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The Sign-Off Table

Lesson 2 of 5

Preparation

12 min

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Finance migration only works on clean, closed and consistent data. Everything that is wrong in ECC is copied into SAP S/4HANA, and some problems stop the migration in the middle of the conversion weekend. So the finance workstream does most of its conversion work months before the weekend, in ECC, alongside the technical preparation. Dan, Contoso's finance process owner, owns this list; the migration specialist runs most of it.

Checks: the Simplification Item-Check

SAP delivers the Simplification Item-Check (report /SDF/RC_START_CHECK) to find the simplification items relevant to a system and test its consistency. SAP's conversion guide states that the controlling, general ledger and asset accounting pre-checks are included. Results come back by return code: green (0) is fine, yellow (4) is information that still needs reading, red 7 needs an exemption you confirm, and red 8 or 12 are inconsistencies you must fix. SUM runs the check again at its start and once more just before downtime, and stops if it finds return code 8 or higher at that point. So every finance error has to be cleared in ECC before the weekend, not during it.

  1. Return code 0 (green)?Yes → no action; keep the result as evidence · No → next question
  2. Return code 4 (yellow)?Yes → read it; many describe data or function changes that need follow-up · No → next question
  3. Return code 7?Yes → confirm you understand it and record an exemption · No → next question
  4. Return code 8 or 12?Yes → fix the inconsistency in ECC and re-run that item; SUM will stop otherwise
How to treat Simplification Item-Check results for finance.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-s4t-204

Close and clean

  • Close the period in ECC before conversion, so the migrated data and the before picture describe the same, stable state.
  • Asset accounting: post depreciation for the period, reconcile assets with the general ledger with the standard reconciliation reports (for example RAABST01 and RAABST02) until there is no difference, and keep only the fiscal years open that the conversion guidance allows. A conversion at fiscal year-end also needs the asset year closed.
  • Asset pre-check: SAP has long provided report RASFIN_MIGR_PRECHECK to test prerequisites for new asset accounting; check whether your SI-Check release already covers it and run it in each client if it does not.
  • Ledger and currency set-up: confirm ledgers, accounting principles and depreciation areas fit the new asset accounting rules before the conversion, not after.
  • Open items: clear what should be cleared, such as GR/IR differences, old open supplier and customer items and suspense accounts. Fewer open items means less to reconcile.
  • Business partners: customer vendor integration must be complete in ECC; every customer and supplier needs a business partner before SUM runs.

Inventory and the material ledger

The material ledger is mandatory for inventory valuation in SAP S/4HANA, so the conversion activates it for every valuation area: plants 1710 Detroit, 1720 Chicago and 1810 Toledo. Whether to also activate actual costing is a separate business decision. Preparation is about making sure the stock values the material ledger starts from are right: close the materials management period consistently in every company code (MMPV), run MB5L to compare stock values with the inventory G/L account balances and explain every difference, and analyze the GR/IR clearing account so old differences are cleared or documented rather than migrated.

Preparation streams converge on one test: no SI-Check inconsistencies, then period close and the before picture, and only then SUM.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-s4t-204

Rehearse in a test conversion

SAP recommends converting a development or test system first. Only a converted system gives you access to the finance Customizing steps for migration, such as ledger and asset accounting settings. Changes you make there are collected in transport requests and handed to SUM for the production conversion. At Contoso, the first sandbox conversion of a copy of EP1 is where Dan's team first sees the migration Customizing and its errors.

  1. Months beforeAssessSAP Readiness Check and SI-Check; finance items and consistency errors listed
  2. Months beforeCleanFix red items; clear open items; finish business partner synchronization
  3. Sandbox and mocksRehearseConvert a copy of production; set up migration Customizing and collect transports
  4. Before the weekendClosePeriod close, depreciation, asset and G/L reconciliation, final SI-Check
  5. Friday 18:00Snapshot and lockBefore-picture reports saved; users locked; SUM downtime begins at 23:00
Finance preparation from assessment to the start of the conversion weekend.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-s4t-204

Capture the before picture

The last preparation step is to save the evidence you will compare against. Agree the list with Dan and the auditors early, run it the same way in every mock, and store results where the whole team can find them: trial balance by company code and ledger, open item lists for customers, suppliers and G/L accounts, the asset history sheet by depreciation area, stock value by plant and material, and cost center actuals. SAP also offers Data Transition Validation, a tool in the standard license that compares business reports before and after a conversion; check whether its predelivered content covers your reports.

The last hours in ECC: assets reconciled, the period closed, users locked, and the before picture captured before SUM starts.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-s4t-204

What would you do?

Two weeks before Mock 2, the SI-Check still shows a return code 8 finance item for asset values in company code 1810. The asset accountant suggests leaving it, since 'the migration will sort it out'. What should Dan decide?

Key points
  • The SI-Check includes G/L, CO and asset pre-checks; fix return codes 8 and 12 before SUM.
  • Close the period, reconcile assets to the G/L, clear open items and finish CVI in ECC.
  • Convert a sandbox first to reach the migration Customizing and collect transports.
  • Agree, run and store the before-picture reports the same way in every mock.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. Which SI-Check return codes must be fixed before SUM's last check ahead of downtime?

  2. 2. Why does SAP recommend converting a development or test system first?

  3. 3. What is the purpose of saving trial balances, open items and the asset history sheet before conversion?

  4. 4. Which master data step must be complete in ECC before SUM runs?

  5. 5. Which ECC report compares stock values with the inventory G/L account balances before conversion?