SAP New GL and FERC Data

We're on an SAP New General Ledger roll. Expanding on our prior posts (1, 2, and 3), we had some further thoughts about New GL migration strategy and FERC data. For utilities that have been on the Classic GL and IS-U/FERC module for many years, a New GL migration will certainly not be undertaken without careful consideration and risk management. We recently put together some top-level deployment scenarios that mitigate risk and provide a utility with different options before committing to a specific one for production.

This SAP New GL migration approach retains the existing FERC module, while concurrently developing a prototype of the New GL that shows FERC accounts posted to GL in real-time. We would show finance stakeholders how to render the FERC account assignments to actual New GL line items in the FAGLFLEXT (totals) and FAGLFLXA (transaction) tables. Based on our combined knowledge of the New GL and the existing IS-U/FERC module, we would build a model that shows the actual FERC accounts in the Functional Area field of the New GL. In addition, based on the utility's assignment of regulatory indicators to both internal and PM orders, we could use the actual CO object assignments to regulatory indicators to create a Business Add-In to populate the Functional Areas in the New GL for both primary and secondary cost element assignments. In cases where full FERC_C3 (Trace table rules) apply for assignment of A&G (e.g. account 923 Outside Services), we would deploy substitution rules to assign the correct functional area.

As a result of this prototype, the utility would see a direct integration of CO to FERC for all activity type charges, assessments, and overheads (all CO module allocations) to each FERC account. The utility would gain real-time FERC derivation at the point of document entry. We would also demonstrate how users could overwrite the FERC assignments (a feature some accountants may find useful) during document simulation prior to posting (e.g., transactions FB50N/FB50L).

But that's not all: we could also link all secondary costs to the New GL such that any transaction posted in CO would update the Functional Area postings to capture cost movements between CO objects that affect FERC account assignments in the Functional Area.

Through this migration approach, the utility would have the choice of maintaining its existing FERC module or deploying the real-time, fully integrated New GL solution by reviewing real-world test data before making a decision on which method to use in production. With our prototype, financial stakeholders would see how to present FERC account information as each source document is entered, thereby eliminating a month-end close process to run the FERC trace and drilldown. In addition, the accounting department would be able to override FERC derivation on the fly during document entry and simulation, a feature not available with the classic FERC module.