Cost Accounting and Chart of Accounts

You have to assign an operating chart of accounts to each company code. Cost accounting also uses this chart of accounts, that is, the accounts of the operating chart of accounts can be revenue and expense accounts in Financial Accounting and can be cost or revenue elements in cost accounting.

If your organization consisting of multiple company codes (such as a global company) needs various chart of accounts, you should note that cost account is only connected to the operating chart of accounts. How you organize your chart of accounts depends on the hierarchy level at which you want to carry out cost accounting.

You have two basic methods for organizing your chart of accounts.

At the corporate group level, a chart of account is defined which contains all accounts and can be used by all company codes. This chart of accounts is the operating chart of accounts for all company codes. To meet specific country requirements, you can enter an additional (country-specific) chart of accounts for each company code.

Advantage: Cross-company code cost accounting is possible. Consolidation is carried out using the operating chart of accounts, which is the corporate group chart of accounts.

Disadvantage: The accountants cannot work with their own country-specific charts of accounts.

Each company code uses its country-specific chart of accounts as the operating chart of accounts. For consolidation, you enter the corporate group chart of accounts additionally for each company code.

Advantage: The accountants can work in their own country-specific charts of accounts. You cannot consolidate data using the corporate group chart of accounts.

Disadvantage: Cross-company code cost accounting is not possible.