Role (Characteristic Role and Key Figure Role)

Definition

The semantics of characteristics or key figures that are used as the basis for consolidation functions.

The characteristics and key figures you use in consolidation have a specific role. For example, consolidation has a characteristic with the role Item.

Note Note

For the sake of simplicity, we often refer to a “characteristic with the role Item ” simply as an “Item”.

End of the note.

Structure

On the Data Model tab page, you assign exactly one role to each and every characteristic and key figure that you use in the data basis. Since these assignments are data basis specific, you can assign different roles to the same characteristics and key figures when editing a different data basis. Thus, the relationship between a characteristic or key figure and its role is not unique for the entire system.

Example Example

The characteristic Company has the role Consolidation Unit in data basis DATA_BASIS_1. At the same time, the same characteristic has the role Partner Unit in data basis DATA_BASIS_2.

End of the example.

Note Note

You can only assign the role version to those characteristics that are not linked with a higher-level characteristic.

End of the note.

The following roles are available for characteristics and key figures in consolidation totals records:

Roles in Consolidation
Role	Number of Fields with this Role in the Data Basis	Value Is Never Initialized (the characteristic always has a value in the transaction data)	Explanation
Version	between 1 and n	X	See detailed documentation on the version
Group currency key	1	X	You can insert the group currency key as a variable into the data model.
Local currency key	1	X	Even if you copy the data to the group currency, the local currency key needs to be in the data basis (for example, as an unused characteristic in the data model of the data basis).
Currency-bearing consolidation unit	1	X	See detailed documentation on the consolidation unit
Consolidation unit	1 or 2	X
Consolidation group	1 or 2
Item	1	X	See detailed documentation on the item
Subassignment	between 0 and n		See detailed documentation on the subassignment
Partner unit	1 or 2
Investor unit	0, 1, or 2
Investee unit	0, 1, or 2
Transaction type	0 or 1
Acquisition year/period	0 or 1
Transaction currency key	0 or 1	X
Unit of measure	0 or 1
Document type	1
Posting level	1
Translation indicator	0 or 1
Clearing characteristic (for allocations)	between 0 and n		Allocations require the characteristic with the role clearing characteristic. It contains either the sender object or the receiver object. Each clearing characteristic needs a corresponding characteristic that is cleared.
Fiscal year	1	X
Period	1	(X)
Value in group currency	1
Value in local currency	0 or 1
Value in transaction currency	0 or 1
Quantity	0 or 1
Fixed in consolidation area	between 1 and n	X	You must assign at least the characteristic fiscal year variant to this role. You must then define a fixed value in the consolidation area for each characteristic that uses this role.
Product group	0 or 1		Required for Elimination of Interunit Profit/Loss in Transferred Inventory
Field type, transaction type	0 or 1		Higher-level characteristic of the transaction type (if this is compounded)
Restatement	0 or 1		See Creating Restatement Characteristics