SAP FICO Redefining Financial Conditions of an Enterprise

Company-wide control and integration of financial information is a prime factor involved in effective decision making and for better handling of accounts.

Sap Fico is the term for FI (Financial Accounting) and CO (Controlling) modules that store financial transaction data related to an organization. Being an important and robust module of ERP, it is widely implemented by SAP and deals with every business process encountered in the industry. FI analyzes financial conditions of the market and is used for external reporting, i.e. Balance sheets and statements. It receives postings from various other modules like Materials Management, Sales Distribution, etc., through integration and presents them on a single platform for the entire organization. CO optimizes and monitors all the processes within an enterprise. Logistics handles accounting transactions and posts them automatically to FI and CO.

Financial Accounting and Controlling are interrelated and help in managing better business processes towards better finance accounting and data management.

SAP FI Module:

Finance is the critical part of any enterprise and this is managed and upgraded through Financial Accounting. This package of sub-modules aid organizations handle financial and accounting activities. It reviews the status of the organization in the real-time market by enabling reliable, time-based and accurate external reporting.

Before implementing SAP FI, it must be configured and this configuration, aligned with a client, is handled by a business manager. Once done with the configuration, the documents are automatically posted. This data enables enterprises to keep track of financial transactions and submit finance reports at the end of each fiscal year.

Explained below are the sub-modules of FI:

• General Ledger Accounting: Provides complete reporting for both internal and external accounting.
• Asset Accounting: Manages company’s assets. This data helps in setting depreciation values.
• Bank Accounting: Manages cash and bank transactions.
• Accounts Payable: It records and deals with all the accounts related to the vendors.
• Accounts Receivable: It records and deals with all the accounts related to the customers.
• Consolidation: Combines financial statements of multiple enterprises. It provides an overview of the financial position of the company.

. Funds Management: Manages budgets for expenses and revenues within an organization.

• Special Purpose Ledger: Defines ledgers for the purpose of reporting.
• Travel Management: Manages all the traveling activities that include booking trips and other related expenses.

SAP CO Module:

It deals with master data, configuration and reporting. It plays a prominent role in managing decision making and is used for internal reporting. This module specifically defines Cost Center, Profit Center Accounting, Product Costing and Profitability. Its implementation gives a view on finance reporting, management of records and evolves at decision making. It manages database and reporting as per the business needs. CO complements the value created by FI reports and utilizes features of all the FI Components. After the transactions are updated in FI, they are further processed in CO.

• Keeps a track on cost heads and accordingly, designs future plans.
• Build reports on sales and profitability through internal measurement.

Usage:

The reports created by SAP FICO are extensively used by Banks, Stock Holders, Tax Authorities, according to their specific requirements.

Career as a SAP FICO Consultant

To make up the career as a successful SAP FICO Consultant, one must be aware of the basics of its modules. SAP FI Consultants work along implementation of Financial Accounting and ERP Financials.

SAP Implementation is complex and it is recommended to acquire adequate training to enhance skills and expertise in modules for better management of finance accounting and controlling in the enterprises. This course specifically imparts extensive knowledge on utilization and implementation of reports and controlling components. With the training and support, candidates can maintain enterprise software. They can work and implement modules by enhancing client business functionalities and maintaining the highest level of customer satisfaction. Experience in this field enhances the opportunities of a well-paid job. With the greater level of expertise, entry level consultants can be promoted even as senior FICO Consultants.

Sirisha Paladhi, author of this article is presently working as a Content Writer at TekSlate. During her career, she has written many articles on technology innovations.