SAP S/4HANA Financial Management Software Overview

Question

Task:"enterprises are faced with the immediate need to embrace the digital age to match the new and evolving business models and offer decision makers with instant insight."

SAP S/4HANA Finance allows an enterprise to create a consolidated view of all operational and financial data to offer flexible and easy reporting along with automation of processes. It also offers real-time analytics, simulations and forecasting with a great user experience. Benefits of SAP S/4HANA include but is not limited to ‘single source of truth, faster forecasting and planning, ‘on the fly capacities’, new reporting and analytic support, global regulatory and compliance abilities across all languages, currencies and industries, faster month closing, integrated with Fiori etc.

Discuss these statements using case study examples (from literature searches) to demonstrate the benefits of SAP S/4HANA Finance.

Your paper should include the following areas :

• A brief historical overview of SAP S/4HANA Finance
• The difference between SAP S/4HANA Finance and current SAP ERP FICO
• What are the benefits of SAP S/4HANA Finance for businesses
• Case Studies of companies and the issues they faced migrating to SAP S/4HANA Finance.

Answer

Introduction
Digital innovation has been increasing rapidly to be involved for the effective functioning of the operations that are important to be carried out in a company to bring in development and achievement of the goals of the organisation. The involvement of digitization for the operation helps in implementing new processes and decision-making ability that will further bring in instant insight by the managers and the decision makers in an organisation. It is important to note that the company SAP S/4HANA Finance helps in bringing in new ways in order to carry out the operational and financial data manipulation. This is carried out by offering flexible reporting with the process of automation involved. The given paper is based on the discussion to be carried out in order to understand the needs for using upgraded digital technologies for the financial operations and the issues faced during the usage of such approaches.

Historical overview of SAP S/4HANA Finance
The platform SAP HANA has been developed and was available on the market since 2010. The SAP HANA database allowed the development and the working of the SAP ERP and the SAP business suite, which could be also used in the other databases. It has been noted that the suite named as SAP S/4HANA was initially launched on 3 February 2015. The SAP S/4HANA application was initially launched at the New York Stock Exchange to allow the different financial organization to understand the usability of the application and the ways in which the application can be fruitful to be used for the financial operations to be carried out in the companies. The launching of the application carried out by effective introduction of the cloud and the on premises editions to the audience in order to ensure that they have the effective introduction of the features that are present in the application. However, the launching of the product was carried out based on the on-premise edition. The application was further available in the market in the form of cloud edition that was an updated version of the application, which was then followed by the SAPPHIRE NOW. The product Sapphire now was launched in the year 2015 on 6 May in Orlando, Florida (Salmon and Wild, 2016).

Based on different features that already existed in SAP S/4HANA, it has been analysed that the application is considered the most important and the biggest up gradation that has been carried out considering the ERP strategy. It is important to note that the update of the application has been considered the biggest ERP platform update that has occurred in the world of technology and digital innovation. There have been different questions and criticism raise do the processing of the new update that were brought in the application. It has been analysed that the Gartner analysts as been able to note down that the changes that were brought in the SAP S/4HANA has been able to provide a huge transformation shift. The transformation shift that occurred in the application led to the development of questions against the functionality, availability, pricing and the migration of the application based on the previous application that has been transformed. On the other hand, it has been noted that despite the presence of the fault and the potential chances of breakdown that might occur in the application, there were 370 customers who had purchased the SAP S/4HANA application (Baumgartl et al. 2016). The application kept on maintaining their growth in terms of the sales process that has been concluded and the number of sales and custom software the company stated to increase leading to the growth occurring until the first half of the year 2015. At present, the growth that has been occurring through the usage the SAP S/4HANA application indicated the huge amount of accused that has been obtained by the launching the application and helped in increasing the overall workability of the application. This has led to the development of the customer’s base that is currently standing on an average of 8,900 customers (Eifler and Theis, 2017).

Difference between SAP S/4HANA Finance and current SAP ERP FICO
The development of SAP S/4HANA has been able to bring out the different effective features that allowed the successful utilization of the digital technologies in the financial operations and products. It has been analysed that the application SAP S/4HANA has been considered the new digital core, which has been evolved from the SAP ECC. The evolution is only application for the customers of ECC as they have been using the ECC for a longer time. Considering the different features and the usability that is already existing in the application it has been noted that the new application that has been upgraded are providing effective discounts to the customers to buy the product. In order to understand the effective difference between the SAP S/4HANA and the currently in use SAP ERP FICO, there is the requirement of gaining knowledge on the usability and the new functional ability that has been given by the SAP S/4HANA (Riesner and Sauer, 2017). There are different functional abilities that are present in the usage of SAP S/4HANA in comparison to the current SAP ERP FICO are given as follows:

1. The elimination of the duplicate functionality is carried out in the new system. It has been noted that the architecture of the SAP ECC consists of two general ledgers. However, the SAP S/4HANA consists of the new general ledger. The presence of the new general ledger has been effective in the development of the architecture of the application SAP S/4HANA. The development of the architecture of the application is focused on the accounting architecture, which is to be developed. It has been analysed that this architecture has been imprinted in SAP S/4HANA with automatic application process. The SAP S/4HANA consists of different functional features like there is the presence of effective Extended Warehouse Management (EWM). The feature shared stone embedded in the system’s core base in comparison to the presence of a different SAP SCM system, which already exists in the SAP ECC.
2. No direct replacement available for some of the functions that is present in ECC. It has been noted that some of the features that are presented in SAP ECC are not directly replaced the new application SAP S/4HANA. It is important to note that the functionalities present in SAP ECC will be providing an effective development of the cases in the SAP S/4HANA roadmap. This brings out the statement that the customers are replacing the use of SAP ECC by the use of SAP S/4HANA will be able to make use of the most important and effective processes in terms of the application to be carried out.
3. It has been analysed that the replacement for the SAP Fico with the SAP S/4HANA has been able to provide the customers with effectiveness being gained in terms of the on-premises functionality that is to be carried out with the help of the SAP cloud LoB solutions. It has been noted that the replacement for a human capital management system in the SAP ECC FICO has been effective in initiating the permanent usability of the system leading to higher rate of productivity that is to be maintained in the companies, which are making use of such application (Chuprunov, 2018).
4. It has been analyzed that the SAP ERP FICO is less effective in comparison to the SAP S/4HANA as there is the presence of effective standalone solution present in the new application thrust developed. It has been noted that the transportation management of SAP and the SAP extended Warehouse management are the two stand-alone system which has been presented in SAP S/4HANA. This leads to the understanding that the two systems are capable of providing affectivity in the system usage and the results to be obtained.
5. Again, it has been noted that the SAP S/4HANA has new functional capabilities, which will help in the development and the development of the new functional capabilities that would be designed in order to carry out the working of the SAP S/4HANA and computing which is based on in-memory computing techniques (Sampat, 2016).

The above configuration and the changes that have occurred in the SAP S/4HANA indicates that the significant changes which are supposed to be carried out on the SAP S/4HANA functional scope will be affecting the overall development and the maintenance of the compatibility of the SAP application usage. This indicates that the use of the SAP S/4HANA is more productive in comparison to the current SAP ERP FICO that is in use.

Benefits of SAP S/4HANA Finance for businesses>
The use of the SAP S/4HANA has been effective improving various benefits to the businesses, which are making use of such applications. It has been analysed that the functional abilities of the system has been able to provide the businesses, which are using them, the following productivity and affectivity.

1. Provision of core component and effective user experience. It has been noted that the use of the application has been able to provide different types of financial and the enhancement of the operations benefits to the businesses. The up gradation, which is carried out on the usage of SAP S/4HANA, will help in the development of a user-friendly application that allows successful interaction to be made. The interaction is based on SAP Fiori-based GUI components, which would be increasing the overall up gradation benefits along with the different user interface that has been presented to the users.
2. It had been noted that the usage of SAP S/4HANA has been effective in bringing in enhance reporting component to be available in the system being used. It has been noted that the presence of the live HANA components will be able to ensure that the users are being able to carry out the real time reporting and analytics. It has been noted that the use of the HANA Live will help in bringing effective installation of the enhanced components along with the presence of the SAP ERP or SAP HANA (Jha and Sangle, 2018).
3. The updated version of the SAP application, which is SAP S/4HANA, has been currently using the single platform in rode to bring in better usability of the application. It has been noted that the SAP has been converted more into storehouse into a single accounting transactions. This will further help in resulting in the reporting of the journal of finances conducted by the usage of the application into a single journal. This journal will be able to post the different balance sheets that are to be based on the management and the processing of the accounting log.
4. The use of the SAP S/4HANA is effective as it helps in maintaining access to the different types of real time data which is to be carried out by the financial planners are using the system. It has been noted that the update of the software which has been conducted by the development of the SAP S/4HANA has been effectively allows the conduction of successful decision making which is essential to be conducted at any point of time. It has been noted that the use of the SAP S/4HANA helps in empowering the users to be present on the end-to-end simulation and the financial analysis, which are important to be conducted (Singh, 2017).
5. The application and the usage of the SAP S/4HANA allow the organization to maintain the enhanced usage of the application in terms of the financial operations, which are to be carried out. It is important to note that the interface which is being used will be enabling the application to be more effectively running in comparison to the advance web-based format which are present in the different other financial application leading to the complexity in the overall development of the financial reports (Nieuwenhuis et al. 2018).
6. The use of the SAP S/4HANA will help in increasing the future innovation that is to be carried out in the company. It has been noted that the most important aspect which is essential to be maintained in the company by effective usage of the application leading to the synchronization of the users and the technologies that are already existing in the company.

Case Studies of companies and the issues they faced migrating to SAP S/4HANA Finance Case of Deloitte
The organisation Deloitte is one of the largest multinational companies in the global context. The organisation is mainly involved in the activities of providing accounting software solutions to the customers. The company mainly uses the MYOB software tools for performing the financial metrics. However, in the recent times, the organisation has faced numerous issues in using the SAP S/ 4HANA software. The challenges mainly include the data transfer, data storage, security issues and cost (Sachan and Jain, 2018). With the usage of SAP software, the business authorities of the organisation have faced issues in managing the financial metrics. Due to the complex programming methods, the business managers of the organisation Deloitte has also failed to analyse the financial metrics in an effective way. Moreover, the data transfer facilities are also not available with the SAP software. On that note, the employees of the company have also faced some issues in transferring the data into the cloud storage. This has affected the organisational performance in an effective way. In addition, due to poor data quality, the business authorities of the company Deloitte have also failed to provide proper services to the customers. The employees of the organisation Deloitte have also faced various problems in configuring the SAP software with their other accounting tools (Jones et al. 2018). Therefore, the company has failed to maintain a proper business model in order to use the SAP software.

In addition to this, the authorities of the organisation Deloitte have also faced issues in managing the data model and data volume with the usage of SAP S/4HANA. Due to the data volume issues, the business managers of the firm Deloitte have also failed to perform their job roles in an effective way. In the same context, the big data analysis has also not been performed in a prominent manner by the employees due to the poor quality of data. On that note, the company has faced issues in rebuilding the financial function due to the problems of using SAP. Apart from the data management and quality issues, the management of the organisation Deloitte has also faced major problems in managing the security of the company (Singh, 2017). The data threat and data leakage are the major issues that are associated with the accounting software SAP S/4HANA. Due to the perplexing programming strategies, the business supervisors of the association Deloitte has additionally neglected to break down the money related measurements in a successful manner. Besides, the information move offices are likewise not accessible with the SAP programming. On that note, the representatives of the organization have additionally confronted a few issues in moving the information into the distributed storage. This has influenced the authoritative execution in a compelling manner. In addition, because of poor information quality, the business experts of the organization Deloitte have likewise neglected to give legitimate administrations to the clients. The representatives of the association Deloitte have additionally confronted different issues in designing the SAP programming with their other bookkeeping apparatuses (Schfer and Melich, 2016). In this way, the organization has neglected to keep up an appropriate plan of action to utilize the SAP programming.

Case of KPMG
The company KPMG is one of the largest accounting companies operating in the country Australia. The company mainly uses the Sage software for performing their business operations. In addition, the organisation KPMG is also involved in providing accounting solutions to the multinational organisations by which they can analyse their cost sheet and balance sheet. In the recent times, the business managers of the firm have decided to change the Xero accounting software into the SAP S/4HANA. By using the SAP S/4HANA, the accounting department will face different issues in performing the financial calculations. The major issues that have been identified by the accountant manager of the organisation KPMG are the data transfer, managing the financial metrics and data quality (Schfer and Melich, 2016). It has been observed that the data quality is one of the major issues that the business organisations have faced in implementing the SAP software. Due to the poor quality of data, the employees of the firm KPMG have also faced problems in calculating the balance sheet and cost sheet for the clients. This has damaged the reputation of the firm in a prominent manner. As the complexity of the SAP programming is very high, therefore, the business managers of the firm KPMG will also have to provide training to the employees. This will also require huge amount of costs for the business managers of KPMG in providing training to the employees. Therefore, the company KPMG must try to avoid in using the SAP software for calculating the financial metrics.

Apart from the data management issues, the authorities of the firm will also face some potential issues in transferring the data from SAP software into cloud. It has been identified that the accounting software is mainly compatible with the cloud storage for storing the big data. Due to the complexity of the model, the authorities of the firm KPMG have faced some issues in providing proper services to the customers (Jones et al. 2018). With the usage of SAP S/4 HANA, the business managers of the firm have also faced issues in managing the data flow rate of the company. The serious issues that have been recognized by the bookkeeper chief of the association KPMG are the information move, dealing with the monetary measurements and information quality. It has been seen that the information quality is one of the serious issues that the business associations have looked in executing the SAP programming. Because of the low quality of information, the workers of the firm KPMG have additionally confronted issues in ascertaining the asset report and cost sheet for the customers. This has harmed the notoriety of the firm in an unmistakable way. As the unpredictability of the SAP writing computer programs is extremely high, consequently, the business directors of the firm KPMG will likewise need to give preparing to the representatives (Jones et al. 2018). This will likewise require gigantic measure of expenses for the business directors of KPMG in giving preparing to the representatives. In this manner, the organization KPMG must attempt to dodge in utilizing the SAP programming for computing the money related measurements.

Conclusion Thus, it can be concluded that the SAP S/4HANA application is highly effective in maintaining the financial operations, which are to be carried out in the companies, which are undergoing financial operations, and reporting is conducted. It is important to note that the application SAP S/4HANA usage as been able to bring in higher rate of productivity leading to the reporting for the financial aspect and provision to be conducted accurately. It is important to note that the applications usage has been effectively allowing the easy accessing of the different data that will be able to bring in better decision making. The focus that has been obtained from the analysis of the SAP S/4HANA application and its usage is that the advent and the implementation of enhanced digital technology helps in bringing powerful aspects to organisational productivity based on the financial functionalities. SAP S/4HANA finance assignments are being prepared by our finance assignment help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable assignment help online service.

Reference list
Baumgartl, A., Chaadaev, D., Choi, N.S., Dudgeon, M., Lahiri, A., Meijerink, B. and Worsley-Tonks, A., 2016. SAP S/4HANA: An Introduction (SAP PRESS). SAP PRESS.

Chuprunov, M., 2018. Leveraging SAP GRC in the Fight Against Corruption and Fraud. Espresso Tutorials GmbH.

Eifler, S. and Theis, C., 2017. Value Flows into SAP ERP FI, CO and CO-PA.

Jha, S. and Sangle, P.S., 2018. PrideVel: Preparing and Expanding Talent Pool for Emerging Technologies. South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, p.2277977918803237.

Nieuwenhuis, L.J., Ehrenhard, M.L. and Prause, L., 2018. The shift to Cloud Computing: The impact of disruptive technology on the enterprise software business ecosystem. Technological forecasting and social change, 129, pp.308-313

Jones, E., Biswas, D. and Chacko, R.G., 2018. S/4HANA: EARLY ADOPTERS, SUCCESSES AND FAILURES. International Supply Chain Technology Journal, 4(10).

Schfer, M.O. and Melich, M., 2016. SAP Solution Manager 7.2 for SAP S/4HANA (SolMan): Managing Your Digital Business. SAP PRESS.