1.1. Company and Business Segments
- Adam Davis
- Andreas Alex
The business structure in Apliqo FPM is represented through the Company dimension and up to four flexible business segments. The Company acts as the balancing entity and defines the local currency for financial transactions. Business segments can include Cost Centers, Profit Centers, Departments, Customers, Products, or Locations, depending on the specific requirements of the Apliqo FPM implementation.
Both the Company dimension and the Business Segment dimensions determine the level of detail at which data is stored in the General Ledger cube, which serves as the primary source for reporting and analysis.
To configure the Business Segments, navigate to Administration > Business Segments.
General Considerations
Dimensions and Hierarchies
The leaf elements of a dimension represent the smallest level of business data stored in a cube within Apliqo FPM. These elements provide the granular details essential for analysis and reporting.
The Company and Business Segment dimensions typically include at least one hierarchical structure that aggregates the leaf elements into a consolidated total, known as the top node. The top node may encompass intermediary consolidated elements, representing sub-totals of the leaf elements grouped according to specific criteria. These hierarchical structures enable flexible reporting and analysis.
For example, if a business segment represents Cost Centers, one hierarchy might aggregate them by location, with the top node labeled “Total Cost Centers by Location.” Sub-totals in this hierarchy would represent specific locations. Another hierarchy might group Cost Centers by General Manager, with the top node labeled “Total Cost Centers by General Managers,” and sub-totals representing the managers. In both cases, the same leaf elements (individual Cost Centers) are aggregated differently to meet distinct reporting needs.
However, multiple rollups within a single hierarchy cannot be combined for reporting and analysis, which limits flexibility in such configurations.
Alternative Hierarchies
To overcome this limitation, alternative hierarchies can be created within the Company and Business Segment dimensions. These hierarchies provide separate rollups of the same leaf elements. Using the example above, one hierarchy could group Cost Centers by Location, while another groups them by General Manager. With alternative hierarchies, these two perspectives can be cross-tabbed in reports, allowing users to analyze Cost Center performance by both Location and General Manager simultaneously.
Rollups vs. Hierarchies
Rollups are straightforward to implement and are well-suited for basic reporting requirements. In contrast, hierarchies offer enhanced flexibility and deeper analytical insights. For instance, with hierarchies for Cost Centers by Location and by General Managers, cross-referenced reports can reveal performance across both dimensions, providing a more comprehensive view of business operations.
Required Elements
All dimensions in Apliqo FPM include a default hierarchy that shares the same name as the dimension. Each business segment dimension must contain:
A consolidated top node named “Total FIN BSEG x”
A default leaf element named “NA FIN BSEG x”, where x represents the index of the business segment dimension.
Similarly, the Company hierarchy requires a consolidated top node named “Total FIN Company” and a leaf element named “NA FIN Company.” Other dimensions and hierarchies often follow the same naming conventions for their top nodes and default leaf elements. These elements are critical for the proper functioning of Apliqo FPM and should not be deleted.
The “Total FIN BSEG x” and “Total Accounts” consolidations play a key role in reconciling the balancing entity. The “Total FIN BSEG x” rollup in the business segment hierarchy must encompass all leaf elements of the segment. Conversely, other rollups and alternative hierarchies are not required to include all leaf elements and can be customized to meet specific business needs.
The “Total FIN BSEG x” rollup is regarded as the definitive total against which all other totals are validated. This principle also applies to the FIN Company and other dimensions within Apliqo FPM.
Elements and Attributes
Elements and Attributes
Once created, the principal name of a leaf element cannot be modified. Therefore, it is recommended to use system keys for principal names instead of business descriptions. These system keys often exist within the organization’s source data. To assign a business description to a leaf element, you can use an Alias Attribute or a String Attribute.
Deleting a leaf element can result in data loss. Instead of deleting elements when updating a hierarchy, the elements are unwound from the rollup, and the hierarchy is rebuilt based on the updated definition in Apliqo FPM. Any leaf elements that are not part of the new hierarchy become orphans. These orphan elements should be reviewed after the update or manually deleted if no longer needed.
Consolidated elements, however, can generally be deleted since numeric data cannot be stored against them. String data, such as comments, can still be stored against consolidated elements.
Types of Attributes
Alias Attributes: Provide business descriptions for elements and must be unique within the hierarchy. They cannot duplicate the principal name or other aliases. Apliqo FPM’s default alias, “Code and Description,” concatenates the element’s principal name with its business description.
String Attributes: Store textual data, such as descriptions, which do not need to be unique.
Numeric Attributes: Store numerical data associated with an element.
All business segment dimensions include a “Description” attribute, which stores the business description for leaf elements. Attributes are managed through the Business Segment Maintenance pages in Apliqo FPM.