Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide This document outlines the steps required to input monthly project accruals and forecasts. Note: s can be updated at anytime during the month using the steps below, but accruals should only be completed at month end as described in this document. These steps are completed by the following roles: HNO Project, Phase and Task Managers for both capital and maintenance projects. HNO External Consultants. Steps to follow The steps involved in the monthly project accruals and forecasts process are outlined below: Step Description 1. On the 2 nd working day of the month, AIP and Accounts Payable closes for the month, and no further invoices will show against the project for that month. The Accrual/ing screen can be accessed and this will display: All actual costs posted in the previous month. An entry box for the previous month s accrual. Future month and year forecasts (as previously entered). 2. At any time up to HNO month end close (which is generally on the 7 th working day), Consultants should: Check the actual costs recognised in the previous month by checking the transaction log. (Clicking on the actual cost figure/wbse link will open the transaction log.) Enter an accrual for any remaining invoices expected to be received for work undertaken in the previous month. Revise the forecast for remaining months and future years as required. 3. NZTA Project Managers should then: Carry out similar checks to those completed in step 2. Amend any data as necessary. Click the relevant submit checkbox to submit the forecast. Click Save. Note: At this time the entered accrual is not recognised in the Finance system, but any changes to the current or future year forecasts are updated and held as the current forecast 4. On the 8 th working day the Financial Reporting month is rolled by HNO. The current month is now the actual calendar month. The new month version of the accrual/forecasting screen is now live. At this time, the previous month accrual creates a transaction in the Finance system which becomes an actual against the project in the previous month. 5. During the first week of the current month, the previous month s accrual is reversed which means that the accrued value is shown as a negative in the new month. When the invoice is received and processed, the negative accrual and the invoice(s) will offset each other back to a zero balance. 6. The process continues from step 1 for further reporting months. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 1 of 12
Accruals Demonstration Noted below is a demonstration of the process detailed above, with some alternative scenarios and examples outlined. The month completing in the example below is ember. Step Description 1. On the 2 nd working day of ember, AIP and Accounts Payable closes for the month, and no further invoices will show against the project for ember. The Accrual/ing screen can be accessed and this will display: a) all actual costs posted in the completing month (ember) b) entry box for ember accrual c) totals for the previous month (ember), and d) future month and year forecasts (as previously entered). Accrual Total Jan Feb Mar Apl May (etc.) 15,000 0 15,000 21,000 25,000 22,000 21,000 30,000 28,000 27,000 2. At any time up to HNO month end close (which is generally on the 7 th working day), Consultants should: a) check the actual costs recognised in ember (by checking the transaction log - clicking on the actual cost figure/ WBSE link will open the transaction log) b) enter an accrual for any remaining invoices expected to be received for work undertaken in ember (in this example a further 2 invoices totalling of $5,000 are expected and entered as a single accrual amount, and c) revise the forecast for remaining months and future years as required. Accrual Total Jan Feb Mar Apl May (etc.) 15,000 5,000 20,000 21,000 25,000 22,000 21,000 30,000 28,000 27,000 3. NZTA Project Managers should then: a) carry out similar checks to the above b) amend any data as necessary, and c) submit the accrual and forecast. Accrual Total Jan Feb Mar Apl May (etc.) 15,000 5,000 20,000 21,000 25,000 22,000 21,000 30,000 28,000 27,000 Note: At this time the entered accrual is not recognised in the Finance system. Continued on next page Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 2 of 12
Step Description 4. On the 8 th working day the financial reporting month is rolled by HNO. The current month is now ember. The new month version of the accrual/forecasting screen is now live. At this time, the ember accrual creates a transaction in the finance system which becomes an actual against the project in the month of ember. Accrual Total Jan Feb Mar Apl May (etc.) 20,000 5000-0 25,000 22,000 21,000 30,000 28,000 27,000 In this example, the ember actual becomes 20,000 (15,000+5,000), and ember actuals will start to be recognised as they are received. 5. During the first week of ember, the ember accrual is reversed which means that a transaction is created in ember from the accrual entry for the negative value (-5,000). The negative accrual and the incoming invoices will offset each other in ember when the invoices related to ember are approved and processed in the month of ember. Scenario 1: The invoices received match the accrual value An example ember transactions listing could be: 1/11/13 ember Accrual reversal - 5,000 5/11/13 ember late Invoice + 5,000 9/12/13 ember Invoice + 8,000 This means the expense incurred in ember is recognised in ember. Accrual Total Jan Feb Mar Apl May (etc.) 20,000 8,000 8,000 25,000 22,000 21,000 30,000 28,000 27,000 Continued on next page Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 3 of 12
Step Description Scenario 2: The invoices received are different from the accrual value If the ember invoice (when received) is different to the amount accrued then the correction will occur in ember. In this example, the final ember invoice was $4,000, not $5,000 as we accrued, and therefore -1,000 goes to ember and is added to ember actual, reducing it to 7,000. An example ember transactions listing could be: 1/11/13 ember Accrual reversal - 5,000 5/11/13 ember late Invoice + 4,000 9/12/13 ember Invoice + 8,000 Accrual Total Jan Feb Mar Apl May (etc.) 20,000 7,000 7,000 25,000 22,000 21,000 30,000 28,000 27,000 Note: If the negative accrual exceeds the total current actuals this may then show as a negative actual for ember. 6. The process continues for further reporting months. Note: If the ember invoice is still not received, remember to continue accruing for the invoice each month, until you see it appear in the transaction log. The system steps are detailed below. Use either the quick-step procedures below or the detailed procedures which follow. For additional details on the screens used refer to the Accruals and ing Quick Reference Guide, which outlines the fields/columns displayed for accrual and forecast values. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 4 of 12
1. Update Monthly Accruals Access the transaction by using the menu path: Portfolio and Project Management > Project Management > Accruals and s. then follow the steps below. Step Action 1. Look through the list of projects in the Projects section of the Project Accruals and screen. If the project to update appears in the list, go to step 4. If the project to update does not appear on the list, go to step 2. 2. Click the Back button. 3. Do the following: Search for the project to update its accruals by using any of the available search parameters (e.g. Project Manager, Region etc.) in the Search Criteria section of the Project Accruals and screen. Click the Search button. Note: It is recommended that you search by entering your own name in the Project Manager field. Searching in this way will display all projects of which you are the Project Manager, plus all projects where you are not the Project Manager, but are a Phase or Task Manager. 4. Select and highlight appropriate project in the Projects section of the screen. Result: The associated phases and task of the project are displays below in the Accrual and Value section of the screen. 5. Complete the current month s accrual value column for all appropriate phases and tasks. In the Accrual and Value section, symbols are used to represent the following values: Project = Phase = Task = Note: Capital projects require accruals to be entered against the phase as this is the lowest level for recording transactions. Maintenance projects require accruals to be entered against the task as this is the level we record transactions. 6. Tick the check box in the Submit column if required. Note: Ticking the Submit check box will make the submitted forecast values the official project record. 7. Click Save. The message Updates successful displays in the Message Log. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 5 of 12
2. Project Financial Access the transaction by using the menu path: Portfolio and Project Management > Project Management > Accruals and s, then follow the steps below. Step Action 1. Look through the list of projects in the Projects section of the Project Accruals and screen. If the project to update appears in the list, go to step 4. If the project to update does not appear on the list, go to step 2. 2. Click the Back button. 3. Do the following: Search for the project to update its financial forecast by using any of the available search parameters (e.g. Project Manager, Region etc.) in the Search Criteria section of the Project Accruals and screen. Click the Search button. Note: It is recommended that you search by entering your own name in the Project Manager field. Searching in this way will display all projects of which you are the Project Manager, plus all projects where you are not the Project Manager, but are a Phase or Task Manager. 4. Select and highlight appropriate project in the Projects section of the screen. Result: The associated phases and task of the project are displays below in the Accrual and Value section of the screen. 5. Complete any month or year s forecast value column for all appropriate phases and tasks. In the Accrual and Value section, symbols are used to represent the following values: Project = Phase = Task = 6. Tick the check box in the Submit column if required. Note: Ticking the Submit check box will make the submitted forecast values the official project record. 7. Click Save. The message Updates successful displays in the Message Log. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 6 of 12
1. Update Monthly Accruals (Detailed procedure) Access the transaction using the menu path: Portfolio and Project Management > Project Management > Accruals and s then follow the steps below. 1. Look through the list of projects in the Projects section of the Project Accruals and screen. If the project to update appears in the list, go to step 4. If the project to update does not appear on the list, go to step 2. 2. Click the Back button. 3. Do the following: Search for the project to update its accruals by using any of the available search parameters (e.g. Project Manager, Region etc.) in the Search Criteria section of the Project Accruals and screen. Click the Search button. Note: It is recommended that you search by entering your own name in the Project Manager field. Searching in this way will display all projects of which you are the Project Manager, plus all projects where you are not the Project Manager, but are a Phase or Task Manager. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 7 of 12
4. Select and highlight appropriate project in the Projects section of the screen. Result: The associated phases and task of the project are displayed below in the Accrual and Value section of the screen. 5. Complete the current month s accrual value column for all appropriate phases and tasks. In the Accrual and Value section, symbols are used to represent the following values: Value Project Phase Task Symbol Note: Capital projects require accruals to be entered against the phase as this is the lowest level for recording transactions. Maintenance projects require accruals to be entered against the task as this is the level we record transactions. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 8 of 12
6. Tick the check box in the Submit column if required. Note: Ticking the Submit check box will make the submitted forecast values the official project record. 7. Click the Save button on the toolbar. The message Updates successful displays in the Message Log. 2. Project Financial (Detailed procedure) Access the transaction by using the menu path: Portfolio and Project Management > Project Management > Accruals and s, then follow the steps below. 1. Look through the list of projects in the Projects section of the Project Accruals and screen. If the project to update appears in the list, go to step 4. If the project to update does not appear on the list, go to step 2. 2. Click the Back button. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 9 of 12
3. Do the following: Search for the project to update its financial forecast by using any of the available search parameters (e.g. Project Manager, Region etc.) in the Search Criteria section of the Project Accruals and screen. Click the Search button. Note: It is recommended that you search by entering your own name in the Project Manager field. Searching in this way will display all projects of which you are the Project Manager, plus all projects where you are not the Project Manager, but are a Phase or Task Manager. 4. Select and highlight appropriate project in the Projects section of the screen. Result: The associated phases and task of the project are displays below in the Accrual and Value section of the screen. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 10 of 12
5. Complete the month or year s forecast value column for all appropriate phases and tasks. In the Accrual and Value section, symbols are used to represent the following values: Value Project Phase Task Symbol 6. Tick the check box in the Submit column if required. Note: Ticking the Submit check box will make the submitted forecast values the official project record. 7. Click Save. The message Updates successful displays in the Message Log. Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 11 of 12
Monthly Project Accruals and ing Exercises Use the data below and the procedures on the previous pages to complete a project financial forecast in a SAP training environment. Exercise 1: Project Financial Access the transaction using the menu path: Portfolio and Project Management > Project Management > Accruals and s, then use the data below to complete this exercise. Field Project Physical Works Row Data <Use project number from previous exercise> Increase forecast by 1,000 for each month from to June Monthly Project Accruals and ing Guide Page 12 of 12