For utility companies running the SAP ERP, HPC America is pleased to announce a new service that improves cost transparency, job estimation accuracy, and operational metrics monitoring. Based on our 20+ years of experience in utility financials, HPC Cost Flow Streamlining delivers the ideal mix of direct cost assignment, allocations, fixed overheads, and final cost settlement to help Accounting, Rates, and Operations perform their work more effectively with SAP software.
This service, typically completed within 3-6 months, minimizes SAP cost assessment processes that are often applied to expense and capital work but are confusing and difficult to explain--let alone plan for. HPC Cost Flow Streamlining replaces opaque allocations with transparent, easily understood overheads that enable project managers to plan and monitor the cost of work more accurately and consistently. Cost Flow Streamlining is available to utilities on ECC 6.0 and S/4HANA Finance.
Learn more about HPC Cost Flow Streamlining for utility companies on SAP.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
ShareThisTuesday, December 15, 2015
Improving Budget-to-Actual comparisons with HPC JETS
Budgets are generally entered into SAP at the cost center level. Actuals, however, can be charged to either a cost center, an order, or a WBS element. So, to compare budget to actual, charges to orders or WBS elements must be settled to the responsible cost center holding the budget and to the same cost element where the dollars were budgeted. Settlement provides a way to summarize actual costs to compare against the budget provided to the cost center.
When a charge is made to the wrong order or WBS element, the charges must be reversed. It is therefore imperative to reverse the charge in the exact amount that was charged erroneously. In order to maintain valuable detail, HPC recommends reversing the individual line items, not the total (or lump-sum) of two or more line items. Reversing and re-posting at the line item level ensures that the cost center receiving the settlement will get full credit (reversal). That said, we recognize that correcting errors at the line item level is time-consuming—and prone to error itself because the process is often manual.
That's where the HPC Journal Entry Transfer Solution (JETS) adds tremendous value. JETS enables authorized SAP users to move dollars from one cost object to another, line item by line item, far more efficiently than is possible manually. Only charges already posted may be adjusted.
Without JETS, users will likely avoid this tedious process, and post a lump-sum adjustment that may not credit the full amount of the erroneous charge(s) settled originally to the responsible cost center. In that scenario, costs may be left in the (mischarged) cost center because line-item charges weren't reversed exactly the way they were charged originally.
In other words, because SAP provides for settlement rules based upon specific cost elements charged, lumping together two or more cost elements into one adjustment can alter the settlement results, leaving dollars in the responsible cost center that would have been reversed had the adjustment been made to the original cost object and cost element. In contrast, using HPC JETS enables you to move all of the dollars to the correct cost object, such that budget-to-actual comparisons will retain their full integrity. Learn more about HPC JETS.
When a charge is made to the wrong order or WBS element, the charges must be reversed. It is therefore imperative to reverse the charge in the exact amount that was charged erroneously. In order to maintain valuable detail, HPC recommends reversing the individual line items, not the total (or lump-sum) of two or more line items. Reversing and re-posting at the line item level ensures that the cost center receiving the settlement will get full credit (reversal). That said, we recognize that correcting errors at the line item level is time-consuming—and prone to error itself because the process is often manual.
That's where the HPC Journal Entry Transfer Solution (JETS) adds tremendous value. JETS enables authorized SAP users to move dollars from one cost object to another, line item by line item, far more efficiently than is possible manually. Only charges already posted may be adjusted.
Without JETS, users will likely avoid this tedious process, and post a lump-sum adjustment that may not credit the full amount of the erroneous charge(s) settled originally to the responsible cost center. In that scenario, costs may be left in the (mischarged) cost center because line-item charges weren't reversed exactly the way they were charged originally.
In other words, because SAP provides for settlement rules based upon specific cost elements charged, lumping together two or more cost elements into one adjustment can alter the settlement results, leaving dollars in the responsible cost center that would have been reversed had the adjustment been made to the original cost object and cost element. In contrast, using HPC JETS enables you to move all of the dollars to the correct cost object, such that budget-to-actual comparisons will retain their full integrity. Learn more about HPC JETS.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Jerry Cavalieri speaks to SFSU MBAs about SAP
Last night, HPC CEO Jerry Cavalieri reprised his presentation about "ERP's Changing Role in the Age of Connected Everything" to the San Francisco State University MBA program's BPM class. SFSU has a thriving SAP Award Recognition Program for undergraduate and MBA students.
In addition to giving a live demonstration of SAP Financials, Cavalieri discussed how SAP has become foundational to the enterprise, and how businesses adopt new BPM strategies that redefine and modernize their ERP to adapt in today's social, mobile, and cloud IT architectures.
Students were particularly interested in learning how SAP is making the ERP easier to use, via HTML5 interfaces, and in Cavalieri's recommendation to boost their appeal to employers through the development of niche skills and continuous learning of new technologies.
In addition to giving a live demonstration of SAP Financials, Cavalieri discussed how SAP has become foundational to the enterprise, and how businesses adopt new BPM strategies that redefine and modernize their ERP to adapt in today's social, mobile, and cloud IT architectures.
Students were particularly interested in learning how SAP is making the ERP easier to use, via HTML5 interfaces, and in Cavalieri's recommendation to boost their appeal to employers through the development of niche skills and continuous learning of new technologies.
Friday, November 6, 2015
SAP Fleet Management: two new innovations
The SAP fleet management project we started this summer is moving forward nicely, and we've continued to innovate our fleet management solution for companies on SAP in two notable ways.
First, we've enhanced the fuel management interface with improved navigation for correcting odometer reads. It's now even easier to make and verify odometer corrections, which help determine when to bring vehicles in for service. We've also built standard reports that enable fleet managers to track vehicle usage along a time continuum to detect underuse or misuse based on miles driven, miles per gallon, and fuel consumption.
Second, we've automated the process for setting up new vehicles in SAP. Rather than enter each fleet unit individually in the SAP GUI, which is time-consuming and error-prone, we've added an "easy button" to the HPC Fleet Panel (shown above) that uploads multiple vehicles' master data from a single spreadsheet. This process not only creates many new vehicles in minutes, but also creates the appropriate measurement points and measurement documents automatically. Following that step, our fleet solution for SAP automatically assigns the correct maintenance plan and schedules the notification for the first service. This greatly streamlines the work involved in getting new fleet units into your SAP ERP the right way, the first time.
To learn more about how the HPC fleet template for SAP can benefit your organization, please contact us.
First, we've enhanced the fuel management interface with improved navigation for correcting odometer reads. It's now even easier to make and verify odometer corrections, which help determine when to bring vehicles in for service. We've also built standard reports that enable fleet managers to track vehicle usage along a time continuum to detect underuse or misuse based on miles driven, miles per gallon, and fuel consumption.
Second, we've automated the process for setting up new vehicles in SAP. Rather than enter each fleet unit individually in the SAP GUI, which is time-consuming and error-prone, we've added an "easy button" to the HPC Fleet Panel (shown above) that uploads multiple vehicles' master data from a single spreadsheet. This process not only creates many new vehicles in minutes, but also creates the appropriate measurement points and measurement documents automatically. Following that step, our fleet solution for SAP automatically assigns the correct maintenance plan and schedules the notification for the first service. This greatly streamlines the work involved in getting new fleet units into your SAP ERP the right way, the first time.
To learn more about how the HPC fleet template for SAP can benefit your organization, please contact us.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
FERC Reporting for SAP® S/4 HANA
Now that more utilities are considering SAP® S/4 HANA Finance (a.k.a. "Simple Finance"), it's not surprising that questions about regulatory reporting (FERC) on SAP S/4 HANA are coming up.As a leader in optimizing FERC for the SAP® ERP since the mid-1990s, HPC America has documented the first FAQ to address some of the most immediate questions utilities have about the impact of S/4 HANA on regulatory accounting and FERC reporting. Whether you're already running the FERC module, or have a homegrown derivation- or transaction-based FERC solution in place to functionalize your GAAP accounts, this short paper will provide some guidance on what to expect. Public and investor-owned utility companies running SAP may request the FAQ about FERC reporting on SAP S/4 HANA here.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Video: Utility FICO/FERC panel discussion at SAP Controlling 2015
At last month's SAP Controlling conference, HPC moderated a panel discussion of four utility company controllers and FICO/FERC experts from RPU, NTUA, FirstEnergy, and Sharyland Utilities, covering a range of topics around modern cost accounting and regulatory reporting strategies for utilities on SAP.
Panelists Bryan Blom, Gerard Curley, Steve Law, and Armando Bustamante were joined in an engaging discussion by utility FICO/FERC professionals from PSEG, Salt River Project, CPS Energy, and EDF Renewable Energy.
Watch the SAP Controlling video online:
Panelists Bryan Blom, Gerard Curley, Steve Law, and Armando Bustamante were joined in an engaging discussion by utility FICO/FERC professionals from PSEG, Salt River Project, CPS Energy, and EDF Renewable Energy.
Watch the SAP Controlling video online:
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Utility FICO/FERC Topics at SAP Controlling 2015 - Part 2/2
Following up on last week's post, the utility company panel discussion at the 2015 SAP Controlling conference will give utility company controllers, utility accounting and finance managers, and Rates department managers a chance to learn from several highly experienced utility FICO/FERC subject matter experts.
Steve Law, Business Analyst at FirstEnergy Corporation, will discuss FirstEnergy's steps to eliminate clearing groups and resolve negative flow errors. Steve has more than 35 years of experience in utility accounting, and has worked in General Accounting, Financial Reporting, Internal Controls, and Business Services. Most recently, Steve has been a project lead on FirstEnergy's upgrade to a "CO-centric" FERC model that enhances external reporting with Controlling module data.
Armando Bustamante, Controller of Sharyland Utilities, will speak about streamlining Sharyland's regulatory reporting and creating a hybrid functional Income Statement. Armando has more than 20 years of experience in accounting, including Financial Reporting and External Audit. He began his professional career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Venezuela and Dallas, before joining the Hunt Family of Companies in 2011. Armando is also a CPA.
Contact HPC to learn more about modern SAP FICO/FERC strategies for utilities at the 2015 SAP Controlling conference, and to request group discount registration passes.
Steve Law, Business Analyst at FirstEnergy Corporation, will discuss FirstEnergy's steps to eliminate clearing groups and resolve negative flow errors. Steve has more than 35 years of experience in utility accounting, and has worked in General Accounting, Financial Reporting, Internal Controls, and Business Services. Most recently, Steve has been a project lead on FirstEnergy's upgrade to a "CO-centric" FERC model that enhances external reporting with Controlling module data.
Armando Bustamante, Controller of Sharyland Utilities, will speak about streamlining Sharyland's regulatory reporting and creating a hybrid functional Income Statement. Armando has more than 20 years of experience in accounting, including Financial Reporting and External Audit. He began his professional career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Venezuela and Dallas, before joining the Hunt Family of Companies in 2011. Armando is also a CPA.
Contact HPC to learn more about modern SAP FICO/FERC strategies for utilities at the 2015 SAP Controlling conference, and to request group discount registration passes.
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