Oct 28, 2016
•17 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.
A Holistic Approach to Implementing Central FinanceLearn tips to help you prepare for a Central Finance implementation project. Central Finance is aimed at reducing the cost of adoption of SAP S/4HANA Finance for organizations having heterogeneous landscapes (multiple SAP ERP or non-SAP systems). With Central Finance, these organizations no longer have to upgrade all the systems to have SAP S/4HANA Finance. […]
Live from SAPinsider Studio: Carsten Hilker on Universal JournalCarsten Hilker, SAP, Finance Solution Management, joins SAPinsider Studio at the 2016 FIN-GRC event to discuss SAP S/4HANA and the Universal Journal. This is an edited version of the transcript: Ken Murphy, SAPinsider: Hi this is Ken Murphy with SAPinsider. I am at the SAPinsider Financials 2016 in Las Vegas. Today I’m pleased to be […]
Apr 8, 2016
•10 minute read
A Fast Path to Innovation and Simplification with Central Finance
The aim of SAP S/4HANA Finance is to provide finance organizations the ability to completely reimagine business processes for the digital age. This article explores Central Finance, an accelerated, non-disruptive SAP S/4HANA Finance deployment option that replicates financial transactions from SAP and non-SAP ERP source systems onto a Central Finance instance that runs on SAP S/4HANA Finance. This article also looks at the audience for Central Finance, which provides a clear path toward SAP S/4HANA Finance innovations without the need for a traditional upgrade.
Jan 1, 2016
•9 minute read
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