This note addresses the classic Report Painter and Report Writer reports in S/4HANA, with a particular focus on Cost Center Accounting and Internal Orders reports, which display actual costs on the subsequent page. Reports outlined with a red border include additional features detailed in the chapter “Special Posting Information and Its Effects.” Furthermore, this note encompasses the standard FIORI Analytical Apps available in the system, based on Web Dynpro technology, specifically “Cost Centers Plan/Actual” and “Internal Orders Plan/Actual,” along with their underlying data structures. Customer-specific apps or views are not covered in this note.

Figure 1: FIORI W0081: Technical Info: Cost Center Plan/Actual

Figure 2: FIORI W0076: Technical Info: Internal Order Plan/Actual

Figure 3: Painter Reports: Cost Center Accounting

Figure 4: Painter Reports: Internal Orders

The value model in the SAP accounting system has changed significantly over recent years and decades. Before the introduction of the New General Ledger (NewGL), a dual-ledger system was in place, rooted in the classic Central European approach of separating controlling and financial accounting. This setup meant that discrepancies between the two areas were common, at least throughout the year, and had to be reconciled during the period-end closing process. As the number and complexity of transactions increased, so did the effort needed to align the two ledgers. In this system, the classic general ledger primarily served financial accounting, while profit center accounting was used for the controlling area.

Figure 5: Changes in Accounting

As part of the introduction of the New General Ledger, the special ledgers and, in particular, profit center accounting were integrated with financial accounting. Depending on the configuration, the profit center was now posted with almost all documents, making it more a part of financial accounting than controlling. With the introduction of the new S/4HANA enterprise software generation, the unification of these two areas was further developed and expanded. A Universal Journal was created, now encompassing asset and material accounting in addition to financial accounting and controlling, resulting in a single-ledger system. This shift was reflected in the data structure, including the table landscape.

This understanding is crucial when navigating between these two worlds and using applications from the respective systems. To illustrate this better, the above diagram (Figure 5) is enhanced with report technologies. See the diagram on the next page.

Change in reporting

Figure 6: Development of Reporting

At first glance, the significantly enhanced user experience is striking. The new apps are much more modern and up-to-date. The approach to reporting has also changed fundamentally. Classic reports are application-specific, resulting in numerous reports for various purposes. In contrast, the modern FIORI Analytical Apps emphasize flexibility and function similarly to a pivot table in terms of features and usability. For example, in the ‘Plan/Actual Cost Centers’ app, you can customize the report for various purposes by selecting columns and rows, saving it as individual views, and making it accessible to other users.

In addition to the user experience and functionality, the way data is visualized has also fundamentally changed. The following diagram illustrates this:

Figure 7: Perspectives on Data

In the past, each area or stakeholder had its own data stored in separate tables tailored to their specific needs. This often led to differences in displays and values, particularly between controlling and financial accounting. While a financial accountant only saw the actual posted values, the controller was also interested in statistical and imputed values.

The following rule of thumb can thus be internalized:

While in R/3, users with different perspectives also looked at different data, in S/4 users with different perspectives look at the same data basis.

For a more in-depth technical explanation, see the following note:
2185026 – Compatibility views COSP, COSS, COEP, COVP: How do you optimize their use? – SAP for Me

And blog entry:

Special posting information and it’s impact

While the strategic approach in S/4HANA is to consolidate data into a few tables, relevant non-financial accounting data will still be stored in the classic CO tables, as outlined in the following chapter.

The use of classic Painter reports also follows the above mentioned dual-ledger system in S/4HANA. The following sections introduce special types of information and their effects on both classic and new reporting.

Splitting

Cost splitting information, such as the breakdown into fixed and variable portions, is stored in both the classic CO tables (COSP_BAK and COSS_BAK) and the Universal Journal (ACDOCA). To display all information, it’s necessary to combine data from both sources. As of the date of this document (02/12/2024), a custom CDS view should be considered for a complete and easy display of splitting information.

Statistical Postings

Statistical postings are entries made on statistical elements, such as internal orders or Project System (PSP) elements. Within these elements, a ‘real’ cost center to be charged is recorded. Thus, when posting to these statistical elements, a statistical entry is made on the statistical element, and a real entry is made on the recorded cost center. The same applies to secondary allocations. In the new FIORI analytical apps, a specific feature is available for this purpose, which can be selected or deselected. Refer to the following figure for more details.

Figure 8: Statistical Characteristics

The information is largely contained within the central universal ledger, the ACDOCA table. However, an exception is the information on ‘Cost Center/Order/WBS Element is statistical,’ which is not included in ACDOCA but instead determined in CDS views. Additionally, these fields are not available in all apps (e.g., Journal Entry Analyzer, Display Line Items in the General Ledger) or as filters. To display or hide statistical postings, selection criteria should be reviewed carefully, and corresponding views or bookmarks should be centrally configured.

Commitment

In SAP, an ‘obligation’ refers to a commitment typically created by a purchase order on an account assignment object. This information is essential for a complete budget overview. The choice of solution is crucial when analyzing this data. The classic obligation solution continues to store its data in the legacy CO tables. If the new obligation management is activated, this information is retrieved from an extension ledger. If both solutions are active—since not all account assignment objects (currently only cost centers) are supported in the new solution—it is important to evaluate the correct source based on the active solution. For the new solution, the corresponding extension ledger must be selected in the ACDOCA table.

Work in Progress (WIP) Postings

Due to the initial separation of the two systems described above, classic CO reports rely on different selection criteria (specifically the object number). When evaluating an account assignment object, only the information where this field is populated is displayed. Work-in-progress (WIP) represents a balance sheet item for goods tied up in the production process.

For a more detailed explanation, please refer to the following entry in SAP Help:                                                                     https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_ERP_SPV/1352f25ee3eb4c888ae33f034441e4f9/ebfe8c53d7d8ec23e10000000a174…

These financial postings are populated with the ‘Order’ field and are therefore not included in an order line item report. However, since these postings are part of the Universal Journal, they are generally displayed in the new FIORI Analytical Apps.

In the context of Universal Parallel Accounting or the Public Cloud version with event-based product costing, the behavior is similar. In this setup, as all documents are recorded in the Universal Journal, they can be displayed with account assignment directly at the WIP accrual. However, this is not the case in older reports based on the COSB table. For a deeper understanding of the differences between traditional WIP creation and release and the new approach, I recommend the following blog post:
https://community.sap.com/t5/enterprise-resource-planning-blogs-by-sap/the-differences-between-tradi…

Missing or Overly Broad Filters

The expanded flexibility in the new FIORI Apps also requires users to exercise greater attention. The fields ‘Cost Center / Order Statistical’ and ‘Account Assignment Type’ are particularly sensitive.

Field „Cost Center / Order Statistical“
When this field is selected and visible in the report, statistical postings are also displayed. If the ‘Account Assignment Type’ field is also active, it indicates where the ‘real’ posting has been directed. For example, in a cost center report, it will display:

Cost Center Statistical	Account Assignment Type	G/L Account	Actual Amount
X	PR	63007000	5.000

A statistical posting of 5,000 has been made to a cost center, which has been genuinely assigned to a WBS element.

It should also be noted that this display differs from the classic reports. In the classic reports, this information was sometimes available on an additional report page (see Figure 9) or not available at all, as it was not CO-relevant (e.g., GR/IR). See Figure 8.

Figure 9: Report Comparison – Statistical Information

Field: „Account Assignment Type“

This field refers to the account assignment object that was primarily posted. The following selections are typically possible:

Field Entry	Description
KS	Cost Center
KL	Activity Type
PR	Project (Work-Breakdown-Structure)
OR	Order
EO	Profitability Segment

This means it may be useful to exclude result-object-relevant postings [EO] in a cost center report and, conversely, to exclude all other values in the ‘Market Segments Plan/Actual’ report. The effect of an overly broad selection is illustrated in Figure 10 on the next page, where no restrictions were applied other than the controlling area:

Figure 10 : FIORI Analytical App without filter

You can see that, in addition to the postings from margin analysis, values without controlling-relevant assignment, such as pure FI postings, are also displayed. Consequently, the informational value is very low.

If attributed account assignment is used, for example, within the framework of project-oriented manufacturing, both project-related costs and positions relevant to margin analysis are visible in the Universal Journal. For further information on this type of account assignment, please refer to the following blog entry:

What to Do in Case of Discrepancies?

The following steps should be taken if there are discrepancies between GUI/Painter reports and FIORI Analytical Apps:

1. Check your selection or any preset views and bookmarks.
2. Specifically check if statistical information is being displayed.
3. Ensure that the correct currencies are being compared. The new apps display multiple currency types (controlling area currency, company code currency, etc.). GUI reports are usually in controlling area currency.

Figure 11: Currency Types

1. Try to keep the selection narrow initially and proceed account by account.
2. Drill down into the line items or call up a line item report to check which, if any, controlling-relevant account assignments are present in the document.
3. The FIORI Analytical Apps are based on embedded BW technology. If the discrepancies cannot be explained with the above measures, check whether custom information structures have been created and how they are configured (see also Figures 1 and 2).
4. If you are using custom Painter reports, review those as well.
5. Painter/Writer reports are consistent in the classic ERP reporting world and function smoothly. The same applies to the new FIORI Analytical Apps in the S/4HANA reporting environment (see also Figure 7).

Breaks in user experience can typically be avoided if the recommendations in the next section are followed.

Wherever possible, focus on the new reporting options. When using FIORI Apps, predefined views and bookmarks for key evaluation purposes should be provided by a knowledgeable central unit (Controlling or IT). If classic reports remain indispensable, as is the case with standard cost, splitting, and internal sales reports, a short training session should be conducted. In general, a department-specific training session is recommended when introducing S/4HANA to better understand the new features.

To meet the needs of different reporting stakeholders and consolidate various reports and their sources, it is advisable to establish a company-wide unified reporting concept and centrally coordinate it.