Financial snapshot comparison

Use this function to review progress for a specific project using financial snapshot data.

A snapshot essentially captures an overview of a project on a given date. It is a real-time top-level overview of a project at a specific point in time. Each extracted snapshot is unique.

This function provides a comprehensive solution for project managers to keep track of the financial status and progress of a project relative to its budgets. You might use it to provide monthly, quarterly or half-yearly progress figures to the stakeholders.

• You can use this function to compare one time-captured financial snapshot against the current financial status of the project.
• You can use this function to compare one time-captured financial snapshot against a different time-captured financial snapshot.

The resulting financial overview comparison offers twin views, one view based on the cost structure and a second view based on the cost types. It reflects the default report specification supplied with your solution, or your customized report specification and applied structured query language (SQL) queries, with additional columns displaying the difference between the selected values as Variance columns. That is, the difference between the snapshot and the current financial status, or the difference between the two sets of snapshot data.

This function only displays Variance comparison figures for consolidated data. Detailed comparisons are not available.

Financial snapshots

Prerequisites

Refer to documentation Implementation

Screen management

• Header
• Tab Cost structure
• Tab Cost type

The Financial snapshot comparison function contains a Home section in which you select a "snapshot header" and the comparison data.

The resulting financial overview comparison offers twin views:

• One view based on the cost structure.
• A second view based on the cost types.

Header

You use this section to set the comparison data. You need to select which "snapshot header" will form the basis of the comparison. You can then choose to compare the selected snapshot header against a different snapshot header, or against the current financial status of the project.

A snapshot header sets the parameters for a financial extraction. It is a prerequisite to running a snapshot. The snapshot header comprises the project code, the financial view to be extracted, and the unit and currency to be used each time the data extraction is requested.

You can change the results to display only quantity columns, amount columns or both time and amount columns, as required. Select the Apply action to confirm.

Tab Cost structure

This section displays the complete cost structure associated with the project. The columns are produced by the interpretation of a report specification.

• The report specification is based on an expense or revenue financial view enabled for data tracking in miscellaneous table 388-Financial view.
  The columns displayed have been defined in the Financial overview structure function (GESPJS).
• For the content of each column identified in the outline report structure as a Free column (Free column 1-10), the Financial overview queries (GESPJQ) function specifies exactly which data to use in it.

The resulting columns therefore reflect the defined report specification and applied structured query language (SQL) queries for each level of the cost structure for this project.

• A column heading with the suffix N-1 contains data from the base financial snapshot (Snapshot N-1 field (KEYEXTN1)).
• A column heading with the suffix N contains data from the current financial status of the project, or the selected time-captured financial snapshot (Snapshot N field (KEYEXTN)).
• A column heading with the suffix Variance contains the difference between the associated N-1 and N column.

 Miscellaneous table 388-Financial view controls which financial overview data can be displayed.

 Project management includes standard, or master report structures for both expense and revenue financial overviews. Delivered by default with your solution are master report structures for financial views "10" (expenses) and "20" (revenue). You can modify these master report structures, or create new report structures from scratch (for example, for a view 30) to suit your organization, your processes or your users.

Tab Cost type

This section displays the cost groups and cost types associated with the project.

• To view all cost groups and cost types associated with the project, select the project level in the Cost structure section.
• To view the cost groups and individual cost types associated with a particular budget code, select the budget code in the Cost structure section.

The cost groups and cost types are refreshed dynamically to reflect the selected budget code.

As for the Cost structure section, the columns are produced by the interpretation of a report specification based on an expense or revenue financial view enabled for data tracking in miscellaneous table 388-Financial view.

The resulting columns therefore reflect the defined report specification and applied structured query language (SQL) queries for each level of the cost groups and cost types for this project.

• A column heading with the suffix N-1 contains data from the base financial snapshot (Snapshot N-1 field (KEYEXTN1)).
• A column heading with the suffix N contains data from the current financial status of the project, or the selected time-captured financial snapshot (Snapshot N field (KEYEXTN)).
• A column heading with the suffix Variance contains the difference between the associated N-1 and N column.

 Miscellaneous table 388-Financial view controls which financial overview data can be displayed.

Specific actions

Apply

Select the Apply action to apply your comparison criteria, and to display or redisplay the project cost and operational structure details, and report comparisons.

Error messages

• Generic messages

The only error messages are the generic ones.

Tables used

Refer to documentation Implementation