Characteristic
Definition
Criteria (in the form of reports) used for making evaluations in the G/L Account Information System. The characteristics available provide the classification options of the dataset.
Use
Examples of characteristics in the G/L Account Information System:
SAP hierarchical terms such as company code, account number, company, business area, as so on.
Time-dependent characteristics such as fiscal year, posting period, as so on.
Structure
The following terms are of importance in relation to characteristics:
Simple characteristic
When creating a form or report, you only define the characteristics that are valid for the columns and rows of the report. Afterwards, you restrict the desired characteristics by entering values for them.
Example
Actual data is in every column of a actual/actual yearly comparison. The characteristic is this case is a plan/actual key figure. The characteristic value for actual data is the key 0 .
Drilldown characteristics
When creating a report, you can select the characteristics that are needed for your evaluation from a list. These characteristics are drilldown characteristics that are used to navigate in the report. They include, for example, company, company code, and business area.
Characteristic hierarchies
With characteristic hierarchies, characters are arranged in a hierarchy. In the G/L Account Information System, the characteristic "financial statement version" is the hierarchy for the characteristic account number. In the financial statement version, the account numbers are displayed in a hierarchical order.