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As we know in R12 , the existing Multiorg architecture includes a new feature Multiple Organizations Access Control (MOAC). Lot of queries and question were asked by my readers, therefore this post completely focus on some of technical Insight because of architectural change.The minimum you should suppose to know is that Access Control feature has backward compatible. Technically means that there are no code or procedural changes if MOAC is not implemented (i.e. The user is assigned one operating unit for a responsibility).

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What is Report Manager?

In Oracle EBS “report manager” is a product that has been offered to manage your reporting needs.

Report Manager is basically a secure point-in-time report repository offering centralized management and distribution of reports.

There are different levels of access that you can assign to reports that are generated by the Report Manager.

You can tie these access rights to your department assignments, to employees, or can build your own.

The report manager reports are stored in the database and can be published to a wider audience. The good is that you can manage access/availability to multiple groups of people. This is run as a menu option from the main menu of a specific application (AP, AR, etc.).

Report Manager benefits

• You can access business information from a central site using a standard browser
• You can provide that reports are with proper access
• You can store and distribute ANY type of report or file
• Preview reports prior to mass distribution

R12 Report Manager

The Report Manager seeded functions need to be assigned manually by the System administrators to appropriate responsibilities based on the types of reports a user submits and publishes in their job. For example, a system administrator might assign the Financial Report Template Editor and Financial Report Submission functions to an existing General Ledger responsibility already used for submitting Financial Reports by General Ledger users.

The seeded Report Manager functions are:

• Standard Report Submission
• Security Workbench
• Repository Management
• Financial Report Submission
• Upload File
• Variable Report Submission
• Financial Report Template Editor
• Ad Hoc FSG Submission
• Define Report Set Publishing Options
• Report Set Presentation Options
• Define Request Set Publishing Options
• Request Set Presentation Options

Release 12, ADI & Report Manager

In Applications Release 12, WebADI and Report Manager must be used instead of ADI, as client/server ADI is not supported for that release. Also in Release 12 the WebADI functionality for GL is integrated into the standard GL menu structures. These functions are ‘Launch Journal Wizard’, ‘Launch Budget Wizard’, and the spreadsheet upload of Currency Rates, via ‘Currency Rates Manager’.

When To Use Report Manager(Implementation consideration)

This is very important to understand when offering to customer for this product. Oracle Report Manager you need to:

• Provide a centralized report distribution system for point-in-time reports.
• Submit and publish Financial Statement Generator (FSG), Ad Hoc FSG, Variable Format, and Standard reports to a central repository.
• Present reports in the repository to information consumers via menu items on the Oracle E-Business Suite Home page or portal.
• Approve reports before making them available for general viewing.
• Permit report availability in a future time frame.
• View spreadsheets or PDF files for further analysis.
• Secure reports by utilizing three security paradigms: User to Value, custom, and flex field segment.
• Archive reports for future reference that no longer need to be displayed to report consumers.
• Publish reports that have been submitted as part of request sets or report sets.
• Upload any type of file and publish it to a central repository.
• Reports in the repository can then distributed to the Oracle E-Business Suite home page.

This is yet another extension of previous post, will discuss how to manage and define layout of the WebADI integrator.

Managing/Defining Layout

You can also manage /Define layouts, means you can build the spreadsheet by modifying the Layouts.

You must be in responsibility with access to the integrator to define the layout.

• Responsibility: Desk Integration
• Menu Options : Define Layout

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As mention in earlier post (#1,#2,#3 ) , WebAdi is tool that can be used to load many different types of data from spreadsheet based excel application into various application of Oracle APPS. There are number of Seeded Integrator comes with Oracle, but still Oracle provides the capability to its expandability. Various Integrators to load different types of information. However, you can do setups new, custom spreadsheet can be created to load different types of information into Oracle.

Basic User Procedure we have seen for a webADI is

1. Use the webADI page Consist of creating spreadsheet by
   1. Specific to data type which we called as integrator
   2. Specific to Layout which is for controlling purpose of the spreadsheet.
2. Adding Data to the excel Spreadsheet.
3. In spreadsheet, you need to select the Oracle/Upload menu option.This is menu option that you can use from WebAdi added from Excel menu.
4. Than the data get uploaded to Oracle target table, which might be custom, or base. Any error will be flagged and the error reason will be placed on corresponding row in the spreadsheet.

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In last two post we have seen , Web ADI is a Browser based application, which enables users to log into the Oracle database and upload ADI spreadsheets, without having the ADI application installed onto the users machine.We have already seen step by step setup in 11i , now this post is extension of previous post with a case of R12.

1. Responsibility: As mention earlier WebADI User linked to the correct Set of Books for your business. In R12 , the starting point would be responsibility called Desktop Integration

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This post will briefly Let you take quick step by step guide for uploading Journal through WebADI in 11i .

Uploading a Journal using Web ADI

The Web ADI screens are viewed in sequence, each one selecting an aspect of Journal to be uploaded.

• It start with selection of the ‘Viewer’ the Excel version to be used to view the sheets into which the Journal data will be entered.
• Then followed by selection of the Integrator, which is the type of form to use to upload.
• After that the selection of Layout.. this is the type of type of Enter the Content, of the Journal
• The end of process consist of reviewing the details that you have entered prior to submitting the upload.
• and Finally uploading the Journal

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There is one white papers from Oracle in area R12 Oracle Subledger Accounting. This was released sometime in last year Sept 2007, seems this is updated with latest version of April 2008.

• The Business Benefits of Oracle Subledger Accounting
  An Oracle White Paper
  September 2007 (latest version is of April 2008 )

Subledger & General Ledger

Those who are not having accounting background should understand , every accounting system will have a number of subsidiary ledgers (called subledgers) for items such as cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory , purchasing like wise. All the entries that are entered (called posted or booked) to these subledgers will transact through the general ledger account. For example, when a credit sale posted in the account receivable subledger turns into cash due to a payment, the transaction will be posted to the general ledger and the two (cash and accounts receivable) subledgers as well.

There are instances when items will go directly to the general ledger without any subledger.These items will be linked to your balance sheet but not to your profit and loss statement.

The Concept is more or less addressed same in newly R12 SLA accounting , therefore you should note:

• A transactional application that generates accounting impact.
• Used to store detailed information not needed for a general ledger
• Subledgers post summarized activity to a general ledger periodically to maintain centralized account balances for the company

More Reading on SLA

• R12 SLA: Analyzing Subledger Accounting
• R12 SLA: From Product Accounting to Subledger Accounting
• R12 SLA: Transaction Account Builder
• R12 SLA: Accounting Methods Builder

Lets take about one of the great office productive tool based application which is called “Web ADI” that being used within the E-Business Suite to provide end-users with a familiar user interface.Key end users are highly accepted this productive tool , because of there own advantages and great office capability.

ADI & Web ADI…

ADI stands for Applications Desktop Integrator, and is an Excel based interface through which users can upload and view data in the Oracle system.To access the database, users must use their standard Oracle User name, and password.

Web ADI is a Browser based application, which enables users to log in to the Oracle Database, and upload ADI spreadsheets, without having to have the ADI application loaded locally on the users machine, or having it set up on a central server and users accessing it through Citrix.

For Web ADI to work, interfaces are set up. These interfaces are Macro driven spreadsheets, in which specific cells are linked to database table columns, and match to fields in the Standard Oracle Forms. Through them data is fed into the database, which can subsequently be viewed in the Core Oracle Forms.

• The leveraging of Desktop Application functionality for performing E-business Suite tasks.
• Web ADI is a java based tool used to load many different types of data from Excel into varied application modules.
• This tool resembles the client-server ADI in name only. It has no concurrent manager or publication functionality. It also requires no client code to be loaded on the PC.

The difference between ADI and WebADI

The main big between ADI and Web ADI, is that Web ADI is now based out of framework for building Desktop Integration applications in the EBS.That means we can designed and extend with a combination of meta-data and java. There is no requirement for these teams to know Visual Basic for Applications or the techstack requirements to get Office to interact with the Oracle Middle Tier or any of a hundred different nuances in the desktop environment.

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Yes, that true, this is one of the functionality that Payable managers are expecting in EBS. The Oracle payable still requires enhancement in few area where this is one called is ‘Stale Cheque management. This is very common trends seen by APAC entities , forced to do customization to automate this process.

What is Stale cheque ..

When payment cheques remain unpresented after certain period of drawing, the cheque has become stale and thereby should not be honoured by the bank. All entries made to the general ledger in respect of the stale cheque will need to be reversed by completing the necessary vouchers.

Is there any stipulated time when is a cheque considered stale-dated, and is it no longer valid after that point?

Yes, Checked with Financial controller and found as per CPA Rule A4, Section 21, a cheque is considered stale-dated after six months, unless it has been certified . Although it may be returned through the clearing for that reason, there is no obligation to do so, and the payers financial institution may still accept it as a valid payment item. An institution accepting a cheque that is dated more than six months earlier may choose to contact the payor’s financial institution to confirm whether the cheque will still be accepted.

What is the difference between cancelling or Voiding a payment and reversing it?

Payments should only be cancelled or voided if the goods or services have not been supplied or where the cheque is to be re issued due to some reason.

Where the goods and services have been received but the payment has not been processed within 6 months of issue, this becomes a Stale cheque. Stale cheques are reversed by receipting the same amount back into the system.

Why this is Need in Oracle ?

In the new world most of entity payment is processed by there banking partner, therefore important aspect for entity in term of managing this is bit challenging for.

1. Reconciliation AP with CM bank statement?
2. Internal Control which is subject to query by auditors?

As mention there is no automated way to manage such process, still we might can club with these manual intervention which consist of :

1. To Void the payment and choose No Action on the invoice if its to be paid again.
2. Place an appropriate hold on invoice if investigation is required, or cancel invoice from void screen.

Does Oracle Recommend a process for handling stale checks?

No not yet , as of latest 12.0.4.

The only information that Oracle has for there EBS customers is based out of metalink note:147077.1,Oracle does not have a recommended process for handling stale checks. Each business should define how they would handle this process.

One suggestion is to print on the Check that they are only valid for so many days and then to void the check after that time period if they have not come in.

There was something called “Escheating Checks” in Earlier Releases..

Don’t get confused with this functionality with stale checks. This is what Oracle documentation mention in section 5.86;

In the U.S.A., each state has different rules regarding checks that have been issued by which have not cleared the bank. In most cases, the organization that issued the check is required to remit the funds (escheat) to a state tax authority. You can use the following method to create payments for the tax authority.

Prerequisite

Complete the due diligence required by the state. To pay escheated checks to the state tax authority:

1. For each supplier for which you will escheat payments, create a new supplier site. Use the tax authority’s name and address for the pay site.
2. Void each payment. You may want to add a note in the description of the invoice that it was escheated to the relevant tax authority. Change the invoice pay site to the new tax authority site. Optionally assign a unique Payment Priority or Pay Group. This will help allow you to create a Payment Batch for just the escheated checks.
3. Pay the invoices and provide the necessary documentation to the tax authority.

So now, it is time to comment, share your thoughts .should this functionality is real need or customer should still manage by customization…