Microsoft Dynamics GP Year End Release 2013: Analytical Accounting Year End Close

Year-End is fast approaching!   The Year-End blog for Analytical Accounting is being published earlier than normal this year, so you can give yourself plenty of time to review the AA data and make any corrections to the AA data before you can run the Year-End close process for General ledger.  This will be an important step if your Financial reports pull from AA tables instead of GL tables. This could turn out to be a time-consuming job for you, so make sure not to underestimate it.

Are there any changes in the 2013 Year-End Update for Analytical Accounting?

There are no changes in the 2013 Year-End Update specifically for Analytical Accounting.  However, we have revised the year-end KB 960356 - The Year End Procedures for Analytical Accounting in Microsoft Dynamics GP.    Many new SQL scripts have been provided in the KB to help identify mismatched data between AA and GL, and so if your Financial reports pull from AA tables, instead of GL tables, we ask that you give yourself plenty of time to go through all the information in this KB before you close the GL year. 

What is the impact if the AA data does not match GL data?

If the AA data does not match GL data, and you pull your Financial reports from AA tables, this could skew your Financial reports (if your AA tables are not consistent with GL) and you won't balance to the GL Trial Balance reports.   So the first step is to determine if your Financial reports use the AA tables or not.  

• Management Reporter with Data Mart will read from AA tables if AA has been activated.  This is by design.
• Management Reporter with Legacy provider allows you to choose if you want to pull from an AA company or a GL company.    

Is there a separate Year-End close process to run for Analytical Accounting?

The Year-End close process for Analytical Accounting is automatically integrated with the Year-End close process for General Ledger.  So no, there is nothing 'separate' that you need to run in Analytical Accounting to close it.    

When should the Year End Close for Analytical Accounting be done?

Before you close the year in GL, you should run through the steps in KB 960356 - The Year End Close procedures for Analytical Accounting in Microsoft Dynamics GP.   It is recommended to get the AA data consistent with the GL data, and to also review the AA dimensions that you have marked to be consolidated during the Year-End close process.   Refer to the steps in KB 960356.

What does the GL year end close process do and/or affect in Analytical Accounting?

The GL Year End close process will affect the following in the AA tables:

• Moves AA data from open tables (AAG30000-AAG30003) to the history tables (AAG40000-AAG40003)
• Creates Balance Brought Forward (BBF) entries in the AAG30000 series tables
• Consolidates balances and ties AA codes to the BBF entries for the AA dimensions that were marked to be included in the year-end close

What steps should I take to have AA included in the GL Year-end close and BBF entries created in AA?

In order to have AA included in the GL year-end close, you must verify that the following options are selected:

1. In the Analytical Accounting Options window (Click Tools under Microsoft Dynamics GP |Setup | Company | Analytical Accounting | Options), mark the checkbox for ‘Include dimensions in the year end close’ and click OK.

2. In the Transaction Dimension Maintenance window (Click Cards | Financial | Analytical Accounting | Transaction Dimension), select the AA dimension code you want to a balance carried forward for, and mark the checkbox for ‘Consolidate balances during Year End close’ and click Save.  Do this for each Transaction Dimension you wish to have a BBF entry created for.

Do I need to run the 'Move to History' utility every year for Analytical Accounting?

Customers that just upgraded will most likely get this message to move data to history. The first time you close GL on a version higher than GP 10.0 SP2 or higher (with AA activated), you will be prompted to move AA data to history before the system will allow you to close the GL year.  The system will verify that the AA data is in the corresponding open/historical series of AA tables, as the GL data sits in the open/historical tables in GL.  If you run into this, you will receive a message stating You must consolidate transactions and transfer detail to history utility to close the year" during the GL Year End close, and then you can refer to the steps in KB 960356 on how to resolve this.  The Move to History utility is meant to be a one-time process to get the customer 'caught up', and then data should close along with the GL year-end close process going forward.

Key points to remember:

Follow the steps in KB960356 titled “The Year-End close procedures for Analytical Accounting in Microsoft Dynamics GP ”.  This KB includes steps and SQL scripts to make sure the AA data matches GL data.  It also has steps to verify that the AA dimensions that you wish to be consolidated during the year-end close process are properly marked to create BBF entries, and steps on how to move data to history.  (See KB link in the Resources section.)

You should determine if your reporting tool uses AA tables or not.  Data Mart with Management Reporter now reads from AA tables, so it is more important than ever to make sure your AA data matches GL data, so your Financial reports are not skewed.

Make sure the GL year-end close is done at a workstation that has AA installed and activated, and that users know not to disable AA if they receive any messages.  Restore to the backup, and make a screenprint of the AA error message if assistance is needed with the GL year-end close process, and the steps in KB 960356 do not resolve it.    

Assistance for Analytical Accounting Year End Close

Microsoft Dynamics GP Blog - https://community.dynamics.com/product/gp/gptechnical/b/dynamicsgp/default.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics Community - https://community.dynamics.com/default.aspx

Microsoft Dynamics Support - https://mbs.microsoft.com/support/newstart.aspx

Assistance with year-end close issues directly related to Analytical Accounting should be logged under the categories below to ensure you reach the correct Support team:  (Please include a detailed description of the issue and a screen-print of any error messages received.)

   --Support Topic Selection:   Financial – Analytical Accounting

   ---Sub-topic Selection:         Other

Resources:

The year-end close procedures for Analytical Accounting in Microsoft Dynamics GP can be found in KB 960356: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960356

Check out the 'What's New for Year-End' video:  http://youtu.be/PYz16TPg-f8

Be sure to check back to the Year-End Schedule post for current posted blogs and upcoming blog posts related to Year-End Closing for Dynamics GP: https://community.dynamics.com/gp/b/dynamicsgp/archive/2013/11/07/back-by-popular-demand-microsoft-dynamics-gp-year-end-closing-blog-series-for-2013.aspx

I hope this information will be helpful to you and will give you enough time to plan for ensuring AA data is consistent with GL.  The outcome will be correct financial reporting!  Have a great year-end!

Cheryl Waswick | Microsoft Dynamics GP | Sr. Technical Support Engineer