Validation checks of individual FS data entered are not performed immediately during entry, instead you must call them up afterwards. You must define validation checks specifically, since the system gives you a free choice of item numbers, and many validation checks can and must be shown as relationships between item numbers. You manage the validation status, that is, the possible number of errors, in Status Management. You can only block input activities after the validation report has run and the error count 0 appears in Status Management under Status overview.

Validation checks are defined in the Implementation Guide in the section Individual Financial Statement Data ® Validation Checks. The checks are assigned to individual groups. A rule can span multiple lines.

The following validation categories exist:

1. Item rules (processing indicator P):

You should define an arithmetic expression using item numbers, for example the sum or difference of several items, followed by a relational operator (=<,>). There should be another item rule on the other side of this equation. In this way, for example, you can represent the check "Sum of assets = Sum of liabilities" or the check to determine whether amortization agrees on the balance sheet and income statement. Within the item formula you can specify a breakdown rule next to an item number: for example, item 0047110000(B=100) means that for item 0047110000 only the totals record of transaction type 100 should be read and included in the comparison. The breakdown indicators are:

– V for an affiliated company,

– J for acquisition year and

– W for currency.

The letters B, V, J, and W must be capitalized. The +/- sign of an item or transaction type according to Item Type Maintenance / Transaction Type Maintenance is automatically taken into account, so you can enter 0010000000 = 0020000000 right away instead of ‘assets = liabilities’, even though the liability items are stored negatively.

Examples:

0010000000 = 0020000000

0010320000(B=220) = 0030710100 + 0030710200

2. Totals item:

Irrespective of any possible entries in Validation Maintenance, the system always checks whether totals items in FS Item Maintenance, that is, items that have a totals rule, are in the database and have a value. As no entries are allowed for totals items, an error message appears if totals items carry a value.

3. Changes in investments (processing indicator P):

The system checks whether the investment item specified in the rule matches the values from the changes in investments table.

Example: 0010330100 = T851

4. Changes in investee equity (processing indicator P):

Similarly to changes in investments, the system checks whether the specified equity item matches the corresponding entries in the changes in equity table.

Example: 0020110000 = T871

5. Breakdown control (processing indicator A):

You can enter a range of item numbers in the FS item rule . The system checks whether a breakdown for this range has been specified in the specification of the FS chart of accounts. In other words, it checks whether a breakdown actually exists in the database for an FS item which, for instance, is to be broken down by transaction type.

Example: (0010300000, 0010399999)

6. Constant comparison (processing indicator P):

Item values can be compared with constants, for example to find out whether an FS item was in fact reported. The constant must always be specified in the format ‘KXXXXXX’, where the letter K must precede a six-digit number without decimal points (which is interpreted as an amount in cents).

Example: 0020140000 > ‘K000000’

7. Previous year comparison (processing indicator P):

By prefixing an item number with (V), the value of the previous year (for the same period) is taken. If you want to check the percentage variance of an item value compared to the previous year, you may want a note to be displayed, for example, if the variance is more than 20% compared to the previous year.

Example: 0010410000 > (V)0010410000 + '%20'

If you want to calculate a percentage variance with decimal places, you must multiply the previous year’s value by a corresponding constant.

Example: A variance of more than 1.3% compared to the previous year, is shown as follows:
0010410000 > (V)0010410000 * ‘K101300’ / ‘K100000’

Define the corresponding error text or warning message in the entry that follows, in accordance with the item or breakdown rule . You can also define multiple lines for FS item rule s. The texts are put into Standard Text Maintenance under the application area ‘PL’ in a language-specific manner.

The validation check is usually executed in the Consolidation menu within Status Management or under Indiv.Fin.Stmts. ® Validate:

• You can check individual companies, the complete subgroup, or a part of the subgroup in Status Management(see Managing the Closing Status).

The error log shows the error or warning messages by company, and also the calculation results from the of the item and breakdown rule s. Furthermore, a message is displayed if the check digit uploaded from PC data entry does not match the re-calculated check digit.

The results of the check are recorded in the consolidation status, and the results of checks on the group in the subgroup status. You can only start further actions in Status Management if the check was completed without error.

Within the log, you can use Report ® Choose to also display the validation rule from Validation Maintenance for each error message. You can use Choose within the validation rule to list the database values for the displayed FS items.