You use Account assignment reference to control which G/L account (balance sheet account) should be used to post the current financial transaction. By using different account assignment references, you achieve a differentiated balance sheet structure. Assignment of accounts at company code level is controlled by the flow types assigned to the transaction with the help of the account assignment reference.

The account assignment reference is defined directly in the administrative data of the financial transaction.

You can enter the account assignment reference manually for each transaction. Alternatively, you can allow the account assignment reference to be determined automatically by the SAP R/3 System, based on certain characteristics such as the product type, currency or portfolio. In this case, the SAP R/3 System proposes the account assignment reference to you when you are creating the transaction.

You can also assign cost centers via the account assignment reference. In the case of profit-related postings such as interest received, the cost center defined in the account assignment reference is transferred to the FI accounting document.

The account assignment reference is part of flexible account determination. You can use this flexibility to represent the following, for example:

• You can manage fixed-term deposits via different account assignment references on different balance sheet accounts.
• Based on the balance sheet accounts used, you can also have a differentiated sub-account structure.