Consolidation Area 

Definition

A subset of the characteristics and key figures available in the Data Basis.

A consolidation area is characterized by its methods, tasks and breakdown categories.

Use

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 below.

Structure

Relationship with the Data Basis

In the consolidation workbench, you create one or more consolidation areas for a Data Basis. When doing this, you select a subset of the characteristics and key figures available in the data basis.

You start generation of the required objects in the data basis with the  Generate Consolidation Area function on the Fields tab page. This function has the following special considerations:

You can generate the consolidation area even if you have no change authorization or are currently in display mode. This is often the case in live systems. However, it may be necessary to change Customizing settings in feeder systems. These settings are then transported to the live system. If only the changes in SEM-BCS are transported, and not the referenced objects in the SAP Business Information Warehouse (SAP BW), you need to synchronize the data model of SEM-BCS and SAP BW afterwards. To do this, you use this function.

Permanent Parameters

You can declare characteristics as Permanent Parameters:

·        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.

Characteristic Values for Permanent Parameters

You define a single value for each characteristic of the permanent parameters that requires a unique value. By doing so, the characteristic cannot be modified as a permanent parameter.

The following exceptions apply to the roles financial statement item and 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 with a unique 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 with a unique single value.

Settings

You make numerous settings on this tab page that affect the system behavior and the functions available within the consolidation area. This includes the Status Management in the Consolidation Monitor, activating maximum sets for breakdown categories, the availability of specific consolidation functions, or the output length for value fields in logs and lists.

Example

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:

Consolidation Area	Dimension	Additional Characteristics (which are specific for the consolidation area)
Statutory Consolidation	Single value “LC” (legal consolidation)	·        Transaction Type ·        Year of Acquisition ·        Period of Acquisition
Management Consolidation	Single value “MC” (management consolidation)	·        Product Group ·        Customer Group ·        Sales Region