Closing Cockpit

Presented byGanesh Shankar, MBA,CPA

Agenda

• Over view of Closing cockpit

• Comparison of closing cockpit with Schedule manager

• Configuration of closing cockpit

• Execution of closing cockpit ( Demo)

• Q & A

Closing Cockpit

• One common status tracking mechanism

• Common templates and guidelines that every one can use

• Ability to assign roles and responsibilities for each task

• Dependency information related to closing process

Availability of Closing Cockpit

• ECC 5.0• ECC 6.0• Not available in earlier versions of R/3• Migration from Schedule Manager to Closing

Cockpit possible, although there is no SAP standard available for such migration

• SAP supports both Schedule Manager and Closing Cockpit as of now. Future direction towards Closing Cockpit.

Schedule Manager Vs Closing Cockpit• Schedule Manager is also available in R/3, while Closing

Cockpit is available in ERP 2005 and Net Weaver 7.1 onwards.

• Closing Cockpit is more attuned to the present day ERP closing process per se and is an extension of the schedule manager

• Closing Cockpit is based on the concept of Central Process Scheduler (CPS)

• Closing Cockpit is the latest functionality introduced in SAP ERP 2005 and similar to Process Chain in Net weaver.

• Schedule Manager is client based, while Closing Cockpit can be used across multiple instances.

• Closing Cockpit can also be used for Planning, while such facility is not available in SM.

Month-End Closing Processes

• Opening of new posting period by vendor, customer, assets and GL.

• Final goods issue• Final invoice posting• Depreciation run• Settlement of assets under construction (AuC) to assets• Cost assessments and distributions• Accruals and provisions.• Salary journals• Currency Revaluation• Reconcile ledgers• Consolidation activities• Budgetary cycle administration.

Configuring Closing Cockpit: Process Flow

Components of Closing Cockpit

• Organizational Hierarchies (Company Codes, Controlling Area, Operating Concern, etc)

• Task List template (Preconfigured templates available)

• Task Lists: Derived from template and extremely crucial for successful definition of the month-end close.

• Dependencies between the tasks• Monitor• Detailed information

5 steps for setting-up Closing Cockpit• Conduct Planning and Research

• Create the basic template data

• Build the closing template hierarchy structure

• Configure individual tasks

• Change the template to an executable task list

Step 1: Conduct Planning and Research• Understanding the existing closing process from

start to end– Tasks to be performed– The order of performing the tasks– Who owns the task– Who executes the task– Who reviews and approves the results after the task

is completed– How long the task takes to complete (run time)– The post-close audit requirements

Step 2: Create a basic template data• Provides formal structure for the organizational

hierarchy, closing tasks in the form of lists, and ownership of the task by identifying the individual task owners.

• Controlling the order of precedence or sequence of the individual task execution.

• By configuring the Closing Cockpit template, you set up the basic closing model that the system copies to a date-specific task list during the closing process.

• Configuration T.code: CLOCOC

Step 3. Build the closing template hierarchy structure• Starts with the construction of a hierarchy

of task folders

• Then assign organizational structures to the created task folders.

Step 4. Configure individual tasks

• Initial decisions to consider the nature of tasks, who is responsible, and what organizational structures the task affects.

• If a task is required that affects all organizational structures within a client, you should configure it and attach it to a folder in which you’ve assigned all controlling areas.

• Finally, consider those tasks that are relevant only for the individual company codes. Configure and assign tasks to the individual folders in which you have formally assigned individual company codes.

• The first section of the task configuration screen requires the names of the task (text entry), task owner (responsible block), and responsible party who executes the actual task.

• Identify the actual type of task. Within this option, you need to set individual tasks as actual programs with no variant assigned, programs with job variants assigned, transaction codes, memo entries, flow definitions, or remote tasks using CPS.

Differences between various task types• Program without variant • Program plus a job variant assigned • Transaction • Remote task using CPS

Step 5. Change the template to an executable task list1. Now that you have completed the template you can copy the

template into an executable form or a date-specific task list.

2. You also need to identify the Closing Type (in this example monthly [M]), Posting Period (11), Fiscal Year (2008), task list

Status (Released), and the person responsible for the task list. 3. After you copy the template to a date-specific task list and set the

status to Released, it becomes executable and the system schedules the individual task to exact calendar days and day-specific time frames.

Note

• Although it is possible to set up multiple task lists tied to different dates, the status setting controls when the task list becomes executable. You can only execute the task list after the task list owner changes the status to Released. If you choose to set up multiple task lists for an entire year, you would only set the single task list that you would use for a particular month to Released. You could review all other date-specific task lists, but could not execute them. Other task list status settings are: Not Released, Released, Active, and Closed.

Differences Between Templates and Task Lists• Templates allow for configuration of various tasks but

cannot execute any task. The task list is not configurable but allows for the execution of the various tasks.

• Task lists are copies of single cockpit templates. You should configure cockpit templates to allow for repeated use, with little or no changes from period to period.

• You configure tasks within the template and cannot change them within the task list

• You initially schedule tasks within the template, but you can reschedule them within the task list if required

• It is possible to create sequences of date-specific task lists by selecting the menu option Create Task Lists. This is useful if you wish to create an entire year’s worth of task lists at one time.

Notes

• For delivering the Closing Cockpit successfully, you need to have a clear understanding of the current closing routines, the required tasks, who is responsible for each task, which tasks when executed should affect which level of the organization, and finally a clear process for review and documentation.