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 Validation with Condition Testing

Use

You use this function to make the process flow of validation dependent on condition tests. Condition testing works differently depending on which type of validation the method performs:

  • Validation of totaled data rows

  • Validation of individual data rows

Another way of making a validation dependent on conditions is to assign validation methods to validation tasks so that the methods are executed with dependency on version, time, and the consolidation unit. We recommend that our customers use this approach.

However, in certain scenarios this approach can make Customizing very complex. In those cases, you should consider modeling a conditional validation as described below.

Validation of Totaled Data Rows

In validations it is sometimes beneficial to make validation rules dependent on certain conditions. Possible examples for the use of conditional validations:

  • You want to use different validation rules for data in the special periods 13-16 than for data in periods 1-12.

  • You have arranged the consolidation units to be included in the consolidated financial statements into different namespaces according to certain criteria. Now you want to perform different validations for each group of consolidation units. (For example, you might distinguish such groups of units using ranges of their technical names – such as range A* through F* .)

These kinds of conditional validations can be based on the consolidation units included, the period, the posting level, or other characteristics. Also, these kinds of conditional validations can be achieved through user intervention in which you manually check whether the conditions are met and then manually execute the appropriate validation task. This function enables you to automate the testing for conditions in validation runs. This shifts the decision-making for different conditions away from error-prone live executions over to the Customizing activities.

Example Example

Assume you want to execute different validation tests specifically for the four end-of-quarter periods. To do this, you create the validation rule “Validation at End of Quarter”. You enter the formula CONDITION ( Period 3,6,9,12 ) , where “ Period 3,6,9,12 ” is the name of a selection condition you have previously defined for the posting period, and where this selection condition selects the periods 3, 6, 9, and 12 as single values. You then place the validation rules executed at the end of each quarter under the “True” branch of the validation rule “Validation at End of Quarter”.

End of the example.
Validation of Individual Data Rows

Validation of individual data rows tests whether the row currently under scrutiny matches your selection conditions. (This can include header data and data rows.)

Integration

To test conditions, you insert the CONDITION function into the formula of a validation rule.

Features

To define a validation rule to test a condition, you insert the CONDITION function into the formula of the validation rule and pass the condition as a parameter to the function.

The CONDITION function tests whether the condition contained in the parameters is true and returns either a true or false value. If the formula contains no other expressions besides the one function, then the return value of the function is the same as the result of the validation rule. If you use multiple expressions, the result of the validation rule reflects the logical combination of the function result with the other expressions that return true or false values. An example of this might be: CONDITION (Period 16) AND (GC_YTD (Revenue) > 0) .

Syntax

CONDITION ( <selection condition> )

For each parameter you enter the name of a selection condition you have already defined – for example, 0COMPANY=C1000 .

Validation of Totaled Data Rows

You can use parameters that are valid at the time of task execution ( execution parameters). This involves the characteristics contained in the current consolidation area that have the following roles:

  • Version

  • Group currency

  • Posting level

  • Period

  • Fiscal year

    Further parameters you can use are the following characteristics. The values of these characteristics result from the selection made in the Consolidation Monitor when the validation task is executed:

  • Consolidation unit (for validation of reported financial data and standardized financial data)

  • Consolidation area (for validation of consolidated data)

    Note Note

    The above list of usable roles is complete. Characteristics with roles not listed above cannot be used for validation testing when validating totaled data rows.

    End of the note.
Validation of Individual Data Rows

In validations of individual data rows, you can define selection conditions for all characteristics contained in the data stream to which the validation method is assigned. Each individual data row is tested whether its data matches the selection condition.

You can use the equivalency ( <==> ) and implication ( ==> ) operators of the formula editor to model complex logical expressions for data rows. This lets you simultaneously test multiple conditions that have dependency relationships to each other within a single validation rule.

Example of an Implication (If/Then Relationship):

CONDITION ( posting level 20 ) ==> CONDITION ( partner unit exists )

This first tests whether the data belongs to posting level 20. If it does, the rule also tests whether the partner unit field contains a value other than the initialized value. If this also is true, the validation rule returns the value “True”.