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SAP S/4HANA Finance Deep Dive

Managing an organization’s finances is a delicate balancing act often fraught with curveballs and compromises. Inflation and market shifts, changing business models, fluctuating revenues and shareholder demands are some of the financial challenges CFOs and decision-makers face daily.

Fortunately, modern ERPs, such as SAP’s S/4HANA, help CFOs and their organizations navigate today’s financial challenges more quickly and with fewer mistakes. This is why 85% of the world’s largest enterprises rely on SAP solutions.

How are CFOs leveraging SAP S/4HANA Finance? Let’s take a closer look.

What Is SAP S/4HANA Finance?

SAP S/4HANA Finance is one of the many software modules in SAP’s award-winning S/4HANA ERP system. It was the first module released when SAP launched the solution in 2014. S/4HANA Finance can operate as a single module or be fully integrated with an SAP Business Suite.

It’s a comprehensive and highly-customizable suite of financial business applications that allow users to manage the following easily:

Financial planning and analysis
Tax management
Accounting and financial close
Treasury management
GRC and cybersecurity
Accounts receivable
Billing
Revenue management

With SAP S/4HANA Finance, organizations are better able to increase process efficiencies, gain financial visibility, adopt emerging business models and control costs through new automations.

The solution is customizable; numerous add-ons and integrations are available to amplify your digital transformation.

However, its native features make SAP S/4HANA Finance truly stand out from other ERPs.

Learn more about managing your business with SAP S/4HANA on our blog:

Native Features SAP S/4HANA Finance That Ease Financial Management Constraints

The native features of SAP S/4HANA are powerful. Businesses can leverage them to handle critical financial processes and ease management constraints. Three of the top native elements are detailed below.

1. Universal Journal

Save Time & Gain Clarity with the Centralized Data View

The Universal Journal is where organizations can experience SAP’s “single source of truth” model. The Universal Journal is a central data repository integrating financial and controlling accounting data in a single, unified structure. Unlike other ERPs that usually require maneuvering among several general ledgers, the Universal Journal centralizes all ledger data into a single chart of accounts.

A centralized data view saves time and minimizes redundancies. It reduces manual data entry hours and the need to reconcile discrepancies between multiple ledgers. As a result, organizations will have an easier time tracking transaction details, obtaining accurate reporting and analyzing financial information.

Make Better Financial Decisions with Real-Time Financial Visibility

The real-time finance visibility feature of SAP S/4HANA provides a holistic view of financial performance, allowing users to track and monitor the current state of their finances.

This feature makes it easier for organizations to assess their performance against internal targets and monitor financial compliance in real-time. It increases data accuracy that stakeholders can use to make better financial decisions.

Simplify Reconciliations with Normalized Data

The Universal Journal makes reporting easier as it provides normalized data sets and supports machine learning.

This simplifies a business’s reconciliation process while providing a more accurate, real-time view of an organization’s financial situation.

SAP S4HANA

2. Predictive Analytics

Gain Business Agility

The predictive analytics feature enables users to assess the probability of certain events occurring and react accordingly, helping organizations achieve greater business agility. Predictive analytics is possible with S/4HANA Financial because of its machine learning capabilities.

3. SAP S/4HANA Cloud, On-Premise, or Hybrid

Choose Your Financial Landscape

SAP S/4HANA allows organizations to choose the best place for their systems’ operational and client data will live. Users can choose from the following environment options:

SAP S/4HANA On-Premise
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public
SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Hybrid

The environmental versatility of S/4HANA means businesses don’t have to abandon their current environment to deploy S/4HANA Finance. This also makes an SAP S/4HANA migration less cumbersome and more convenient.

Helpful Add-Ons & Integrations of SAP S/4HANA Finance

In addition to the native features of SAP S/4HANA, businesses can exploit several add-ons and integrations.

Add-ons are ERP applications that can extend the functionalities of S/4HANA and support other business processes. These integrations allow businesses to tailor their financial systems to meet specific needs, such as tax compliance, invoice processing, or cost analysis.

Abolish Data Silos with SAP S/4HANA Central Finance

Large-scale businesses often find themselves running multiple ERPs at once and are often associated with a legacy ERP suite. While understandable, these scenarios often led to data silos and inaccurate financial reporting. SAP S/4HANA can eliminate those silos with Central Finance, a solution that integrates the data and information from multiple ERPs and is used to populate the Universal Journal.

Ready to Take Command of Your Finances with SAP S/4HANA?

Our team of experts makes deploying your new system quick and easy

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Streamline Receivable Processes with SAP Cash Application

The SAP Cash Application allows businesses to save time and streamline accounts receivable tasks. It consists of a collection of cloud microservices that automatically execute essential receivable tasks using machine learning.

Simplify Closing Processes with SAP Financial Closing Cockpit

The SAP Financial Closing Cockpit provides tools and features to streamline financial closing processes, reduce errors, and improve compliance. With this module, financial teams can automate their closing cycle, improve collaborations, and support auditing activities.

Stay Competitive with SAP Financial Statement Insights

The SAP Financial Statements Insight add-on uses advanced analytics and machine learning to provide real-time insights into financial statements, helping companies to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.

Monitor Internal Spending with SAP RealSpend

Gain real-time visibility into actual spending behaviors across the organization with SAP RealSpend. This module enables companies to identify potential cost-saving opportunities and improve financial performance.

Gain a New Level of Financial Clarity with Ameri100

SAP S/4HANA Finance provides businesses with everything necessary to gain new financial clarity. With its native capabilities, predictive analytics and extensibility, organizations can make more informed decisions to achieve goals faster.

However, it’s crucial to remember an S/4HANA implementation is no easy task. That’s why Ameri100 offers comprehensive SAP services, and we are dedicated to helping you every step of the way.