Now, the consolidation system shows the consolidation area (not the dimension) in the header of every screen.

You fully segregate the two consolidation areas as follows: