A G/L account master record has two views:

• Chart of Accounts segment: Account number, short/long text, account type (balance sheet / P&L), group account number.
• Company Code segment: Currency, field status group, open item management, line item display, tax settings.

In S/4HANA, G/L accounts are created and maintained via the Fiori app "Manage G/L Account Master Data".

In S/4HANA, vendors and customers are managed as Business Partners (BP). The BP concept replaces the separate vendor master (transaction XK01) and customer master (XD01).

• One BP can have roles: FI Vendor (FLVN01), FI Customer (FLCU01), and others simultaneously.
• General data (address, communication) is stored once at the BP level, reducing data redundancy.

Every posting in SAP creates a document — the fundamental unit of accounting. A document has:

• Document header: Document type, posting date, document date, currency, reference, header text.
• Line items: G/L account, debit/credit indicator, amount, tax code, cost center, profit center, segment.

Document types control: number ranges, account types allowed, and document behavior (e.g., SA = GL document, KR = vendor invoice, DR = customer invoice).

• Managed via the Posting Period Variant. Open periods are controlled per account type (+, A, D, K, M, S).
• Special periods (13–16) are used for year-end closing adjustments.
• Transaction OB52 (or Fiori app) opens/closes periods.

• Normal Reversal: Creates a counter-entry in the same period (debit/credit swapped).
• Negative Posting (Storno): Reversal with the same sign in the original period — prevents double counting in period totals. Requires activation in company code settings.
• Accrual/Deferral documents can be set for automatic reversal in the following period.

Companies reporting under multiple accounting standards (e.g., IFRS and local GAAP) use parallel ledgers in S/4HANA:

• Leading Ledger (0L): The primary ledger, required for all postings.
• Non-leading Ledger: Stores delta values for alternative accounting standards (e.g., IFRS, US GAAP, local GAAP).
• Extension Ledger: New in S/4HANA. Stores only the delta versus the leading ledger — efficient use of storage.

Ledger Group-Specific Postings allow entering values only in a specific ledger without affecting others — used for IFRS vs local adjustments.

Document Splitting ensures that each financial document is split along a characteristic (e.g., Profit Center or Segment), enabling balance sheet reporting at a more granular level. Required for IFRS 8 segment reporting.

• Active Splitting: Split logic is explicitly applied during posting. Rules define how to split line items (e.g., proportionally by expense).
• Passive Splitting: Splitting information is inherited from related documents.
• Zero Balance: Balance-correcting line items are generated to ensure each profit center has a balanced document.

The Automatic Payment Program (F110) is the standard tool for generating outgoing payments:

• Parameters: Run date, company codes, payment methods, vendor selection.
• Proposal: System proposes open items due for payment. Can be edited manually.
• Payment Run: Creates payment documents and clears open items. Generates payment media (checks, bank transfers, SEPA).
• SEPA Credit Transfer / Direct Debit: European standard for electronic payments, fully supported in S/4HANA.
• Digital Payments: S/4HANA supports modern payment methods via SAP Digital Payments add-on.

Payment Terms define the baseline date and payment conditions. Cash discounts (e.g., 2% within 14 days, net 30) are configured in payment term master data and automatically calculated during payment.

The AP / MM integration (Logistics Invoice Verification – LIV) is a three-way match process:

• The GR/IR clearing account (Goods Receipt / Invoice Receipt) is used to record the liability until the invoice is received and matched to the goods receipt.
• Price and quantity variances between PO and invoice are posted to variance accounts.

• Balance Confirmations: Sent to vendors to confirm balances at period end.
• GR/IR Clearing: At period end, uncleared GR/IR items are analyzed and accruals posted if goods were received but invoice not yet entered.
• Clearing Open Items: Incoming payments or credit memos are matched against open invoices (open item management).
• Payment Differences: Small differences within defined tolerances are automatically posted to tolerance accounts. Larger differences require manual resolution.

Each fixed asset has a master record with:

• General tab: Asset description, serial number, inventory number, cost center, WBS element.
• Time-dependent tab: Cost center, plant, business area (can change over the asset's life).
• Depreciation areas tab: Depreciation key, useful life, start of depreciation per area.
• Net book value: Calculated from acquisition value minus accumulated depreciation.

Mass changes to asset master records can be made via worklists — efficient for fleet updates or reclassifications.

• Acquisition (integrated): From MM purchase order — GR/IR posting auto-capitalizes the asset.
• Acquisition (non-integrated): Direct posting via transaction F-90 or Fiori app — used for inter-company transfers or direct purchase.
• Retirement (full/partial): Removes asset value and accumulated depreciation; posts gain/loss to P&L.
• Transfer within company code: Moves asset from one cost center or asset class to another.
• Intercompany transfer: Asset is retired in the selling company code and acquired in the receiving one — potentially at different values.
• Assets Under Construction (AuC): Costs are collected on a WBS element or internal order, then settled to a completed asset at capitalization date.
• Unplanned Depreciation: Posts extra depreciation for specific events (damage, write-down) without changing the depreciation schedule.

• Depreciation Key: Determines the calculation method (straight-line, declining-balance, units of production), the base value, and rounding rules.
• Useful Life: Defined in the depreciation area. The system calculates the periodic depreciation amount automatically.
• Depreciation Run (AFAB / Fiori): A background job that posts periodic depreciation to all relevant GL accounts. Must be run each period.
• Fiscal Year Change: Must be executed in Asset Accounting before the new fiscal year starts — opens the new year for asset postings.
• Year-End Closing: Locks the previous year for AA postings and generates year-end reports.

• Asset Explorer (AW01N): Interactive asset history showing all transactions, depreciation simulations, and planned values.
• Asset History Sheet: Formal statutory report showing opening balance, additions, retirements, transfers, depreciation charges, and closing balance per asset class.
• Depreciation Simulation: Projects future depreciation before running the official depreciation posting.
• In S/4HANA, Fiori analytical apps provide real-time dashboards for asset value monitoring across all depreciation areas.

• Accruals: Expenses incurred but not yet invoiced (e.g., accruing wages for the last week of December, invoice arrives in January).
• Deferrals: Payments made in advance but relating to future periods (e.g., prepaid insurance).
• In SAP, posted via transaction FBS1 with an automatic reversal date in the following period.
• Accruals Management (S/4HANA): Provides automated accrual postings for recurring items and purchase order accruals (goods/services received but invoice outstanding).

An alternative P&L structure where expenses are classified by cost function (production, selling, admin) rather than by nature. Requires cost centers mapped to functional areas.

Financial Statement Versions (FSV) define how GL accounts map to balance sheet and P&L line items for statutory reporting. Configured in transaction OB58.

• Multiple FSVs can exist (local GAAP, group reporting, management).
• Transaction F.01 (or Fiori app) generates financial statements based on the FSV.
• S/4HANA offers Fiori analytical apps with drill-down capability from financial statement line items to individual journal entries.

The balance audit trail (transaction FAGLB03) ensures that all GL balances can be reconciled from opening balance → all postings → closing balance. Required for statutory audits.

The Financial Closing Cockpit (transaction FCCL / Fiori app) is a workflow-based tool that organizes all closing tasks:

• Task templates group recurring closing activities (e.g., "Run depreciation", "Post foreign currency valuation").
• Dependencies between tasks are defined — a downstream task cannot start until prerequisites are complete.
• Real-time status monitoring across multiple company codes and fiscal periods.
• Automated scheduling of background jobs directly from the cockpit.