To comply with management reporting and legal requirements, organizations need to produce internal and external reports that document their business transactions.
These transactions represent operational and financial movements between other organizations, businesses, or individuals.
SAP S/4HANA presents a simplified way to fulfill reporting needs that reduces many challenges observed in SAP ERP’s functionality.
Reporting Challenges in SAP ERP
SAP ERP offers reporting capabilities using SAP GUI to meet current requirements following an IT-driven approach, though there are pain points that exist here. The function-based reporting aspect of SAP GUI means that, in most cases, SAP ERP uses one transaction code or similar codes for multiple actions, which risks the exposure of all data and functions to users.
Business users from different applications often experience inconsistent UXes due to multiple entry points. One report in one application is displayed in SAP GUI format, while another report in the same application could be using a Web Dynpro format, portal format, or SAP Business Client format.
Business users are highly dependent on their IT departments to develop new reports that can meet additional requirements or create reports for ad-hoc reporting. These custom developments involve a lot of effort and, sometimes, technical development experts.
Benefits of SAP S/4HANA Reporting
The SAP S/4HANA reporting functionality provides a consistent and intuitive UX with the use of HTMLS-based SAPUI5 technology. With the SAP Fiori user interface, reports from different applications are designed to be based on users’ roles, as opposed to SAP ERP’s function-based design. Depending on the role, an SAP Fiori app-based report exposes only relevant data and functions. This user-centric design approach ensures that all elements and fields are useful and easy to consume.
With SAP Fiori, business users from different applications experience a unified UX with just one entry point: the SAP Fiori launchpad. This ensures a consistent UX with a common theme across all applications.
With the embedded approach for reporting in SAP S/4HANA across different applications, business users get synchronized insights quickly within the solution, helping them make better decisions regarding all the information at hand. It enables them to make informed decisions based on real-time insights.
The demand for IT support is reduced with SAP S/4HANA, since business users can create new reports with minimum design-time activities for various self-service reporting and ad-hoc reporting use cases. SAP Fiori-based tools like the Custom Analytical Queries app allow business users to create KPI-based and multidimensional reports for instant insights that require minimal interaction with IT. This approach reduces high-development efforts, unlike the SAP GUI approach in SAP ERP.
About the Reporting with SAP S/4HANA book
Our new book Reporting with SAP S/4HANA explores the SAP S/4HANA suite’s simplified reporting paradigm and teaches you how to implement its various capabilities.
The book begins with end users in mind, providing a comprehensive overview of the capabilities and functionalities that support their reporting requirements. It explains the different approaches that business users may follow. You’ll explore the “why,” the “what,” and the “how” of business reporting, get insight into SAP’s new SAP Fiori user experience, and see how its tools help you meet customized reporting requirements.
Further chapters offer use cases on different requirements for financial accounting, management accounting, consolidation, reconciliation, statutory/compliance, procurement, sales, hierarchy, self-service and KPIs, and SAP Analytics Cloud-based reporting.
Once you’ve covered the various types of reporting requirements, learn about the several key considerations for an implementation of SAP S/4HANA with SAP Fiori. This part of the book explains multiple deployment situations where an SAP Fiori-first approach is used to support reporting requirements. Then, get to know the learning resources that support ongoing implementation activities for an SAP Fiori implementation with SAP S/4HANA.
Who Is This Book For?
This book is for SAP S/4HANA end users looking for a comprehensive overview of the capabilities and functionalities that support their reporting requirements using SAP Fiori. Project leads and team members involved in SAP S/4HANA implementations who have an SAP Fiori-focused approach for reporting will find this book useful, along with their managers, architects, influencers, and decision-makers.
About the Author
Brijesh Singh is a lead SAP solution architect at SAP America, Inc. He has more than 15 years of professional experience in SAP financial solutions, including financial accounting and controlling, financial close, centralized finance, joint venture accounting, financial supply chain management, and revenue accounting and reporting. Brijesh has been part of multiple SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud project implementations in the United States and Europe in industries such as manufacturing, IT, high-tech, engineering, retail, fast-moving consumer goods, chemicals, and oil and gas. He has worked as a developer, consultant, and team lead in the past, and he currently offers expert guidance to SAP global customers and partners as a trusted advisor to their digital transformation journey to SAP S/4HANA.
How to Purchase
If you’re interested in purchasing Reporting with SAP S/4HANA, follow this link and choose the format that works best for you: e-book, print edition, or bundle (both e-book and print).
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