SAP Controlling

SAP Controlling: An Overview and Key Considerations

What Is SAP Controlling?

The SAP Controlling (CO) module provides information to help managers track costs by calculating, analyzing, and planning all enterprise-wide or business-unit overhead spending. The SAP Controlling module operates as the core internal cost accounting solution for SAP customers. In contrast, the SAP Financial Accounting (FI) module is restricted by specific legal requirements, so SAP customers can’t use it for cost accounting. 

SAP Controlling: An Overview and Key Considerations

What Is SAP Controlling?

The SAP Controlling (CO) module provides information to help managers track costs by calculating, analyzing, and planning all enterprise-wide or business-unit overhead spending. The SAP Controlling module operates as the core internal cost accounting solution for SAP customers. In contrast, the SAP Financial Accounting (FI) module is restricted by specific legal requirements, so SAP customers can’t use it for cost accounting. 

When organizations activate cost center accounting in the SAP Controlling module, SAP Controlling users can make decisions about cost inputs and areas of responsibility with greater clarity. For finance and accounting managers, SAP Controlling offers a variety of components or sub-modules to enable diverse controlling requirements and provide additional functionality.

A list of key SAP Controlling (CO) sub-modules and components include:

• Cost Element Accounting
• Cost Center Accounting
• Internal Order
• Product Costing
• Cost Object Controlling
• Profitability Analysis
• Profit Center Accounting

Key Considerations for SAPinsiders  

Reduce financial errors with robust reporting features in SAP Controlling. Controllers should understand how various processes in an accounting system work together to create value for their company. They need a thorough knowledge of what each step entails to identify any errors and address them before the problems grow. Reports that generate controlling activity should be informative and detail any actual/plan variance.

Leverage SAP S/4HANA to enhance SAP Controlling functionality. Organizations can benefit from more robust SAP Controlling functionality in SAP S/4HANA for efficient processing of business activities and financial information from source systems to enhance the performance of operational reporting and dashboards for finance and accounting managers.

Utilize SAP Controlling in Fiori to streamline access to comprehensive reporting and drilldowns. Whether you’re using an older report or the new reports in SAP Controlling with Fiori Apps, they all relate to the Universal Journal. Across various finance use-cases, reporting that previously required custom reports generation can now be viewed with SAP Fiori App, resulting in a user-friendly access point for all information available to the Universal Journal.