Define Structure of Cost Center Assessment/Process Cost Assessme (SAP Library

Define Structure of Cost Center Assessment/Process Cost Assessment

In this step you define rules for allocating cost center costs and process costs to Profitability Analysis (CO-PA) in the form of cycles.

Activities

Define your assessment cycles. In doing so, observe the following:

1. The header of the cycle contains the parameters that are valid for the entire cycle. This includes the sender selection type, where you specify for actual data whether you want to assess all costs together or fixed and variable costs separately.

2. The segments contain the combinations of sender cost centers/sender processes and receiver profitability segments that are processed using a single distribution rule.

a) Specify either an assessment cost element or an allocation structure, which determines more than one assessment cost element for each cost element group. The sender cost centers/sender processes are credited using these secondary cost elements (cost element category 42). In account-based CO-PA, the receiver profitability segments are also credited using this cost element.

b) Specify either single value fields for the fixed and variable costs, respectively, or a PA transfer structure that determines more than one value field for each cost element group.

c) Specify the rule which you want to use to credit the sender.

Note that, for technical reasons, you can only use an allocation structure or a PA transfer structure with sender rule "1" (posted amounts).

d) Define the tracing factor, the rule which determines how the values are distributed to the receivers. For example, you can distribute certain percentages to the different receivers or distribute using certain values (such as the quantity sold or the revenue) as an allocation base. If you choose to use an allocation base, choose the receiver rule "Variable portions".

e) Specify the senders and receivers in the allocation characteristics.

Prerequisites

For process cost assessment, Activity-Based Costing (CO-OM-ABC) must be active as an operational Controlling component in your system.

The desired form of Profitability Analysis must be active.
You can check the form of Profitability Analysis by choosing Actual Flows of Values -> Activate Profitability Analysis.

Credit postings require you to have assigned an internal number range for the CO transactions KSPA (actual) or KSPB (plan).
To verify that this has been done, switch to Customizing for General Controlling and choose Organization -> Define Number Ranges for CO Documents.

In Profitability Analysis, you must define a number range for record type "D".
For actual data, you verify this by choosing Flows of Actual Values -> Initial Steps -> Define Number Ranges for Actual Postings.
In planning, you verify this by choosing Planning -> Initial Steps -> Define Number Ranges for Planning Data.

To improve runtimes in assessment, it is recommended that you use summarization levels if possible. These provide presummarized tracing factors for the receiver profitability segments.

Notes on Planning

The receiver version of a cycle is determined using the assignments you make to the sender version under Planning -> Integrated Planning -> Transfer Cost Center Planning/Process Planning -> Initial Steps -> Assign Receiver Plan Version.

Note that the field "Receiver version" is only relevant for costing-based Profitability Analysis. In account-based Profitability Analysis, postings are made to the sender version.

Ensure that the controlling area for the receiver is the same as that for the sender. Consequently, for the receiver rule "variable portions", you need to ensure that the characteristic "Controlling area" has already been planned in manual planning if planning data is to be taken as the basis for the assessment.

For actual assessment, you cannot use cycles that you defined for plan process assessment. You need to define new cycles separately. Nevertheless, you can copy plan cycles to actual cycles and vice versa.