Chapter 1

Accounting in the SAP R/3 System

Accounting in General
Today globalization and diversification are forcing businesses worldwide to
change their organizations, making business processes more complex. These
processes are also becoming more dynamic through product and process
innovation and the use of the information highway. This requires increased
coordination and control with ever shorter reaction times. Business leaders
need a continuous supply of up-to-date and consistent information to make
timely decisions.

Structural Change

To meet this information challenge, the SAP R/3 System offers an integrated
solution with business applications for all areas in a company.
The R/3 Accounting application components - Financial Accounting, Controlling, and Treasury - are a critical part of this solution. By interrelating the
various aspects of accounting and integrating them with the Logistics and
Human Resources applications, these application components become a
management tool for all company departments. Interfaces to the logistics
supply chain from procurement to sales make it possible to optimize internal
operations. Including cross-enterprise business processes for customers,
suppliers, or financial institutions through electronic commerce makes this
solution even more efficient.

Management Tool

Besides providing all accounting data, the R/3 Accounting application components must concentrate on processing operational data for strategic
business decisions. Documentation and administration tasks are handled
automatically in the background.

Decision-Oriented

Any size company can benefit from using the R/3 System. Companies
ranging from a small sales office to an international corporate group can use
these functions because they meet the requirements of different industries
and countries. Pre-configured solutions are available for certain industries
with special requirements, such as specific charts of accounts.
The R/3 System offers international companies flexible software that can be
used in different countries. The R/3 System meets the needs of the major
industrial nations of the world with its multilingual approach, flexible currency handling, and country-specific functions for taxes, reporting, and
payment transactions. Thus the R/3 System provides all the prerequisites for
setting up a uniform accounting system that can be consolidated across
international borders.

International Application

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Accounting in the SAP R/3 System

E
C

Group
Accounting
Group

Subgroup

...

TR

FI

CO

TREASURY

ACCOUNTING

CONTROLLING

Finance Area
Funds Center
Funds

Company Code
Business Area

Controlling
Area
Profit Center

IM

Loans
...

Customers
...

Investment and Financing

Cost Objects
...

Programs
Investment Procedures

Fig. 1-1: Accounting Applications

Accounting

The R/3 Accounting application components offer a complete set of robust

applications:
Financial Accounting (FI) includes:

Treasury

Controlling

Investment Management
Enterprise Controlling

G/L Accounting

Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable

Asset Accounting

Legal Consolidation

Special Statistical Accounting Units

Treasury (TR) includes:



Cash Management

Treasury Management

Funds Management

Controlling (CO) includes



Overhead Cost Controlling,

Product Cost Controlling

Profitability Analysis

Investment Management (IM) allows comprehensive planning of

investment programs and control of individual investment measures.
Enterprise Controlling (EC) - with Consolidation (CS), Profit Center
Accounting (PCA), the Executive Information System (EIS), Business
Planning (BP) - provides management with the information they need to
control the enterprise.
These applications meet the requirements for processing business transactions
and for decision-support reporting in their respective areas.

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