Lesson 5 of 5
Formal sign-off per load
10 min
Every load ends with a decision. After a mock, the decision is whether the migration is good enough to move to the next one. After the final load, it is whether the business can start working in SAP S/4HANA. A sign-off records that decision, who made it, on what evidence, and with which conditions. It protects the program, the owners and later the auditors, who will ask how the opening balances got into the new system.
Who signs what
The object sign-off record
| Field | Content |
|---|---|
| Object and load | For example open receivables, Mock 3, extract key date and time |
| Versions | Mapping specification, reconciliation specification and cleansing rules used |
| Load result | Records in scope, loaded and rejected, with explanations |
| Reconciliation | Count, value and attribute results with differences and approvals |
| Validation | Records inspected, sample method and size, usability tests and results |
| Open items | Defects and data quality issues with severity, owner and plan |
| Decision | Accepted, accepted with conditions, or rejected; name, role, date and time |
Contents of a sign-off record for one migration object and one load.
Conditional acceptance
Owners often accept with conditions: "accepted, provided the 12 suppliers with unverified bank details stay blocked until verified, and verification is complete within ten working days of go-live". A condition must be specific, have an owner and a deadline, and be tracked like a defect. "Accepted with minor issues" is not a condition. Agree in the exit criteria which kinds of issues may be accepted with conditions and which always block, for example any unexplained difference in a financial balance.
| Decision | When it fits | What must be recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted | All criteria met; no open critical or high defects | Evidence references and signature |
| Accepted with conditions | Open issues within the agreed limits and with workarounds | Each condition with owner, deadline and tracking reference |
| Rejected | Criteria not met, such as an unexplained financial difference | Reasons, required fixes and the reload or fallback decision |
Sign-off on the Wave 2 go-live weekend
- Saturday 06:00Master data acceptedAlternadores business partners and products signed by Maria and the product owner after counts and attribute checks
- Saturday 18:00Open documents acceptedOpen orders and core return agreements signed after reconciliation and reduced validation
- Sunday 03:00Finance acceptedOpen items, stock, assets and G/L balances for 1910; trial balance tied per ledger; clearing accounts at zero; intercompany with 1710 matched; Dan signs
- Sunday 08:00Migration sign-offLuis and Grace confirm every object decided; conditions listed
- Sunday 10:00Go decisionSponsor decides go with the program evidence, or the fallback plan applies
Keeping the evidence
Store sign-off records with the reconciliation logs, sample selections, validation results, Migration Cockpit message logs and the specification versions, in the program's test management tool or a controlled repository. Auditors reviewing the opening balances, and finance teams answering questions in the first weeks after go-live, will need them. Agree the retention period with finance and internal audit, since migration evidence for financial data often supports the first year-end audit in the new system.
What would you do?
At 03:00 on the Wave 2 go-live Sunday, finance objects for 1910 reconcile except for one supplier's open items, which differ by MXN 11,200 because the legacy ERP and SAP S/4HANA translated three USD invoices at slightly different rates. The difference is understood and within the tolerance the exit criteria allow for translation differences, with a correction procedure agreed in advance. What should Dan do?
- Data owners accept objects; process owners accept domains; the sponsor decides go; the test lead certifies the evidence.
- Record per object: key date, versions, load, reconciliation, validation, open items and decision.
- Conditions need an owner, a deadline and tracking; agree what can never be accepted with conditions.
- Keep sign-off evidence for audit and the first months after go-live.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Who accepts a migrated object on behalf of the business?
2. Which is a valid acceptance condition?
3. What does the test lead do in sign-off?
4. Why keep migration sign-off evidence after go-live?