Year–End Close Checklist

Year–End Closing Journals

Automatic Journal Scheduling

Automatic Journal Reversal

Reversing Journals

Posting Journals

Importing Journals

Step–Down AutoAllocations

AutoAllocations

• AutoAllocations is a powerful feature to automate journal batch validation and generation for MassAllocations, Recurring Journals, MassBudgets, and MassEncumbrances. From the AutoAllocation Workbench you can define AutoAllocation sets and submit them for processing.
• You can also schedule your AutoAllocation Sets to run in future periods based on General Ledger schedules you create. Use AutoAllocations to process journal batches you generate regularly, such as for month end closing.
• You can create two types of AutoAllocation Sets:

1. Parallel: Parallel AutoAllocation validates and generates all the journal batches in your AutoAllocation set simultaneously. You can then post the generated journals to update your balances. Use any combination of MassAllocations, Recurring Journals, MassBudgets, or MassEncumbrances in your parallel AutoAllocation set.
2. Step–Down: You must create journal batches in a specific sequence when using Step–Down AutoAllocations. Order your journal batches so that the posted results of one step are used in the next step of the AutoAllocation set.

o You can choose any combination of MassAllocations, Recurring Journals, MassBudgets, and MassEncumbrances. Step–Down AutoAllocation sets automatically validate, generate, and post all journals created by the process.

0 If you want the Step–Down AutoAllocation process to continue to the next step if a previous step fails to generate a journal batch, set the profile option GL AutoAllocation: Continue to Next Step if No Journal Created to Yes.

o You can incorporate Oracle Workflow to notify a specific individual or responsibility of AutoAllocation process results.

o You can also use Oracle Workflow to require approval from a specific individual or responsibility before the process posts generated journal batches. You can change the individual or responsibility contact for each step of the AutoAllocation set.

[Journal Approval, which also uses Oracle Workflow for notifications and approvals, is an independent subprocess that can be launched by AutoAllocations. The contact you specify
for a step in the AutoAllocation Workbench is the Journal Approval contact. ]

If the Step–Down AutoAllocation process fails, Oracle Workflow gives the contact individual or responsibility the option to roll back the process. Rollback cancels any generated journal batches
and reverses any posted journal batches.
* You must enable the user profile option, AutoAllocation Rollback Allowed, for rollback to be an option if the AutoAllocation process fails.
The AutoAllocation Workbench gives you extended functionality in one window. You can:
• Query defined Allocations or Recurring Journals batches to use in your Parallel or Step–Down AutoAllocation set.
• Drill down to view any batch definition form and create new journal batches to use in your AutoAllocation set.
• Submit your AutoAllocation set.
• Schedule your AutoAllocation set.
• View the process status of your submitted AutoAllocation sets.
* Customizable processes are included in the Step–Down AutoAllocation process to meet your
organization’s specific needs. Should your organization change any workflow processes that are not designated customizable, Oracle support will be limited.

MassAllocations

• Use a MassAllocation formula to create journals that allocate revenues and expenses across a group of cost centers, departments, divisions, and so on. By including parent values in allocation formulas, you can allocate to the child values referenced by the parent without having to enumerate each child separately. Hence, a single formula can perform
  multiple allocations.
• To define MassAllocation formulas, you create a MassAllocation batch that contains one or more MassAllocation formula entries. You can also copy an existing MassAllocation batch then modify it as needed for your new batch.
• Use MassAllocation batches to group your MassAllocation formulas. For example, you might combine all formulas for a single department or division into one batch, or group
  all formulas for certain types of calculations into separate entries.
• You can create MassAllocations in your functional currency, a foreign currency or statistical currency.

Creating MassAllocation Batches
Prerequisites
❑ Post journals to ensure that the existing balance for your allocation cost pool is current.

To create a MassAllocation batch:
1. Navigate to the Define MassAllocations window.
2. Enter a Name for the MassAllocation batch.
3. Choose Actual or Encumbrance from the Balance Type poplist, for the types of balances to use in your mass allocation batch.
4. Enter a Description for the MassAllocation batch.
5. Choose Formulas to enter MassAllocation formulas.
6. After entering the formulas, save your work.
7. Choose Validate All to validate the batch, as well as all previously unvalidated batches. If you do not validate all batches, General Ledger will ask if you want to validate all unvalidated batches when you close the Define Mass Allocations window.
8. Check the MassAllocation batch validation status.
9. Generate unposted journal batches from your MassAllocation formulas.

* You can generate your massallocations according to a shedule.

To copy an existing MassAllocation batch:
1. Navigate to the Define MassAllocations window.
2. Enter a Name for the new MassAllocation batch.
3. Choose the AutoCopy button, then choose the MassAllocation
batch that you want to copy.
4. Change the Balance Type as needed.
5. Enter a Description for the new MassAllocation batch.
6. Choose Formulas to modify the MassAllocation formulas that you
copied.
7. After modifying the formulas, save your work.
8. Choose Validate All to validate the batch.
9. Check the MassAllocation batch validation status.
10. Generate unposted journal batches from your MassAllocation formulas.

Creating MassAllocation Formulas

1. Navigate to the Define MassAllocations window.
2. Enter or query the name of the MassAllocation batch to which you want to add the formula.
3. Choose Formulas.
4. Enter the Name, Category, and Description of the MassAllocation
formula. Categories help you group journal entries in a convenient manner for reporting and analysis.
5. Choose whether to Allocate Balances From the full balance or from a single entered currency.
• If you choose Full Balance, General Ledger allocates your entire account balance, which is comprised of amounts entered in your functional currency, as well as amounts converted to your
functional currency from a foreign currency. The generated MassAllocation will be a functional currency journal entry.
• If you choose Single Entered Currency, General Ledger allocates the portion of your account balance entered in the Currency you specify. The generated MassAllocation will be a journal entry in the specified currency.
* If you choose a foreign currency with a fixed relationship to your functional currency, the conversion rate used to calculate the accounted amount will be the fixed conversion factor between the transaction and functional currencies. If you are allocating encumbrance balances, you must allocate the full balance. You cannot allocate foreign currency encumbrances.
6. Choose Full Cost Pool Allocation to have any rounding difference resulting from the MassAllocation computation added to the allocations with the largest relative balance. If you do not choose this option, any rounding differences will remain in the original
account.

7. Enter the formula lines.
8. Save your work.
9. Choose Validate All to validate the batch, as well as all previously unvalidated batches. If you do not validate all batches, General Ledger will ask if you want to validate all unvalidated batches when you close the window.
10. Check the MassAllocation batch validation status to confirm the batch passed validation.

Entering Formulas with EasyCalc

Skeleton Journal Entries

• Create skeleton journal entries for journal entries that affect the same accounts each period, but have different posting amounts. After you generate skeleton journal entries, edit the unposted journal batch using the Enter Journals window and enter the debit and credit amounts for the journal lines.
• Create standard recurring journal entries for journals that use the same
  accounts and amounts each period.

To create a skeleton journal entry:
1. Navigate to the Define Recurring Journal Formula window.
2. Enter or query the batch name and the journal entry name.
3. Choose Lines.
4. Enter a Line number to set the order of your recurring journal entry lines.
5. Enter the Account you want General Ledger to update when you generate and post your recurring journals. Do not enter a formula.
6. Enter the remaining lines and accounts for the recurring journal entry.
7. Save your work.

To enter amounts for a skeleton entry:
1. Generate the recurring journal batch that contains your skeleton entry.
2. Edit the unposted journal batch using the Enter Journals window, and enter the journal line amounts.
3. Save the revised journals.
4. Post the batch.

To create a standard recurring journal entry:
1. Navigate to the Define Recurring Journal Formula window.
2. Enter or query the batch name and the journal entry name.
3. Choose Lines.
4. Enter a Line number to set the order of your recurring journal entry lines.
5. Enter the Account you want General Ledger to update when you generate and post your recurring journals.
6. For the line Formula, enter a Step number and the fixed Amount to post.
7. Enter the remaining lines with their accounts and posting amounts.
8. Save your work.
9. Generate and post the batch.

Copying Entries from an Existing Recurring Journal Batch: You can create a new recurring journal formula batch quickly by copying and modifying an existing recurring journal formula batch.
To copy entries from an existing recurring journal batch:
1. Navigate to the Define Recurring Journal Formaula window.
2. Enter a Name and Description for the new recurring journal formula batch.
3. Choose AutoCopy Batch.
4. Enter the Source Batch whose recurring journal entries you want to copy.
5. After copying the entries, you can enter or change the recurring journal formulas.
6. Save your work.

Changing a Recurring Journal Entry
1. Navigate to the Define Recurring Journal Formula window.
2. Query the name of the recurring journal formula batch you want to change.
3. If you have already generated journals using the batch, General Ledger automatically displays the Period and Date on which you Last Executed the batch.
4. Query the name of the recurring journal entry you want to change.
5. Choose Lines to review or change the recurring journal entry lines.
6. Edit the recurring journal lines.
7. Save your work.

Performing Standard Costing with Recurring Journals: Use statistics such as sales units, production units, number of deliveries or customers served to perform standard costing. For example, you might want to calculate cost of sales based on sales units and a standard cost per unit.
To create a formula for standard costing:
1. Define a recurring journal formula using the balance of the appropriate statistical account and a fixed amount for standard cost. Alternately, you can maintain the standard cost as a statistic in a different account.
2. Each accounting period, adjust the balance of your statistics.
3. Generate your standard cost recurring journal just like any other recurring journal batch.

Generating Recurring Journal Batches: You must generate recurring journals to create unposted journal entries from the recurring journal formulas you defined. After generating the
formulas, you can review or edit the recurring journal batches before posting them.

Prerequisite
❑ Define your recurring journal entry formulas.

Scheduling Your Recurring Journal Batch: You can generate your Recurring Journal Batch according to schedules in Oracle Applications, schedules you define in Oracle Applications, or schedules you define in General Ledger.

Recurring Journals

• Define recurring journal formulas for transactions that you repeat every accounting period, such as accruals, depreciation charges, and allocations. Your formulas can be simple or complex. Each formula can use fixed amounts and/or account balances, including standard, end–of–day, or average balances, actual or budget amounts, statistics, and period–to–date or year–to–date balances from the current period, prior period, or same period last year.
• You can quickly create new recurring formulas by copying and modifying existing formulas.
• You can define recurring journal formulas for your functional currency, foreign currencies which have a fixed relationship with your functional currency, and statistical currency.
• You can use recurring journals to create three types of journal entries:

1. Skeleton Journal Entries: Skeleton entries affect the same accounts each period, but have different posting amounts. After you generate skeleton journal entries, you can edit the unposted journal batch using the Enter Journals form and enter the journal line amounts.
   Skeleton journal entries are useful with statistical information whenever you want to record journals for actual transactions based on statistical amounts, such as headcount, units sold, inflation rates, or other growth factors. For example, if you want
   to enter headcount for each cost center every period, you can define a skeleton entry with your headcount accounts. After you generate the skeleton entries, enter the actual headcount amounts before posting the batch.
2. Standard Recurring Journal Entries: Standard recurring journal entries use the same accounts and amounts each period.
3. Recurring Journal Formula Entries: Formula entries use formulas to calculate journal amounts that vary from period to period.

Creating Recurring Journal Formula Batches : To define a recurring journal formula entry, you must create a recurring journal formula batch. Your batch can contain a single recurring journal entry definition, or you can group related recurring journals into the same batch.

To create a recurring journal batch:
1. Navigate to the Define Recurring Journal Formula window.
2. Enter a Name and optional Description for the recurring journal batch.
3. If you want to copy entries from an existing recurring journal batch to your new batch, choose AutoCopy Batch.
4. Create recurring journal entries for the batch. If you copied entries, modify them, if necessary.
5. Save the work.
6. Generate recurring journals.
7. Review and post your generated recurring journal batches.

You can use Automatic Journal Scheduling to generate your recurring journals according to a specific shedule you define.

Creating Recurring Journal Entries: To create a recurring journal formula entry for a batch:
1. Navigate to the Define Recurring Journal Formula window.
2. Enter or query the batch name.
3. Enter a Name for the recurring journal entry.
4. Enter the Category.
5. Enter the Currency. You can choose STAT, your functional currency, or a foreign currency which has a fixed relationship to your functional currency.
6. Enter a range of Effective Dates that includes only those periods for which you want the recurring journal entry to be used.

[Recurring journal entries will only be created when you choose to generate them for a date that falls within the Effective Dates range.'

7. Choose Lines to enter the account you want General Ledger to update when you generate your recurring journals, as well as the formula to use.

Entering Recurring Journal Entry Lines: You can define an unlimited number of journal entry lines for each recurring journal entry. The journal entry lines specify the accounts to
update with the recurring journals. Each line also contains the amount to post to the designated account, or a formula to calculate the journal amounts.

To enter a recurring journal entry line:
1. Navigate to the Define Recurring Journal Formula window.
2. Enter or query the batch name and the journal entry name.
3. Choose Lines.
4. Enter a Line number to set the order of your recurring journal entry lines. You can indicate an automatic offsetting line for your recurring journal entry by entering the line number 9999.
5. Enter the Account you want General Ledger to update when you generate and post your recurring journals.
6. Enter an optional Line Description for the recurring entry line.
7. Enter a Formula for the line.
8. Enter the remaining lines for the recurring journal entry. Remember that you can use line number 9999 as the automatic offsetting line for each recurring journal entry.
9. Save your work.

To enter an automatic offsetting line: You can enter a recurring journal entry line and have General Ledger calculate and insert the balancing amount for the recurring journal
entry automatically. This is useful for allocation-type entries.
1. Enter one or more lines for the recurring journal entry.
2. Enter 9999 as the line number for the automatic offsetting line.
3. Enter an Account for the line but do not enter a formula. General Ledger will automatically calculate the amount for this journal entry line when you generate your recurring journal.
4. Save your work.

Entering Recurring Journal, Budget, and Eliminating Entry Formulas

• To enter a formula:
  1. Enter a Step number to specify the order in which you want to process the steps in your formula. Each formula can contain an unlimited number of steps.
  2. Enter a factor for the formula step. There are two types of factors
  you can use:
  • Enter a fixed Amount.
  • Specify an Account to use a balance in the formula calculation.
  You can use standard, end–of–day, or average balances in your formula lines.
  3. Specify the type of calculation you want to perform by entering a mathematical Operator for the formula step. The valid operators are based on EasyCalc – a General Ledger mathematical notation feature.
• To use an account balance in your formula:
  1. Enter the Account you want to include in your formula step. You can enter a summary account, but you cannot use accounts with parent values for which no summary account was created. General Ledger automatically maintains references to summary
  accounts in your formula lines even after the summary template which created the account is deleted and recreated.
  2. Choose a Balance Type of Actual or Budget. If you choose budget balances, you must specify the budget to use when you generate the recurring journal batch.
  3. Choose an Amount Type. Choose PTD to use the period–to–date balance of your account. Choose YTD to use year–to–date balances for income statement accounts and life–to–date totals for balance sheet accounts. If you have average balance processing enabled in your set of books, PATD (period average–to–date), YATD (year average–to–date), and EOD (end–of–day) will also appear in the Amount Type list of values.
  [You can mix standard and average amount types in the same recurring journal formula.]
  4. Choose a Currency Type of Monetary if the account balance is a currency account, or STAT if it is a statistical account.
  5. Choose the relative Period balance you want to use in your formula (Current Period, Same Period a Year Ago, or Previous Period). The relative period, combined with the amount type, determines the type of account balance your formula uses.

Amount Type -- Period -- Meaning
PTD -- Current Period -- Net activity of current period
YTD -- Current Period -- Ending balance of current period
PTD -- Previous Period -- Net activity of previous period
YTD -- Previous Period -- Ending balance of previous period
PTD -- Same Period as a Year Ago -- Net activity of year–ago period
YTD -- Same Period as a Year Ago -- Ending balance of year–ago period

Allocation Entries

• You can allocate amounts from any cost pool (revenues, expenses, assets, or liabilities) to various accounts using recurring journals and MassAllocation formulas.
• With a recurring journal entry formula, you define a separate journal entry for each allocation. You can group related allocation entries together in a recurring journal batch.
• With MassAllocations, you define one formula to generate allocation journal entries for a group of cost centers, departments, divisions, and so on. You define the allocation pool, the allocation formula, and the target and offset accounts for each MassAllocation formula. You can also group combine related MassAllocation formulas into batches.

Different allocations are:

• Net Allocations
• Step–Down Allocations
• Rate–Based Allocations
• Usage–Based Allocations
• Standard Costing Allocations

Allocations Using Recurring Journal Formulas

• Recurring journal entries are used to perform simple or complex allocations. For example, you can allocate a portion of your rent expense to another division, or, you can allocate a pool of marketing costs to several departments based on the ratio of department revenues to total revenues.
• Define a separate recurring journal entry formula for each allocation, and you can group related allocation entries together in a recurring journal batch. Each line of the recurring journal entry contains a target account, as well as the formula you want to use to calculate the allocation amount.

[Reserve the last line of each entry for the offsetting account. Enter line number 9999 and the offsetting account to have General Ledger automatically generate the offsetting amount.]

Net Allocations: Net allocations are allocated amounts that reflect changes to the cost pool. Rather than reallocating the entire revised amount, a net allocation allocates only amounts that update the previous allocations. The net effect is the same as reversing the previous allocations and posting the entire new allocation amount. This enables you to rerun the allocations as many times as you want in the same accounting period without overallocating. You can create net allocations by generating MassAllocation formulas in incremental mode.

Step–Down Allocations: Step–down allocations distribute amounts from one allocation pool to a subsidiary allocation pool. For example, you might first allocate a portion of your facility costs to your MIS department, then allocate total MIS costs (including the allocated facility costs) to other departments.
To create a step–down allocation, you must create a different recurring entry or MassAllocation formula batch for each allocation step. If you are using MassAllocations, create a parent and child segment value at each level. Use the parent value in the formula, and the child tracks the
cost pool at each level.
Each accounting period, generate and post the first allocation batch, then generate and post each subsequent allocation batch.

Rate–Based Allocations: Rate–based allocations use current, historical or estimated rates to
allocate costs such as employee benefits, commissions, bad debt, warranty costs and overhead. For example, you might want to allocate warranty costs to each division based on sales revenues and a warranty loss rate.
To create a rate–based allocation, define a recurring journal or MassAllocation formula using the statistical balance of the appropriate accounts to compute the rate.
Alternately, you can enter a formula that uses a fixed rate to represent your best estimate of future costs. Each accounting period, adjust your estimated rate by revising the formula definition.

Usage–Based Allocations: Usage–based allocations use statistics such as headcount, units sold, square footage, number of deliveries or computer time consumed to calculate allocation amounts. For example, you might want to allocate your rental expense based on square foot usage.
To create a usage–based allocation, define a recurring journal formula using the appropriate statistical account balance to compute the allocation amount. Each accounting period, adjust the statistical account balance to reflect the correct usage for the period before you generate the usage–based allocation formula.

Using Allocations for Standard Costing: You can use statistics such as sales units, production units, number of deliveries or customers served to perform standard costing.

For example, you might want to calculate cost of sales based on sales units and a standard cost per unit. To perform this type of standard costing, define a recurring journal entry formula using the appropriate statistical account and a fixed amount for standard cost. Or, you can maintain the standard cost as a statistic in a different account. Each accounting period, adjust the statistical account balances before generating the recurring journal formula.

The GL Journal Approval Process obtains the necessary management approvals for manual journal batches. The process validates the journal batch, determines if approval is required, submits the batch to approvers (if required), then notifies appropriate individuals of the
approval results.

The process has a result type of GL Journal Approval Process Result that gives one of four results:

• Approval Not Required: The journal batch does not need approval.
• Approved: The journal batch was approved by all necessary approvers. In some cases, this may be the preparer.
• Rejected: The journal batch was rejected by an approver.
• Validation Failed: The journal batch failed the validation process and was never submitted to the approver.

Customizing Journal Approval
You can customize Journal Approval to meet your organization’s specific needs through three mechanisms:
Profile options: There are two profile options that affect how Journal
Approval operates:
• Journals: Allow Preparer Approval: Determines whether preparers can approve their own journals.
• Journals: Find Approver Method: Sets the default method for seeking approval.

Workflow activity settings: You can change the default settings for the:
• Request Approval From Approver timeout: The standard setting is 7 days.
• Reached Manager Notification Resend Limit: The standard setting is 1 notification.
• Default Error Notification:

Customizable activities: You can customize four activities and one process:
• Customizable: Is Journal Batch Valid activity
• Customizable: Does Journal Batch Need Approval activity
• Customizable: Is Preparer Authorized to Approve activity
• Customizable: Verify Authority activity
• Customizable: Verify Authority Process

*Modify only these activities and processes when customizing the GL Journal Approval Process.

GL Preparer Approval Process: The GL Preparer Approval Process determines whether the preparer is authorized to approve his/her own journal batch. If so, the batch is approved, the approver name is set, and notifications are sent.
The process has a result type of GL Preparer Approval Process Result that gives one of two results:
• Approved: The journal batch was approved by the preparer.
• Not Approved: The journal batch cannot be approved by the preparer.

GL Approval Process: The GL Approval Process finds an appropriate approver, seeks journal batch approval, and sends notifications of approval or rejection. To determine the appropriate approver, this process will compare each potential approver’s authorization limit to the largest net journal line amount in the entire batch. In determining the largest net journal line
amount, the process looks at absolute values.

GL Request Approval Process : The GL Request Approval Process seeks journal batch approval from the selected approver. The process has a result type of Approval that gives one of two results:

• Approved: The journal batch was approved by the approver.
• Rejected: The journal batch was rejected by the approver.

GL No Approver Response Process: The GL No Approver Response Process provides handling options and actions to take when the approving manager has not responded to a
journal batch approval request. This includes resending the request until a certain limit is reached, then providing the preparer with the option to resend the approval request to the approver or to send the request to the approver’s manager. The process has no result type.

Customizable: Verify Authority Process : This process verifies an approver’s authority to approve journal batches. If your organization has unique needs for verifying approver authority, you can customize the process. The process has a result type of GL Pass or Fail Result Type that gives
one of two results:
• Pass: The approver is authorized to approve the journal batch.
• Fail: The approver is not authorized to approve the journal
batch

Entering Journals for a Prior/Future Period

Prior Period

• You can post journal entries to a prior accounting period, as well as to a prior fiscal year, as long as the prior period is open. When you post to a prior period, GL automatically updates the beginning balances of all subsequent periods. In addition, if you post a journal entry into a prior year, General Ledger adjusts your retained earnings balance for the effect on your income and expense accounts.
• Enter and post prior period journal entries just like any other journal entry. To ensure complete control over prior period adjustments, you can only post journal entries to an open period. When you finalize your activity for an accounting period, simply close the period to prevent the entry or posting of additional journal entries.
• To ensure that you don’t accidentally enter a journal for a prior period, choose to have General Ledger display a message whenever you try to enter a prior period journal. To use this feature, have your system administrator set the user profile option Journals: Enable Prior Period Notification to Yes.
• If there are many open accounting periods following the period to which you are posting, General Ledger must update many beginning balances. Therefore, to speed up the posting process, keep a minimum number of accounting periods open.
• It is recommended that you run a Trial Balance Report whenever you post to a previous fiscal year to ensure that your Retained Earnings account is properly reconciled. General Ledger automatically updates this account whenever you open the first period of a new fiscal year.

Future Period

• You can enter journal entries for as many future periods as you want. For example, you might want to enter journal entries for the following month while you are closing the books for the current month. You control the number of future accounting periods for which you want to allow journal entry when you define your set of books. GL automatically assigns a status of ”Future–Entry” to the appropriate number of accounting periods following the latest open accounting period in your calendar.
• Although you can enter journal transactions to any accounting period with the status of Future–Entry, you cannot post journals into a period until you open the period.

Checking or Reserving Funds for a Journal Batch

If you are using budgetary control, you can check, reserve, or unreserve funds for individual journal entries or a journal batch.

To check or reserve funds for a journal batch:
1. Navigate to the Enter Journals window.
2. Query the batch for which you want to check or reserve funds. The Batch window appears.
3. Enter optional batch information.
4. Choose Journals. The Journals window appears.
5. Enter journal information.
6. Enter journal lines and save your work.
7. You can check funds any time before reserving them. To check the availability of funds for the current journal entry or for the entire batch, choose Check Funds. A message indicates whether funds are available.
8. To reserve funds for the current journal entry or for the entire batch, choose Reserve Funds.
A message indicates whether funds are reserved.

After you reserve funds, you can only modify the journal entry or batch if you unreserve the funds. After funds are reserved, the button label on the Reserve Funds button changes to Unreserve Funds. If you choose Unreserve Funds, the journal batch reverts back to unreserved status and the button label changes to Reserve Funds.

9. After checking or reserving funds, choose View Results to view available funds.

You can check, reserve, or view funds from the Batch window, as well as from the Journals window, by choosing the Check Funds, Reserve Funds, or View Results buttons respectively.


To unreserve funds: To update or delete an approved journal batch, you can unreserve
funds, modify your journal batch, and then re–reserve funds, if necessary.

• You can unreserve funds only if your journal batch has a funds status of Passed and the batch posting status is Unposted or Processing.
• Choose Unreserve Funds for an approved journal or batch to unreserve the funds. If your funds unreservation succeeds, your journal batch funds status changes to Required, and all
  corresponding funds check information is deleted.

Submitting Journal Batches for Approval: If Journal Approval is enabled for your set of books, journal batches whose journal source requires approval must be approved by a manager whose authorization limit is high enough to allow approval. You will not be able to post your batch to the general ledger until you receive this approval.

The approval limit is compared against the maximum net journal line value. For foreign currency journal entries, the limit is applied against the converted amount.

From either the Enter Journals, Batch, or Journals window, choose the Approve button.
After submitting your journal batch for approval, you will receive a message indicating the result of your request.

The message indicates one of the following Batch statuses-

• batch was self–approved, if you are authorized to approve your own journal batches
• batch has been sent to an approver
• batch was invalid, Invalid batches must be corrected and resubmitted for approval. If
your journal batch was sent to an approver, periodically check your notifications for a response.

Approving Journal Batches: If Journal Approval is enabled for your set of books, journal batches whose journal source requires approval must be approved by a manager whose authorization limit is high enough to allow approval. When the journal batch is submitted for approval, it will move through your organization’s approval hierarchy, based on the approver method specified by the Journals: Find Approver Method profile option. Each approver will receive a notification when their approval is required.

Changing the Journal Entry Currency

You can change the currency for any unposted journal entry. However, if you have already entered journal line information, the new currency must have equal or greater precision than the original currency. For example, you can change the currency of an unposted journal entry
from YEN to USD, since the YEN currency has a precision of 0, which is less than the USD currency precision of 2.
Note: If you are using budgetary control, and have reserved funds for the journal entry, you must unreserve funds before you can change the currency.

To change the currency of an unposted journal entry:

1. Navigate to the Enter Journals window.
2. Query the batch and journal within the batch that you want to change. The Enter Journals window appears.
3. Choose Review Journal. The Journals window appears.
4. Choose Change Currency. The Change Currency window appears.
5. Enter the journal currency conversion information.
   • The conversion Date must be within the accounting period you defined for the journal entry. The conversion date is the posting date for the journal entry.
   • The conversion Type can be the Spot, Corporate, or User type, or any conversion type you defined.
   • You must enter a conversion Rate if you enter User as the conversion type. If you specify a conversion type other than User, General Ledger automatically enters the daily conversion rate based on the rates you entered in the Daily Rates window.
   

Changing a Batch Period

If you change the period for an unposted batch, GL updates the posting date for each journal ntry.
* If you are using budgetary control, and have reserved funds for the batch, you must unreserve funds before you can change the batch period.

1. In Find Journals window appears, query the batch you want to change and choose Review Batch The Batch window appears. Now, choose Change Period. The Change Period window appears.
2. In the To field, select a period from the list of values and choose OK.
Similarly, you can also change the period for a journal from the Journals window.
6. Enter the new batch Period. If the original creation date of your journal entry batch is within the new period, GL assigns the creation date as the new Effective Date. And, if the creation date of your journal entry batch is not in the same period as the new batch period, GL assigns either the first or last day of the new period as the new Effective Date, depending on which date is closer to the creation date.
3. Choose OK to save the revised batch.

Entering Statistical Journals

GL provides two ways to enter statistical journals. You can enter journals with only statistical debit and credit amounts. If your user profile permits, you can also combine monetary and
statistical amounts in the same journal line.

* [Statistical journal entries do not require balanced debits and credits.]
* [If you use Multiple Reporting Currencies, statistical journals will be copied to your reporting sets of books, but the journals are not affected by the currency conversion process.]

• Enter your journal information, specifying STAT for the journal Currency.
• Enter your journal lines, using statistical debit and credit amounts. The debits do not need to equal credits for a statistical journal.

Entering a combined statistical and monetary journal:

1. Set the profile option Journals:Mix Statistical and Monetary to Yes.
2. Define statistical units of measure for the natural account segment values for which you want to combine statistical and monetary journals.
3. Enter your journal lines, using debit and credit amounts in any monetary currency.
4. In Enter Journals window, Enter the statistical Quantity for each journal line. General Ledger automatically displays the Unit of Measure associated with the natural account segment value for the line.

Entering Foreign Currency Journals

• You can enter manual journal entries using a foreign currency.
• Review foreign currency account balances using the Foreign Currency Trial Balance Report.
• Use the Revalue Balances window to revalue foreign currency–denominated accounts.

EMU and Non–EMU Currencies: EMU currencies have a fixed exchange rate with the euro. General Ledger can derive exchange rates between EMU and Non–EMU currencies based on a rate you enter between the euro and Non–EMU currencies. To do so, set the profile option: Allow Direct EMU/Non–EMU UserRate to No.

Complete the fields in the Currency region of the Enter Journals window before you enter your journals using this rate.

Entering a foreign currency journal:

1. Navigate to the Enter Journals window. The Find Journals window appears.
2. Enter or query a batch from the Find Journals window or choose New Batch.
   The Batch window appears.
3. Enter optional batch information in the Batch window and choose Journals.
4. In the Journals window, enter journal information, specifying the foreign Currency you want to use for your journal entry.
5. Enter the journal currency conversion information.
6. The conversion Date should be within the accounting period you defined for the journal entry but the Date field allows other entries in case you want to use a different period’s daily rate.
7. The conversion date is the posting date for the journal entry.
   • If you don’t choose a conversion date, General Ledger uses the default effective date of the journal.
   • The conversion Type can be the Spot, Corporate, or User type, or any conversion type you defined.
   • You must enter a conversion Rate if you enter User as the conversion type. If you specify a conversion type other than User, General Ledger automatically enters the daily conversion rate based on the rates you entered in the Daily Rates window.
   If you are entering a transaction involving an EMU and Non–EMU currency, and the profile option: Allow Direct EMU/Non–EMU User Rates is set to No, enter the rate between the euro and the Non–EMU currency in the pop–up window. General Ledger automatically calculates the exchange rate based on the Euro to Non–EMU rate you
   entered. Choose OK to accept the calculated rate.
8. Enter your journal lines, using debit and credit amounts in the foreign currency. General Ledger automatically converts the entry amounts into your functional currency based on the designated conversion rate.
9. Use the scrolling region to review the results of your currency conversion. You can override the Converted Debit and Converted Credit amounts if you enable the user profile option Journals: Allow Multiple Exchange Rates.

Entering Taxable Journal Entries

1. Generally, you enter journals for taxable amounts as usual, and enter additional taxation information, then calculate taxes before you post the journal. However, there are specific restrictions about when you can enter or modify tax information.
2. After you calculate tax for a journal, the system does not recalculate tax if you revise any line in that journal. If you need to revise a taxable amount or alter its tax information after you have calculated tax, you should either reverse and re–enter the journal (if it is already posted), or delete the unposted journal and re–enter it correctly.
3. After you calculate tax, the resulting new tax journal lines can be edited just like any other journal lines. For example, if you need to change the tax liability account for a specific calculate tax line, you can edit the account after you calculate tax.
   [You cannot reserve funds for a journal until you calculate tax for that journal.]

Calculating tax information during manual journal entry:

1. Navigate to the Enter Journals window.
2. Enter optional batch information. The Status region on the Batch window will display the
   current statuses for Posting, Funds reservation, and journal Approval.
3. Enter your journal information. In the Tax field, enter Required to indicate that you want to enter additional tax information and calculate tax amounts.
4. For each taxable journal line, open the Tax Information descriptive flexfield window and enter a tax type, code, and rounding rule, and specify whether the amount is tax inclusive, or accept the default values specified during system setup. You can also enter other tax information, such as a document identifier or reference information, as appropriate for your accounting policy.
   Depending upon how your tax system is configured, you may also be able to enter a code into the Tax Code field then skip the Tax Information flexfield window.
5. Save the work.
6. Choose Tax Journal to create additional tax lines, and to reduce entered tax inclusive amounts, as appropriate. Or, choose Tax Batch to calculate tax for a journal batch.
7. Save the work.

Tax Information Fields

• Tax Type: Input or Output
• Tax Code: a user–defined Receivables tax code (if the tax type is Output), or a Payables tax name (if the tax type is Input).
• Rounding Rule: Up, Down, or Nearest rounding for tax amounts calculated from this entered amount.
• Amount Includes Tax: enter Yes if this is a tax–inclusive amount.
• Document Identifier, Document Date: (Optional, not validated) You can use these fields for storing a document number such as customer or vendor invoice number and date.
• Customer/Vendor Name, Reference: (Optional, not validated)
• Tax Registration Number: (Optional, not validated) VAT registration number.

Reversing Taxable Journal Entries: You can reverse a journal entry before or after you calculate tax. If you have not already calculated tax for the reversed (original) journal, you can still manipulate the tax information for the reversing journal. For example, you can change the Tax field to Required then enter taxable lines and calculate tax. Or, you can delete all the tax
information and change the journal’s Tax field to Not required.
However, if you reverse a journal for which you have already calculated tax, you cannot remove the tax information from the reversing journal.

Posting Taxable Journal Entries: Tax journals are posted exactly the same as any other journal; posting creates intercompany or suspense balancing entries. You cannot post a taxable journal until you have calculated tax for that journal

Entering Journal Lines

To enter journal lines:

1. Navigate to the Enter Journals window.
2. Enter your batch and journal information. Alternatively, you can set up a default category and accept all default batch and journal information to enter lines directly.
3. Enter a Line number for each journal line to control the sequence in which the journal entry lines appear online and in reports. After you enter the first journal entry line number, GL automatically increments the numbers for the following lines. You can change the line numbers as necessary.
4. Enter an Account for the journal line.
5. Enter the Debit or Credit amount for the designated account.
   * If needed, you can enter debits and credits as negative amounts.
6. If you enabled the General Ledger descriptive flexfields, enter additional descriptive information about the journal line.
   • Use Journals – Journal Entry Line to enter any additional information related to your journal lines.
   • Use Journals – Captured Information to enter additional information about journal lines with certain natural account
   segment values.
   • Use Value–Added Tax to incorporate tax information into your accounting transactions. You cannot change the definition of this descriptive flexfield in General Ledger.
7. Save the work.

Entering Journals

1. Enter Journal window.
2. Enter a unique Journal Name. If you do not GL automatically assigns a name as Source Journal ID Date
3. Enter Period for journal entry.
4. Accept or change the default Effective Date for the journal entry.
5. Enter a Category to describe the purpose of your journal entry, such as accrual, payments, or receipts. All lines in a journal entry share the same journal category. GL defaults the journal category if you defined the profile option Journals: Default Category.
6. If you use manual numbering, enter a unique Document number. This field is only available if the Sequential Numbering profile option is set to Always Used or Partially Used. If you set your profile options to Always Used or Partially Used sequential numbering, and use a defined Automatic document numbering sequence, GL enters a document number automatically when you save your work.
   [If sequential numbering is always or partially used, you cannot change the journal category or document number after you save your journal entry.]
7. Enter a journal Reference Date. Any date information that you want to store at the journal
   header level. If you enter the Reference Date in your primary set of books, it is transferred to the MRC reporting set of books.
   If the profile option Enter Journals: Validate Reference Date is set to Yes, the date you enter is validated to ensure the date falls into an open or future enterable period.
   If the profile option GL Consolidation: Preserve Journal Batching is set to Yes for the parent set of books, the consolidation process transfers the reference date information from the subsidiary set of books to the parent set of books.
8. Enter Required in the Tax field to indicate that you want to enter additional tax
   information. Otherwise, enter Not Required.
   The Tax field displays only if you selected the Journal Entry Tax checkbox in the Journalling tab of the Set of Books window.
9. Enter an optional Description for the journal entry. GL uses this as the default description for each journal entry line. You can change the journal entry description as necessary.
10. In the Conversion region, accept the default Currency (the functional currency for your set of books), or change the journal currency to enter a foreign currency or statistical journal.
11. In the Status region, the Posting field displays whether a journal batch is posted. The Funds field displays the status of the funds for a journal batch and the Approval field displays whether the journal batch is approved for posting.
12. Enter a Reference description to further identify the journal entry on general ledger and journal entry reports.
13. (Optional) If you are entering an intercompany transaction within a single set of books, you can select a clearing company from the list of values in the Clearing Company field. The Clearing Company field displays only if you selected the Balance Intercompany
    Journals option in the Journalling tab of the Set of Books window.
    - Define relationships in the Intercompany Accounts window, which GL then uses to automatically determine a clearing company. The clearing company you manually enter in the Journals window may not override the relationships defined in the ntercompany Accounts window.
14. Enter a Control Total if you want to verify the total debits for the journal lines against the journal control total.
15. (Optional) In the Transaction Code field, select a transaction code from the list of values, if applicable.
    [The Transaction Code field displays only if you have a public sector installation.]
16. (Optional) If you have average balance processing enabled and your set of books is a consolidation set of books, select Standard or Average as the Journal Type.
    In a consolidation set of books, you can create journal entries that affect either standard or average balances. The balances are not linked. In a non–consolidation set of books, you can only create journal entries that directly affect standard balances. Average balances are calculated automatically from your standard balances.
17. (Optional) In the Reverse region, enter a reverse Date, Method, and Period. You can then generate a reversing journal entry to that effective period and date. You can also reverse a journal entry without assigning a reversal period. Reverse Method can be either:
    Switch Dr/Cr: GL creates your reversing journal by switching the debit and credit amounts of the original journal entry. This method is often used when reversing accruals.
    Change Sign: GL creates your reversing journal by changing the sign of your original journal amounts from positive to negative. This reversal method is often used when reversing journals to correct data entry mistakes.
18. Enter the journal lines.
19. Save the work.

Creating Journal Batches

Grouping Journals into Batches: Organise Journal entries with common attributes into batches, common attributes may be-

• Journal Type
• Journal Date
• Journal Preparer

* Use of Journal Batch is optional.

* A Batch can contain unlimited number of journal entries.

* All journal entries in a batch share the same period. Create batch for any period but you can post only for open period.

Creating a Journal Batch: (N) Journals -> Enter -> New Batch (B)

A journal can be entered directly without entering batch information. GL automatically creates batch for for the entry using source (Manual), a unique batch ID and system date.

MRC: GL automatically generates converted journal batches in your reporting sets of books when you post the original journals in your primary set of books.
- To change a journal batch in your reporting set of books, use the Enter Journals window to make changes using the reporting set of books’ responsibility.

Imp: only change your journals in your primary set of books, then allow those changes
to flow through to your reporting sets of books.

Prerequiste: 1. Set your user profile options to define various journal entry features, including default categories, dual currency entries, and sequential document numbering.

2. If Journal Approval is enabled for SOB then ask system administrator to set profile options-

• Journals: Allow Preparer Approval
• Journals: Find Approver Method; set default method for seeking approval.
• For foreign currency journals, define rate types and daily rates.

Creating a new Batch with multiple journal lines:

1. Enter Journals window -> Find Journals window appears
2. Choose New Batch (B) -> Batch window appears [The Status region displays the current statuses for Posting, Funds Reservation, and Journal Approval.]
3. Enter optional Batch Name, cannot have duplicate Batch Names in same accounting period.
4. Enter accounting period for which entries in this batch will be posted. GL defaults to the latest open period. *[ If you enter a period prior to current and profile option Journals: Enable Prior Period Notification is set to yes, then GL displays a message to which you must confirm.], * Balance Type is a display-only field, it displays Actual or Budget.
5. (Optional) Enter Description for Batch.
6. Select a Transaction Code from LOV. [Field is displayed only if you have a public sector installation]
7. Select a Journal Type to indicate whether you want to enter Standard or Average journal. This field is displayed only if Consolidation Set of Books checkbox is selected in Average Balances tab of SOB window.
8. (Optional) Enter a Control Total if you want to verify the total debits for your journal batch against the batch control total.
9. Choose Journals (B) to add journals to batch.

GL Accounting Cycle

After setting up Set of Books:
1. Open an accounting period.
2. Enter manual journal entries, including:
• Standard journal entries.
• Foreign and dual currency journal entries.
• Statistical journal entries.
• Intercompany journal entries.
3. Import journals from subledgers.
4. Define recurring journal formulas for transactions that have a common format or that you enter frequently. You can use recurring journals to create three types of journal entries:
• Skeleton entries affect the same accounts each period, but have different posting amounts.
• Standard recurring journal entries use the same accounts and amounts each period.
• Formula entries use formulas to calculate journal amounts that vary from period to period.
5. Define MassAllocation formulas.
6. Generate recurring journal and MassAllocation journal batches based on formulas you defined.
7. Review unposted journal batches.
• To view and optionally change unposted journal batches online, use the Enter Journals window.
• To view unposted journal batch detail online, use the Journal Inquiry window.
• To print a report showing unposted batch detail, produce a Journals – General report (set the Posting Status parameter to unposted).
8. Edit unposted journals to change information about an unposted batch or its journal detail, including the batch period and the journal currency.
9. Post your journal batches manually or automatically.
10. Check for posting errors. General Ledger automatically produces a Posting Execution Report so you can check the results of your posting. This report notifies you of any errors.
11. Reverse journals. You can reverse a posted or unposted journal entry. Once you assign a reversing period to the journal, generate and post the reversing batch.
12. Revalue your foreign–denominated assets and liabilities to reflect exchange rate fluctuations at the end of each accounting period.
13. Translate your actual account balances to any foreign currency for reporting purposes.
14. Consolidate sets of books by defining and running a consolidation. You can consolidate sets of books that have different charts of accounts and calendars.
15. Produce financial reports and perform online inquiries to review current account balances.
• Review account balances online using the Account Inquiry window.
• Review posted journal details in the Posted Journals Report, as well as in the General Ledger and Account Analysis reports.
• You can also define an unlimited variety of custom reports using the Financial Statement Generator to review account balances in the format of your choice.
16. Enter journals to clear suspense account balances. Examine General Ledger and Account Analysis reports to identify the source of suspense account entries.
17. Close the current accounting period.
18. Open the next accounting period.

Basic Journal Entries

• Describe how journal entries are positioned in the accounting cycle
• Identify the types of journal entries
• Create manual journal entries
• Post journal entries using various posting options
• Perform account inquiries
• Perform drilldowns to Oracle subledger applications
• Create reversing entries
• Use ADI to create journal entries
• Import journal entry information using the GL_INTERFACE
• Describe the setup options available to process journal entries
• Identify reports, listings and inquiry options available for journal entries
• Identify the profile options necessary to process journal entries
• Identify the key implementation issues regarding journal entries and General Ledger
• Identify the key elements of Applications Desktop Integrator (ADI)
• Setup ADI security
• Setup database connections
• Setup the ADI toolbar, general ledger and language options
• Identify ADI profile options
• Perform ADI diagnostic system checks