Fiscal Year variant in SAP or known as FY Variant, is used at the client level and assigned back to the company code. It’s divided into posting periods and each posting period is defined by a start and finish date. In addition to the posting period, you can also define special periods for period end closing.
SAP has provided some standard Fiscal Year Variant for use. If you want to create a new FY Variant then go ahead and do that by clicking on the “New Entries”.
One Fiscal Year Variant must be assigned to one company code. Fiscal Year Variant can also be assigned to more than one company codes but the reverse is not possible i.e. one company code should have only one fiscal yr assigned.
Fiscal year Variant in SAP defines the current fiscal yr that you are using right now and the number of month it contains. A fiscal yr can be a calendar or a non-calendar yr.
Difference between a fiscal year and calendar year
You define this by selecting the calendar year field while creating the Fiscal Year variant. In this the fiscal year begins with January 1st and ends in December 31.
When fiscal year differs from a calender year, you have to mention the number of posting periods that is to be used and how the system will find it out while posting.
If you define your fiscal year as April to March, then for the month of January, February and March you have to use the annual displacement (also called year sift) as -1 so that system will know the whole fiscal year in SAP.
What is a shortened fiscal year
In SAP, a fiscal year which has less than 12 posting periods is known as a shortened fiscal year. That means a shortened fiscal year will have less than 12 posting periods.
How to open a new fiscal year in SAP
It’s not required to ‘open’ a new fiscal year in SAP as a separate activity. Once you make a posting into the new fiscal yr, the new fiscal year in SAP will automatically opened. It will also be automatically opened up when you run the ‘balance carry-forward’ program.
However, you need to have followings;
- Relevant posting periods in SAP is already opened in the new fiscal year
- If you are following a year-dependent number range assignment then you have to complete the document number range assignments.
- If you are following a year dependent Fiscal Yr then define a new Fiscal Year variant at the end of the current fiscal year.
Transaction Codes used for a Fiscal Year variant
- For Creation of Fiscal Yr Variant: OB29
- Assignment of Fiscal Yr variant to company code: OB37
- Check the fiscal yr that is assigned to your company code: OBY6
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