Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close (FCCS) will undergo an update where users will be introduced to a new module and new abilities that will help them efficiently manage and improve their consolidation and close processes. In this blog post, we’ll outline changes, updates, and considerations for July.
This update will happen on the following dates:
- July 2, 2021, Friday, at or after 22:00 UTC: Oracle will apply this monthly update during the first daily maintenance of their test environments.
- July 16, 2021, Friday, at or after 22:00 UTC: Oracle will apply this monthly update during the first daily maintenance of their production environments.
Financial Consolidation and Close, a solution that’s configured to meet your enterprise requirements, will undergo an uplift to let users enjoy a world-class consolidation system with tailor-fit features.
Financial Consolidation and Close Updates
Enterprise Journals
This will be introduced in the July 2021 update. This new module will give users a central hub to prepare, approve, and manage journals.
Enterprise Journals can post directly to any ERP. Key features include Journal dashboards (overview and compliance), Journal templates for assigning roles, workflows, and due dates, Journal lists and Line Item data analysis, reports, and an audit trail.
Enterprise Journals allow businesses the flexibility they need in managing and posting journals directly to any ERP they choose.
Display Currency in Journal Reports
This update will also give you the ability to show the Currency column on a Journal report you have created. The system will then display the name of the currency for which the journal is made. This is helpful for enterprises who would like to display the name of an entity’s currency.
Here’s an example: If a journal is created against the Entity Currency, it will be shown as Entity Currency (USD), where USD is the currency of a chosen entity. If the journal is created against a Parent Currency, it will be shown as Parent Currency (EUR), where EUR is the currency of the parent entity.
Translation Override Rule to Specific Currency
By default, the creation of a Translation Override rule will be executed for all configured currencies. This will let you select specific Reporting currencies to include or exclude from the rule. You now have the flexibility to choose specific Reporting Currencies that will apply to your Translation Override Rules.
Key Changes For Multiple Commands in EPM Automate
Several commands are now available specifically to FCC around journals, with the ability to run these commands related to the enterprise journal templates mentioned above. Two command updated are specific to Enterprise Journals, and one command directed at overall journal status and journal entry workflow. The original journals FCC journals have been renamed to Consolidation journals; the updated terminology is Enterprise Journals vs. Consolidation Journals. Make sure to download the new version of EPM Automate in order to access the new commands available to you!
Applies to: Financial Consolidation and Close, Narrative Reporting, Planning, Planning Modules, Tax Reporting
createNRSnapshot Command
This command creates an on-demand snapshot, named EPRCS_backup.tar.gz, of a Narrative Reporting environment.
deployEJTemplates Command
This command deploys finalized Enterprise Journal templates to open periods in Financial Consolidation and Close. Deploying Enterprise Journal templates creates recurring journals associated with the template for the selected period. It also allows you to create ad hoc journals using the deployed template(s).
exportEJJournals Command
This command exports Enterprise Journals that are ready to be posted from Financial Consolidation and Close to a ZIP file. This file can then be used to import journal data into an ERP System.
setEJJournalStatus Command
This command, in Financial Consolidation and Close, sets the Enterprise Journal posting result from the ERP System. Use this command to update the posting status of Journals that are in Post in Progress status irrespective of their workflow status.
exportAppAudit command
Starting with this update, the exportAppAudit command for Planning, Planing Modules, Financial Consolidation and Close, and Tax Reporting has been modified to export audit data for the last 365 days when you use the nDays=all parameter value.
Business Benefit: The new commands facilitate the remote administration of EPM Cloud environments.
Clone Environment Feature
When the clone environment feature initially came out, you could not clone to an environment on the same release costing you two weeks of the month when attempting a clone transfer from test to prob and vise versa. This roadblock has been overcome by this latest update.
Oracle Smart View New Functions
Several new Oracle Smart view functions were updated for Account Reconciliation, Financial Consolidation and Close, Narrative Reporting, Planning, Planning Modules, Profitability and Cost Management, Tax Reporting.
The following new features are included:
- Flex Form Enhancements
- Member Selection Support on Flex Forms
- Preserve POV or User Variable Changes on Refresh
- New VBA Functions: HypSetUserVariable, HypListUserVariables, HypOpenFlexForm
- New Smart View Function, HsGetSharedConnectionURL
- URL Connection Support in Smart View Functions
- New Options for Filtering Business Rules
- Improved Duplicate Alias Handling in Row Drop-down Member Selector
- New Default Behavior for Opening Saved Ad Hoc Grids
- Microsoft Office WebView2 Support
Business Benefit: This version includes new features and fixed defects.
Enhanced Ad Hoc Operational Ability for EPM Cloud Standard
If you have the standard mode in Smart View, ad hoc ability did slightly increase without a lot of change to functionality/use. The neatest part of the update is that you now have more zoom in options giving you the ability to zoom to sibling and same levels whatever particular accounts or dimensions you're looking at, along with same generation, and lastly the ability to select multiple lines/selections.
Lastly, the Flex Forms in Smart View will now allow you to add rows and members into the Flex Form. Improved security reports available across the applications. All of these featured are available to you once you download the new Smart View version.
