Financial Conditions (CA-FIM-FCO) 

 

Purpose

This component provides functions that you can use to define the contracts between banks and their customers. You can define the financial requirements (conditions) that formed the basis for the contract agreed between the bank and its customers. For example, you make settings to determine how to calculate charges and interest and then post them to the customer. For example, you can determine cash flows, update and manage dates and calculate time periods.

You must always consider contracts in the context of the application component that uses the Financial Conditions component:

·        In Account Management (FS-AM), the contract is either an account contract or a card contract. The focus is on settlement activities based on past transactions. The financial conditions form the basis for the calculation of interest and charges.

·        In Bank Analyzer (FS-BA), the contract is either a financial transaction or a financial instrument. Financial conditions are used to analyze different scenarios.

·        In Loans Management (FS-CML), the contract refers to a loan contract for which future cash flows must be calculated.

In the documentation below, all these possible types of contract are summarized by the single term contract.

The Financial Conditions component gets and saves all data required for calculation and evaluation of financial transactions or cash flows in a set of rules. Some of this data is imported into Financial Mathematics (CA-FIM), so that calculations can be made.

The following graphic shows the basic structure of the condition model. The graphic shows the relationship between the main components of financial components and shows the three component parts of the structure of financial conditions.

The two elements condition category and condition group category on the top level represent the basic function of the conditions. They are fixed SAP defaults and cannot be changed. Condition categories are assigned in to specific condition group categories that cannot be changed. Several condition categories can be assigned to a condition group category, and one condition category can be used in several condition group categories.

The two elements on the middle level, the condition type and condition group type are used to further specify the lower-level elements. You define condition types and condition group types in Customizing and make additional settings according to your business requirements. You can assign several condition types to a condition group type, and one condition type can be used in several condition group types.

The elements on the lowest level of the graphic are condition groups, for which you define conditions in the application. The lowest level displays the concrete figures and requirements for the condition types. You make these settings by choosing contract editing from the application menu or the transaction F9COGR2 (Edit Condition Group).

Conditions are split up into standard and individual conditions. Standard conditions are generally valid for all contracts of a product. Individual conditions are agreed with the customer and are valid for this contract only.

The graphic also shows the links between the individual elements:

·        Condition group categories are templates for condition group types.

·        Condition group types are templates for condition groups.

·        Condition categories are templates for condition types.

·        Condition types are templates for conditions.

This means that condition types can only be assigned to condition group types whose condition group category allows the condition category that forms the basis for the condition type to be assigned.

The condition model provides you with many classification and grouping options for the conditions and greater flexibility because you can adjust the conditions according to your requirements at any time during the current process.

For more information, see Condition Model.

Implementation Considerations

SAP provides Financial Conditions as standard for certain application components. You can find a current list of these applications in the Application (FICOB_APPL) system table.

You can only use the Financial Conditions component in conjunction with an application component. The Financial Conditions functions must be integrated in the application component (for example, Account Management). You must adjust the Financial Conditions functions for every application component that is to use Financial Conditions. For more information about how to connect financial conditions to an application component, see Connecting to an Application Component.

Integration

In the component hierarchy, Financial Conditions (CA-FIM-FCO) and Financial Mathematics (CA-FIM-FMA) are both assigned on a subordinate level to the component Financial Mathematics (CA-FIM).

At the moment, the Financial Components component is integrated in Bank Analyzer (FS-BA) and Account Management (FS-AM.

Scope of Functions

You defined the condition groups and relevant conditions in the application. These are then passed on to the contract via the product on which the contract is based.

In the product, you also define whether individual conditions are allowed in the contract. It is possible for an application to only use individual conditions rather than standard conditions.

The Financial Conditions component provides the following basic functions:

·        You can create time-dependent conditions in the system and restrict their validity. Every condition has a valid-from date. A condition can have a valid-to date, although this is not obligatory.

The validity period of a condition can be restricted by one of two options:

¡        You enter an explicit valid-to date. The condition is then valid until this date.

¡        You create a new validity period for the condition. The valid-from date of the new period automatically restricts the previous validity period.

·        Changes made to an already used condition are restricted to an application and a condition group category. This prevents changes to conditions that were used already.

The relevant application defines whether a condition is considered to be used. For example, a settlement condition is considered to be used in Account Management if the valid-from date of the condition is before the period end date of the last settlement.

For more information about whether conditions can be changed, see the Use section of Condition Group Category.

·        All changes made to conditions are recorded in change documents. In the application, you can display any conditions that were created, changed and deleted.

·        The connection to the correspondence tool gives you the option to create correspondence automatically when you edit an individual condition. You make the relevant settings either in Customizing for the condition group type or directly in the individual condition in contract processing.

For more information about the correspondence tool, see Correspondence.

·        You can include condition editing in a release workflow. You can use the following release objects:

¡        Release Object CONDSTD (Standard Conditions)

¡        Release Object CONDIND (Individual Conditions)

For general information on release procedures, see Framework for the Principle of Dual Control (CA-GTF-TS-PDC).

·        You can archive individual conditions. Standard conditions cannot be archived.

Individual conditions can be archived using an application-specific archiving object. For example, you can use the archiving object INDCIND, which is created using the Archiving Workbench, in Account Management.

Each application uses different tools for archiving their objects. For more information about archiving, see the documentation for the relevant application.

·        You can link condition editing to specific authorizations. You can use the following four authorization objects:

¡        F_FICO_IND (FICO – individual conditions)

¡        F_FICO_AIN (FICO – individual conditions BAPIs)

¡        F_FICO_STD (FICO – standard conditions)

¡        F_FICO_AST (FICO – standard conditions  BAPIs)

For more information, see Authorization Objects for Standard Conditions and Authorization Objects for Individual Conditions.

Limitations

You can only use the Financial Conditions component in conjunction with an application component.