Jun 8, 2021
•1 minute read
SAP Central Finance
SAP Central Finance is a deployment option within SAP S/4HANA that enables organizations to consolidate financial data from multiple SAP and non-SAP systems into a single harmonized finance system. Rather than requiring a full system migration, Central Finance allows companies to replicate transactional data from source systems into a Central Finance instance, creating a unified financial platform for reporting, consolidation and process innovation without disrupting existing system landscapes. SAPinsider covers SAP Central Finance strategy, implementation and SAP S/4HANA migration use cases.
What is SAP Central Finance?
SAP Central Finance (CFIN) is an SAP S/4HANA deployment that serves as a centralized financial hub, receiving and harmonizing financial postings from multiple source systems in real time using SAP Landscape Transformation Replication Server (LTS/SLT) or SAP Application Integration Framework (AIF). It enables a single view of financial data across the enterprise without replacing existing ERP instances immediately. Organizations use it to accelerate finance transformation, enable group-level reporting and lay the foundation for eventual full migration to SAP S/4HANA.
What use cases does SAP Central Finance address?
- Harmonized financial reporting: Central Finance consolidates financial data from multiple ERP instances into a single view, enabling group-level reporting, intercompany reconciliation and management reporting without waiting for a full migration.
- S/4HANA migration stepping stone: Organizations use Central Finance as a phased approach to SAP S/4HANA adoption, centralizing finance operations first while allowing business units or subsidiaries to migrate source systems progressively.
- Shared services and payment centralization: CFIN supports centralized payment processing, accounts payable and accounts receivable management, enabling organizations to establish finance shared services without requiring source system replacement.
- Finance process innovation: With Central Finance in place, organizations can deploy SAP S/4HANA Finance capabilities including advanced analytics, AI-assisted forecasting and automated close processes on the centralized data without touching source systems.
What does SAPinsider research say about SAP Central Finance?
SAPinsider research identifies Central Finance as a strategic option for organizations with complex, heterogeneous ERP landscapes that need to accelerate finance transformation without a disruptive big-bang migration. Practitioners report that CFIN projects require careful data harmonization and mapping planning, but deliver significant reporting and process benefits early in the transformation journey. Explore SAP Central Finance resources and case studies at SAP Central Finance.
Keynote | 2021 Finance Priorities: Driving onward and upward in the wake of disruptionOver a year into the economic disruption caused by COVID-19, most organizations are ready to move on, apply the lessons learned from the past, and reinvigorate their innovation agendas and strategy. While many have had to reset and reprioritize, most finance leaders are now reinvesting in their business and technology portfolios and are ready to transform their finance strategy while strengthening their skillsets and solution portfolios. This interactive panel will inspire you to think differently about your own 2021 priorities as you:
- Learn what’s topping the agenda of finance executives when it comes to process reinvention, SAP S/4HANA and Central Finance, tax, compliance, and other key initiatives
- Discover what actions are critical for finance organizations as they navigate the aftermath of the events of 2020 that are still impactful in 2021
- Find out in which technologies and projects finance teams are investing, how they may be altering their approach, and how they measure success
- See how the meaning of finance transformation is evolving and how this impacts the entire finance and accounting organization
Enabling SAP S/4HANA Central Finance and Group Reporting at PerrigoThe audience will learn about Perrigo's SAP S/4HANA Central Finance implementation journey, Attend this session to learn:
- Why they are doing it
- Why it is different than others
- What was established and decided during the preparation on scope, roadmap and tool
- Implementation experience and lessons learned till date
Jun 8, 2021
•1 minute read
SAP Central Finance: Decision pointsSAP Central Finance represents a key option in your path SAP S/4HANA. This session offers a clear explanation of what SAP Central Finance is and when and how it should be considered as part of your overall migration to SAP S/4HANA. Learn about the key intelligent enterprise capabilities of the digital core for reporting, central process execution, shared services, and finance transformation with Central Finance. Walk through the why, how, what, and when of Central Finance and plot your course toward transformation. Attend this session to:
- Explore capabilities including robotics process automation, machine learning, and cloud-based network and spend management
- See how Central Finance leverages the intelligent enterprise
- Learn about patterns for deploying the intelligent enterprise with Central Finance
- Walk through key considerations and criteria to help you navigate your decision whether to adopt this a short or long-term solution
Jun 8, 2021
•1 minute read
SAP Central Finance Panel DiscussionSAP Central Finance represents an important deployment option for SAP S/4HANA in large enterprises, for multi-ERP customers with heterogenous system landscapes, and now also more and more single system instances.
Who better listen to than actual customers having been there, having done it? Join this interactive panel session and learn from real-world customers about their motivations, experiences, challenges as well as benefits and outcomes. Glean insights from real the challenges they faced so that you can thoroughly evaluate this option as part of your transformation and SAP S/4HANA journey.
Jun 8, 2021
•1 minute read
SAP Central Finance Panel DiscussionSAP Central Finance represents an important deployment option for SAP S/4HANA in large enterprises, for multi-ERP customers with heterogenous system landscapes, and now also more and more single system instances.
Who better listen to than actual customers having been there, having done it? Join this interactive panel session and learn from real-world customers about their motivations, experiences, challenges as well as benefits and outcomes. Glean insights from real the challenges they faced so that you can thoroughly evaluate this option as part of your transformation and SAP S/4HANA journey.
Jun 8, 2021
•1 minute read
SAP S/4HANA Finance and Central Finance: State of the Market 2021 Benchmark ReportIn This Report: Finance and accounting teams are prioritizing visibility, simplicity, and automation as they solidify their strategies and investments for 2021. While system complexity and data siloes have stifled efficiency and the ability to derive insights for many years, business and IT leaders realize that they can no longer operate competitively and efficiently within […]
May 28, 2021
•1 minute read
A detailed primer on Central FinanceSAP Central Finance is the key deployment option for S/4HANA in large enterprises, for multi-ERP customers with heterogenous system landscapes, and now also more and more single system instances.
Join this session to get a primer (if you are new to SAP Central Finance, or join to get a refresher or are looking for some due diligence on what you might have missed, or forgotten, or what was introduced since you first started looking into Central Finance. You will understand:
- The core mission, vision, and concept of Central Finance
- How SAP Central Finance fits with SAP S/4HANA and SAP RISE
- Important details surrounding SAP Central Finance as a product and other technical prerequisites and requirements
- Integration between SAP and non-SAP source systems and Central Finance
- How Central reporting functions including benefits and requirements
- How central transaction processing and what the benefit is
- How SAP Central Finance drives Finance transformation
- Use cases and customer success stories
May 26, 2021
•1 minute read
Finance transformation with SAP S/4HANA and Central FinanceFinance transformation is increasingly being adopted by companies around the world, to transition the finance function from being a back-office supporting role to a proactive one, helping to produce timely insights and on-the-fly reporting to help with real-time decision making, which is facilitated through the adoption of an intelligent system. SAP S/4HANA is an example of an intelligent system, in that it enables companies to capture every opportunity in today’s digital world, by removing common obstacles associated with legacy ERP applications, such as batch latency, complex landscapes, and manually driven processes.
Attend this comprehensive session to:
- Hear the key business and technology-related drivers that are pushing finance organizations to adopt next generation ERP and cloud-based solutions such as SAP S/4HANA Finance
- Understand where customers are on the road to SAP S/4HANA Finance and what kind of a role Central Finance plays in that journey
- Look at the overall impact of an SAP S/4HANA Finance migration on IT infrastructure and business intelligence
- Explore the experiences, lessons learned, and best practices of SAP S/4HANA Finance early adopters, as well as those choosing to hold off on implementation
May 12, 2021
•1 minute read
The Evolution of Central Finance: Strategies to Drive Transformation and SimplicityMany organizations who run SAP start their digital transformation with a complex landscape. Central Finance represents an important option when considering your SAP S/4HANA path forward. Learn how SAP customers are using Central finance as a starting point within their transformation to accelerate key benefits such as financial visibility and transparency. This session will share lessons learned from a wide variety of Central Finance projects. You will:
• Learn how Central Finance has been implemented to support a broad spectrum of business objectives from serving as a steppingstone to SAP S/4HANA to integrating financial and management reporting across multiple ERP systems.
• Understand decision criteria customers utilized to decide if Central Finance was right for them.
• Discover how customers used Central Finance to provide them the visibility, resilience, and flexibility to thrive during challenging business climates.
• See what the potential “Finance platform of the Future” looks like and what immediate steps you can take to move toward that vision.
Feb 1, 2021
•1 minute read
Preparing Third-Party Applications for Interface into SAP S/4HANA for Central FinanceAre you considering a move to SAP S/4HANA for Central Finance? Does your plan fully address how to integrate your existing non-SAP source system data into your Central Finance implementation? Discover how adding SAP Central Finance Transaction Replication Application by Magnitude for SAP S/4HANA can facilitate and accelerate data integration for your move to Central Finance. This session will offer expert insights into overcoming the common challenges encountered when integrating financial data such as transaction detail, error handling, and reconciliation, and will prepare your team for the road ahead to a successful central finance deployment. By attending, you will:
- Examine the complexities of building a solution for Central Finance and receive expert advice for enabling agile, intelligent finance operations
- Explore the benefits of enabling intelligent data integration for Central Finance to improve efficiency and effectiveness
- Discover how to integrate transactional data into SAP S/4HANA for Central Finance utilizing an SAP solution extension to reduce cost and risk
- Review recommendations that will help you achieve a speedy and successful Central Finance implementation
- Understand how live SAP Central Finance customers have leveraged pre-built connectors to integrate detailed transactions from both SAP and third-party sources
Jan 18, 2021
•1 minute read
Featured Insiders
Popular Insights
Research
View All
Events
SAPinsider New Orleans SummitNew Orleans, Louisiana, United States
SAPinsider Copenhagen 2026Copenhagen, Denmark
Mastering SAP Collaborate, an SAP TechEd on Tour eventSydney, New South Wales, Australia
