16 Key EPM / NSPB Updates
The Pivot2 team have compiled a list of some of the most useful updates to be included over the last quarter, that could specifically help your business process.
Please reach out for a chat by contacting us here if you would like any further information.
SUMMARY
SMARTVIEW - NEW VERSION AVAILABLE
1 New cell styles for Parent and Child members
2 Create an ad hoc grids based on an imported report
3 Admins can set and export default Smart View options in the Options dialog box
4 Smart View Extensions now downloadable from Firefox
5 Display Member Names and Aliases in Separate Columns in Smart View Ad Hoc Grids
REPORTS
6 Suppress Reports with No Data in Bursting Output
7 Ability to Control Chart Label Positioning by Element in Reports
8 New Pyramid Chart Types in Reports
9 Reports Include Hidden Dimensions when importing or exporting to Excel Ad-Hoc
DASHBOARDS
10 Plot Missing Values as zero in Dashboards 2.0 Charts
FCCS
11 Intercompany Matching Report Enhancements
12 Consolidation Journal Reports available for Users and Viewers
13 Changes to Report Tabs
SECURITY
14 Changes to Access Control Behaviour for admin flexibility
DATA FORMS
15 New Suppression Option for Form-Based Ad Hoc Grids
16 Form Designer allows exclusion of Shared Members
SmartView Updates
ORACLE SMARTVIEW NEW VERSION FOR OFFICE
Oracle Smart View for Office version 22.100 is available for download from My Oracle Support and Oracle Technical Resources (formerly Oracle Technology Network).
The following new features are included in this release:
New cell styles for Parent and Child members
You can now set cell styles for parent and child member cells in forms and ad hoc grids. This is in addition to the existing ability to set cell styles for members.
Business Value
This is especially useful for new users who will be able to clearly view Income Statement and Balance Sheet roll ups to understand the structure of their chart of accounts.
Create an ad hoc grid based on an imported report
Use the Import Formatted Report command (formerly the Open command) to import a fully formatted report onto a sheet. Then, to create an ad hoc grid from the imported report grid or chart, select a cell inside the grid or select the chart image and, in the Reports group in the Smart View ribbon, click Analyze.
Business Value
This functionality allows users to work in a consistent reporting format as a starting point for their ad hoc analysis. This deeper analysis can then be provided to stakeholders in the formal reporting format.
Set and export default Smart View options in the Options dialog box
As a service administrator, you can now configure default Smart View options and roll them out to users installing Oracle Smart View for Office. With this ability, you can ensure consistent application of Smart View configurations across users in your organization.
Business Value
This is extremely useful for new users, setting properties for suppression, particular cell colours, display options for missing data and setting URL’s for access will ensure a initial user experience is enhanced. Also a great way to get consistency of formatting across your team.
Reports
SUPPRESS REPORTS WITH NO DATA IN BURSTING OUTPUT
Previously, if a report with suppression enabled and the POV selection defined in a bursting had #missing data, the report’s results would be included in the bursting definition output. Now, any Reports with suppressed grids are not included in the Bursting output. There is no special setting required, this is the behaviour going forward.
Business Value:
Reducing the final output of the reports to exclude reports with empty data sets will remove unnecessary distractions to the recipients and so they can focus on data sets that really matter to them. Users can build reports, then automatically generate for multiple entities and business units knowing only relevant data for each recipient will be sent, rather than receiving irrelevant zero pages.
ABILITY TO CONTROL CHART LABEL POSITIONING BY ELEMENT IN REPORTS
Previously, you could only set the chart label positioning for all elements in a chart, but not at the chart element level. In this update, you will be able to optionally set the label location for each individual element in the chart. This feature only applies to the bar, line, and combo charts.
Business Value:
The ability to control the placement of the data label is especially handy in charts with many data series or large differences between column sets. Labels can be placed in areas where it make the chart more legible.
NEW PYRAMID CHART TYPES IN REPORTS
A Pyramid Chart is a triangle representation of a data hierarchy. The triangle is divided into sections, illustrating vertically top-down and broad-narrow structures and processes.
usiness Value:
Pyramid charts are useful to show hierarchies, or to display data by size and quantity. It could be used to display entity structures or product sales by volume.
REPORTS INCLUDE HIDDEN DIMENSIONS WHEN IMPORTING OR EXPORTING TO EXCEL AD-HOC
Previously, when importing or exporting a grid to Excel ad-hoc which had hidden dimension row and column headings, the hidden dimensions would get moved to the POV and require users to select and populate manually.
Now, Reports and Smart View will automatically include the hidden dimensions with their appropriate selections.
Business Value:
Users no longer need to fill in the hidden dimension in the ad-hoc grid making analysis more efficient.
Dashboards
PLOT MISSING VALUES AS ZERO IN DASHBOARDS 2.0 CHARTS
Dashboards 2.0 now supports the Plot Missing Values as Zero setting for certain chart types. By default, missing or suppressed data is plotted as zeros. For certain chart types (Area, Bubble, Combination, Line, Radar, and Scatter), you can disable this setting by clearing the Plot Missing Values as Zero option in the chart's settings. When this option is cleared, the missing or suppressed data is ignored and is no longer plotted for those chart types.
Business Value:
If you have a line chart for example you would include missing data if a particular month had no sales as that is relevant across the year, but if you have a horizontal axis of products you may choose to only show those active products that have sales for the month and use the suppress missing to exclude inactive product.
FCCS
INTERCOMPANY MATCHING REPORT ENHANCEMENTS
Intercompany Matching reports help you track intercompany transactions for analysis and auditing purposes. They show matches for entities and intercompany partners. Intercompany Matching reports help you track intercompany transactions for analysis and auditing purposes. They show matches for entities and intercompany partner dimensions that have been set up with the Intercompany attribute enabled.
As part of the latest enhancements, you are now able to select a common parent entity currency rather than the specific reporting currency of the selected entities providing greater ease of analysis if the two entities have differing reporting currencies.
Business Value:
This enhancement provides more flexibility and consistency in analysis for end users.
CONSOLIDATION JOURNAL REPORTS AVAILABLE FOR USERS AND VIEWERS
In addition to Service Administrators and Power Users, the Consolidation Journal Reports tab is now available for users with the User or Viewer role. Users can run journals reports, and Viewers can run journal reports for journals with Posted status.
Business Value:
This enhancement extends access to Consolidation Journal Reports to Users and Viewers.
CHANGES TO REPORT TABS
In the Reports section, the Journals Reports tab has been renamed to Consolidation Journal Reports. In addition, the order of the tabs has changed so that the Consolidation Reports are now grouped together (Consolidation Reports and Consolidation Journal Reports)
Business Value:
Given that FCCS now houses both functionality for FCCS Consolidation Journals as well as Enterprise Journals which can house all manual journals to be posted back into your ERP, the new naming conventions now separates out these two functions.
Security
CHANGES TO ACCESS CONTROL BEHAVIOUR
Access Control now allows Service Administrators to add and remove their own user accounts to and from groups. Previously, this was not allowed.
Business Value:
This change removes additional layers of inefficiency for a system admin so they can quickly and easily update security options.
Data Forms
NEW SUPPRESSION OPTION FOR FORM-BASED AD HOC GRIDS
A new Grid Properties option, "Remove Form Suppressions in Ad Hoc," allows Smart View users to perform ad hoc on forms that have row and column suppression options selected in the form definition.
By selecting the new Remove Form Suppressions in Ad Hoc option, Smart View users can still perform ad hoc analysis on a form that has suppression options specified. If there is missing data on the form, the base dimension members for the columns or rows are displayed on the ad hoc grid in Smart View. This allows Smart View users to continue ad hoc analysis on the form, even though suppression options were enabled in form design.
Note that the Remove Form Suppressions in Ad Hoc option does not override any suppression options you may have set in the Smart View Options dialog, Data Options tab. If the Remove Form Suppressions in Ad Hoc option is enabled for the form, and you see an error when performing ad hoc analysis on the form, then clear the suppression options in Smart View.
Business Value:
This allows users to freely analyse data sets from a form in SmartView ad-hoc grids while adhering to the data suppression rules set in the form. Users can focus on only relevant data and not be distracted by irrelevant data.
FORM DESIGNER ALLOWS EXCLUSION OF SHARED MEMBERS
When designing forms, you can now exclude all instances of a member, from both the base hierarchy and from the alternate hierarchies.
In the Form Designer, when defining members to exclude, a new menu option, Exclude All, is available. Select Exclude All to exclude all instances of a member, both from the base hierarchy and alternate hierarchies. Selecting this option excludes members by name.
The existing option in the Form Designer has been renamed from Add Exclusion to Exclude. The behavior for Exclude has not changed; selecting this option excludes members by ID.
You can select Remove Exclude or Remove Exclude All to remove an exclusion.
Business Value:
The ability to exclude members from all hierarchies gives you more flexibility in form design. This is especially helpful to ensure users are not shown duplicated data and eliminate any confusion.