SAP released a new SAP Revenue Accounting and Reporting application to address requirements derived from the new revenue accounting standards set by the International Accounting Standards Board and Financial Accounting Standards Board, as well as generic and existing requirements across various accounting principles.
The application was created to help companies manage the transition when the standards are expected to become effective for IFRS and U.S. GAAP preparers in 2017, while the FASB has proposed postponing that date one year.
SAP Revenue Accounting and Reporting was developed with partners and customers and SAP’s internal accounting department by analyzing the standard and assessing and designing to cover it. The application automates the revenue recognition and accounting process and sets up five specific steps for revenue accountants in following the new guidelines.
The main requirement the app addresses is the management and processing of multiple element arrangements. It also decouples operational transactions from accounting so those transactions can be accounted together regardless of where the operational data is processed.
Using the app, accountants can automatically determine multiple element arrangements from an accounting perspective based on a flexible rules framework, as well as change how revenues are allocated and recognized manually based on given customer arrangements. The app was built to deal with multiple accounting principles and their specifics in revenue recognition and presentation for one region or for each operational document. It also offers analytics for revenue accounting to address legal disclosures and management reporting.
“The new standard for revenue recognition means big changes for companies the world over, that must make significant updates to very sensitive systems,” stated Thack Brown, general manager and global head of Line-of-Business Finance at SAP. “SAP Revenue Accounting and Reporting will help customers affected by this required update to effectively manage the transition. SAP is in the course of implementing the application company-wide and the roll-out at a significant division is well-advanced.”
SAP ERP Financials customers with current maintenance agreements have access to the application at no charge and it is also available to customers on the SAP Simple Finance solution. More information is available
