Creating an accounting entity

All transactions must be associated with an accounting entity.

Note: Your organization may use another term for accounting entity.

Select Finance Enterprise Group > Maintenance.
Open the finance enterprise group and select the Accounting Entity tab.
Click Create.
Specify this information:
Accounting Entity

Specify a unique accounting entity code. This code can be up to 12 alphanumeric characters. You cannot change the code after the accounting entity is saved.

Name

Specify the accounting entity name. You can change the name after the accounting entity is saved.

Effective Date

Specify the date on which the accounting entity takes effect. If this field is blank, then the current date is used.

Future Changes

This is a read-only field. This check box is selected when there are future changes for the accounting entity.

Functional Currency

Select the currency in which the accounting entity operates.

Alternate Currency

You can specify an alternate currency that is specific to the accounting entity. This can be a currency other than the reporting currencies for the finance enterprise group. For example, you can use two versions of the same currency to satisfy local reporting requirements, each with its own currency exchange rates.

Alternate Currency 2, 3

You can specify a second and third alternate currency.

Auto Balance Threshold

For each currency, specify a threshold to limit the amount that can be auto-balanced when manually releasing a journal.

Status

Select the status of the accounting entity.

Posting Category

You can select a posting category for the accounting entity. A posting category is an attribute that is associated with one or more accounting entities for posting purposes so that they can be processed together.

Average Daily Balance

Select this check box to enable average daily balance for the accounting entity when fixed dimension is selected.

Close Configuration

Select the close configuration that the accounting entity uses. The close configuration must have period close dates that are defined for the accounting entity's current year, the previous year, and the next year.

Current Period
Specify the current period for the accounting entity.
If data migration is used, then two possible methods are available to complete this field.
1. Specify the current year for the accounting entity. If you migrate history, then you must open previous years for back posting. See the Global Ledger User Guide to open a period for back posting.
2. Specify the first year for the data you are migrating as the current year on the accounting entity. You are not required to open prior years or periods for back posting if you use this method. These steps are required if you use this method:
  
  Create at least one reporting basis. Ensure that you assign ledgers and accounting entities to the reporting basis.
  
  For the close configuration specified on the reporting basis, ensure that close periods have been created in the close configuration. Close periods must be created for each year that you are migrating data for.
  
  Run the Entity Period Rebuild action from the Utilities menu for each of your close configurations. Run the action for a range of years for all years in the close configuration.
  
  Run the migration by interfacing transactions.
  
  Run the Period Close action to close periods. When you close the last period of a year, the current year on the accounting entity is updated. Close the years in your reporting basis to update the beginning balances for the following year.
  
  Note: The GL journal entry program edits data when journals are added for accounting entity periods that do not exist. The GLTransactionInterface does not edit data. If an entity ledger period with the posting date does not exist, then journals are processed and added to the current period of the accounting entity.
Accounting Unit Zone Balancing

Select this check box to use zone balancing for your accounting units. You can use zone balancing for any level of the accounting unit structure.

Balance By Transaction Currency
Select an option for balancing by transaction currency when journal entries are created:
- No Balancing
  No balancing by transaction currency.
- Transaction Amount
  If the transaction amounts are out of balance for a currency, then one of these situations occur:
  
  For an interfaced journal, an Error Suspense transaction is generated in the transaction currency for the transaction currencies with amounts that are out of balance.
  
  For a manually-released journal, the transactions must be manually balanced by transaction currency before it can be released.
  
  If the Auto Balance option is selected on the accounting entity, then an Auto Balance transaction is generated in the functional currency. The currency amounts for the journal are balanced.
- All Currency Amounts
  An auto balance transaction is created for each transaction currency where any of the currency amounts for a specific transaction currency are out of balance.
Auto Balance

To automatically balance currency amounts, select this check box. If this check box is cleared, then the amounts must be manually adjusted.

Unrelease Manual Journal

Select this check box to allow the unrelease of manual journals for the accounting entity.

Valid Systems

Specify system codes that can be posted to an accounting entity.

Journal Approval

Select this check box to require that journals are approved before they are released. A journal approval amount must be set if journal approval is required.

Journal Approval Amount

Specify the amount of the approved journal.

Bypass Approval Code

Select an approval code to be bypassed when releasing journals. This eliminates the code from requiring approval. The bypass approval code is used if a particular business area does not use the journal approval process.

Address Code

Specify the address that is associated with the accounting entity.

Lease Accounting Standard

Select ASC or GASB.
Click Save.