This document and the information contained herein are company confidential and should not be disclosed or duplicated, in whole or in part, outside Huron Consulting Group, the University of Chicago, or the University of Chicago Medicine.

 

 

1.         Basic Navigation

1.1       Logging into FCCS

1.2       Overview of the Home Page

1.3       Preferences and Settings

2.         Dimensionality

2.1       About Dimensionality and Metadata

2.2       FCCS Dimensions

3.         Translation

3.1       Basic Translation

3.2       Translation of P&L Activity

3.3       Translation of Balance Sheet Activity

3.4       Translation of Balance Sheet at Historical Rates

3.4.1   Using the Override Input Form in FCCS 

3.4.2   Cumulative Translation Adjustment (CTA)

4.         Task Manager

4.1       Overview of Task Manager

4.2       Working within Task Worklist

4.3       Working within Schedule Tasks

4.4       Working with Tasks – Opening and Submitting

5.         Smart View: MS Office Add-In

5.1       Introduction to Smart View

5.2       SmartView Ribbon

5.3       Customizing Smart View Using Options 

5.3.1   Member Options

5.3.2   Data Options

5.3.3   Advanced Options  

5.3.4   Formatting Options 

5.3.5   Cell Styles Tab

5.4       Ad-hoc Analysis

5.4.1   Open Ad-hoc Analysis Grid

5.4.2   Selecting Members for Ad-hoc Analysis

5.4.3   Basic Member Selection

5.4.4   SmartView Ribbon – FCCS Ad hoc Functionality

5.5       Function Builder

5.5.1   Function Formula

6.         Reporting

6.1       Introduction to Web Reporting

6.2       Running a Web Report

 

 

1.1     Logging into FCCS

The following are the relevant URL's for accessing the UChicago's FCCS environment:

TEST:  https://uchicagofccs-test-uchi.epm.us-phoenix-1.ocs.oraclecloud.com/epmcloud

Note: It is recommended to save the URL as a favorite. 

 

1.2     Overview of the Home Page

When users sign into FCCS, the Home page is what will initially display. The Home page provides easy access to features available in FCCS. Depending on a user's assigned role, they may see some or all of the features available.

 

 

 

ALWAYS formally log out when exiting the application.  To log out, select the down arrow next to your name in the top right corner of the page and select Sign Out.  Then select the OK button.

 

The table below lists the various features that can be found on the Home page in FCCS, as well as provides a brief description of their functionality.

 

 

1.3     Preferences and Settings

You can set certain preferences in how the application appears or behaves as you navigate and use its functionality.  To access the User Preferences page, from the main menu select the Tools icon, then User Preferences.

 

Or alternatively, you can also access the User Preferences page by selecting the Navigator icon (three lines that look like a hamburger at the top left-hand side of the screen).  Under the Tools section, find and select User Preferences. 

 

The preferences section can allow users to create preferences for multiple artifacts and notification elements in FCCS.  Below is a general list of settings that can be edited:

 

Below are screen shots of some of the preferences/setting pages.  Remember to always select the Save button after making any changes.  You can make changes to the User Preferences at any time.  The changes should display immediately.

 

The timezone setting is an important preference to change.  Many tasks use the date/time stamp noted in the user preferences, which defaults to GMT.   Also, whether you prefer to see the dimension member "name" (label) or "description" (alias).

 

The display section changes the way data looks in web forms and grids.

 

The Notifications are import if a user will be using Task Manager.  This page can help determine timing of the notifications from Task Manager.

 

 

 

2.1     About Dimensionality and Metadata

FCCS uses Metadata to define and parse stored data.  Metadata is defined as the structural fields of an application that describes an individual data element.  Metadata is essentially "data about data".  Dimensions are the identifiers of an applications metadata, and each dimension describes a specific aspect of a piece of data. Within each dimension are members that further describe details about each individual data point.

 

FCCS has 15 different Dimensions to describe each data amount.  Eleven of those dimensions are system-defined:  Scenario, Year, Period, View, Entity, Account, Intercompany, Consolidation, Currency, Data Source and Movement.  These dimensions come with most FCCS applications.  The last four are Custom dimensions, unique to UChicago.  These are:  Organization Cost Center, Fund, Purpose, and Future.  Below is a sample of FCCS described Dimensions and the data value these dimensions describe.

 

 

 

 

 

The reference points of metadata describe the amount of $ 2,288,204,156.81.  The dimension references in this example would be ENT_600 – UChicago and Ending balance for FCCS_ Total Assets (Total Assets) for June FY23 (June of fiscal year 2023).   Dimensions are used to define what data elements are required when building reports or analyzing data.

 

Members of a dimension are arranged in hierarchies to reflect reporting requirements.  As a consolidation system, FCCS uses these hierarchies to summarize and aggregate data to reflect UChicago's reporting requirements.  Upper-level members are called parent members.  A member immediately below a parent member is referred to as its child.  All members below a parent are referred to as descendants.  The bottom-level members of the hierarchy are called base-level or Level 0 members.  Base-level members represent the point of data input.  Parent members consist of an aggregation, or consolidation, of data from its base members.  Members that exist at the same level are called siblings.

Most hierarchies are populated upon loading data, such as the custom dimensions.  Those populated through calculations, like certain accounts, the Entity dimension, Intercompany, and some members of the Movement dimension, are only populated after running the Consolidation calculation rule.

 

2.2     FCCS Dimensions

In FCCS, there are eleven (11) system-defined dimensions and four (4) custom dimensions:

 

Below are details on each dimension:

 

Scenario: Represents a set of related data, such as Actuals, Budgets, Forecasts, etc. For example, the Actual scenario can contain data from a general ledger, reflecting past and current business operations. The Plan scenario can contain data that reflects the targeted business operations sourced from a Planning tool. Additional scenarios can be used to translate data using a different currency, called a constant currency scenario.  Data is typically copied from an existing scenario, such as Actual to another scenario which has different FX rates defined. In FCCS, multiple scenarios can be defined for an application.

 

View:  The View dimension describes calendar intelligence such as periodic, year-to-date, and quarter-to-date data frequencies. If you set the view to Periodic, the income

statement account values for each month are displayed. If you set the view to year-to-date (YTD) or quarter-to-date (QTD), the cumulative values for the year or quarter are displayed. Balance sheet accounts also use the View dimension to facilitate capturing flows, detailed in the Movement dimension, which represents changes in the balance sheet over a period of time.

 

Year: Represents the fiscal or calendar year for the data. An application can contain data for more than one year.  The UChicago application begins with the fiscal year FY23 and will span over 10 years and end at FY32. Additional years may be added by the administrator after go-live. Historical data will be included to test the application design for Jun FY23 (creates beginning balances) and forward.

 

Period: Represents time periods, such as quarters and months.  The UChicago's application will follow UChicago's fiscal calendar, which starts in July and ends in June with Quarter aggregations that roll into YearTotal. UChicago will not use the 13th period. A unique Data Source member will be used instead to capture any Period 13 adjustments from the cloud ERPs, or any other source system that captures these post-closing adjustments.  See the Data Source dimension section for more details on howPeriod 13 data will be stored.

 

Entity: Represents the various management and legal reporting structures in your organization. Base entities are at the bottom of the organization structure and represent the Accounting Packages. Data is loaded to these base entities. Parent entities contain one or more entities as children and typically represent a reporting requirement, such as segment or management reporting point.  The Entity dimension drives both the consolidation and translation process, with the hierarchy determining how data is aggregated and the Currency of each entity member, base and parent, determining how the data is translated.

 

Consolidation: Provides detail on how FCCS transforms data as it moves through the consolidation process, which is driven mainly by the Entity dimension.  Data populated either from a GL file or Journals is represented in Entity Input.  As the data is ansformed through translation, intercompany elimination or proportional representations, separate members capture the results of each process.  The ultimate sum is then Contribution, which is the amount that aggregates to a child entity's parent.  These results will flow to that parent entity's Entity Consolidation member.

The process then begins again for the next level Entity member, depending on additional transformations needed as the data consolidates to the very top consolidated Entity.

 

 

Intercompany:  Represents balances for transactions that occur between an organization's legal entities or operations. FCCS tracks and eliminates intercompany transaction through accounts defined as "Intercompany" and base entities turned on as "Intercompany partners".  This intersection of Intercompany account and Intercompany partner describes an intercompany transaction.  FCCS matches offsetting balances together automatically during the consolidation process and eliminates balances to specific accounts identified as "plug" accounts.  Reporting can then be done on these plug accounts to review and analyze differences and their source.  For all data that is NOT Intercompany, the data should be loaded and stored in the FCCS_No Intercompany member.

 

For each BASE entity switched on as an Intercompany Partner, a corresponding member is created in the Intercompany Dimension with the same "label" as the original base entity, but with a prefix of ICP_ to make the label unique.

 

Account: Represents an identification that describes the nature of a transaction, such as Cash, Notes Payable, or Payroll Expense.  Accounts store financial data and represent basic reporting requirements.  Each account has an Account Type that defines its accounting behavior as it aggregates, such as Revenue, Expense, Asset, Liability or Equity.  The Saved Assumption account type is used for statistical reporting data that represents UNIT type data and does not need to translate.  The FCCS chart of accounts comes with pre-defined members, called "seeded" members, that all begin with the prefix of "FCCS_".  All accounts represented by the University shared chart of accounts, start with the prefix of "ACT_".  The Oracle seeded members are needed because they are used by out-of-the-box calculations.  Thus the FCCS account structure will use the Oracle seeded members in place of their corresponding University chart members so the University of Chicago's FCCS application can use these essential calculations.

 

The FCCS chart of accounts utilizes built-in financial intelligence that recognizes an expense would subtract from a revenue, or a liability from an expense.  Thus, all of FCCS accounts represent data in REPORTING sign, with all account balances showing as positive unless a contra balance.  This is the opposite of how general ledgers show data, which is in TRIAL BALANCE sign.  Here Assets and Expenses are debits and shown with a positive sign, while Liabilities, Equity and Revenues are credits, and shown with a negative sign.

 

Data Exchange uses mapping to flip the sign of Trial Balance data as the data loads into FCCS. 

 

 

Movement:  The Movement dimension captures the flows of balance sheet changes and is used to facilitate cash flow reporting.  Seeded members (starting with "FCCS_") are automatically defined on application creation, but additional members were added as well to conform with UChicago's Cash Flow reporting.  The Movement dimension works in conjunction with the Account dimension, where the intersection of the two represents different "slices" of balance sheet account rollforwards.   Using this out-of-the-box design provides benefits to set up the Cash Flow process within FCCS quickly, but it can only produce an indirect cash flow.  This is why the rollforward detail for balance sheet accounts, captured in the Movement dimension, is a fundamental element of the FCCS Cash Flow design.

To help provide this key data, as the Period-End data is loaded from each source system to FCCS within Data Exchange, each balance sheet account is targeted to populate a specific Movement member.  For example, all Cash accounts would map to the Cash Change member (FCCS_Mvmts_Cash) within the Movement dimension and all P&L data would populate the movment dimension member FCCS_Mvmts_NetIncome.

 

FCCS automatically calculates the Opening Balance (Closing balance of prior period) and with the periodic month-end data loaded from the source system to the appropriate Movement below FCCS_Mvmts_Subtotal, the sum of these two balances equal the LTD Ending balance.

For more detail on how the Movement dimension creates Cash Flow reporting, see Chapter X on Cash Flow.  Below is the primary Movement dimension hierarchy.  Parent members that represent an aggregation of child members below are bolded with an explanation for the main members.

 

FCCS_Movements - Represents the YTD/LTD Ending Balance

 

FCCS_ClosingBalance – Same as FCCS_Movements (there should be no financial data input or loaded to FCCS_No Movement)

 

FCCS_OpeningBalance – Calculated out-of-the-box based on the prior period Closing Balance.  This is different depending on the VIEW dimension selection:

            FCCS_Periodic:  Opening Balance is the Closing Balance from the prior month

            FCCS_QTD:  Opening Balance is the Closing Balance from the prior quarter end

            FCCS_YTD:  Opening Balance is the Closing Balance from the prior year end

 

FCCS_Mvmts_Subtotal – This is the sum of all monthly periodic "movements".

 

FCCS_Mvmts_FX_Total – Out-of-the-box calculations that show the FX on the Opening Balance + FX on the Monthly Change (Movement).  This hierarchy also captures where any account's translation is not at EOM Rate, and pushes that to the CTA FX member, and then again to the FCCS_CTA account within the Equity section.  This allows users to track how CTA is calculated and populated in FCCS.

The Movement dimension consists of three separate hierarchies.  The primary hierarchy, discussed above, is the main hierarchy that is used when finalizing month-end data.  The second hierarchy, under FCCS_CashFlow, is created to facilitate the actual Cash Flow report.  This hierarchy shares members with the primary hierarchy, but flips the sign of the data so that is shows it in correct "cash flow"signage, with increases in Assets shown as negatives and increases in Liabilities or Equity as positive.  The third hierarchy calculates the changes in cash, including the FX effect for any data that was translated.

 

Below are the FCCS_Cash Flow reporting hierarchy and the FCCS_CashChange hierarchy.

 

Data Source:  This dimension serves to separate data by its source to create an audit trail of where data in FCCS originated from.  The table below describes the source of data and which Data Source dimension member that data will always populate.

 

In addition to the seeded Data Source members (seeded members always begin with the prefix of "FCCS_"), an additional custom Data Source member was added, D13_Adjustments, to capture data from the ERP Adjustment Ledger.  FCCS_Total Data Source then represents the aggregation of both the GAAP ledger and the adjustment ledger.  An alternate hierarchy, TOTAL_GAAP, then provides reporting on just GAAP ledger data by sharing the members from the primary hierarchy while excluding the member that represents the Adjustment ledger data.

 

Custom Dimensions

 

In addition to 11 predefined dimensions, FCCS can create custom dimensions to reflect business and reporting needs. Custom dimensions are associated with the Account dimension and provide additional detail for accounts. U Chicago will have four custom dimensions. The custom dimensions for UChicago 's FCCS application are:

 

Custom1 – Organization_CostCenter - Identifies the operational or administrative unit. Contains both the Universities Organization rollup AND the Medical Center's Cost Center rollup.  The prefix for University organization members is ORG_.  For the Medical Center's Cost Centers, the prefix is CC_.

 

Custom2 – Fund - Tracks spending restrictions and designations to categorize fund balance.  This should be a balanced dimension.  Members within the Fund dimension begin with the prefix of FUN_.  The Fund dimension, as defined in the ERP,  has more than 17,000 members and is expected to continue to grow.  Due to limitations in accepted custom dimension size by Oracle (Governor Limits), it was decided to summarize this dimension and start the base level with what are actually the first level parents of the full hierarchy, the "D" level parents.  Data Exchange can provide any reporting on what lowest level fund member rolls to these D level parents.

 

Custom3 – Purpose - Used to track the purpose/mission/NA CUBO classification/high-level activity.  The members in this dimension are prefixed with PUR_.

 

Custom 4 – Future - This is set up for future use.  Initially the only member will be the "No Future" member.

 

 

3.1     Basic Translation

FCCS handles multi-currency translation during the consolidation process through use of the Currency dimension. Data stored in the Currency dimension member Entity Currency for a base entity is in the currency defined for that entity (local currency). During consolidation, the child entity's currency is compared to the currency of the parent entity. If the currencies of each are different, then the child entity's data will translate to the parent entity's currency. This translated data is then stored in the Parent Currency member of the Currency dimension. This translation happens automatically during the consolidation process.

 

FCCS uses several methods to translate data and the method used depends mainly on the Account attribute. REVENUE and EXPENSE accounts translate using the Periodic Value method and the Average FX rates. Most ASSET, LIABILITY and EQUITY accounts are translated using the Ending Value method and the Ending FX rates. Certain ASSET, LIABILITY and EQUITY accounts can be also translated using a third method, Historical Translation.

 

3.2     Translation of P&L Activity

FCCS translates P&L accounts by using their monthly periodic activity and multiplies this by the Average FX rate specified for the month. YTD translated data is then the sum of each of these individual monthly translations. An example of this translation is shown below:

 

Note that the last column which represents the YTD USD translated values, is an aggregation of each months Periodic translated values: Aug = Jul + Aug; Sep = Jul + Aug + Sep, Oct = Jul + Aug + Sep + Oct, etc.

 

3.3     Translation of Balance Sheet Activity

 

FCCS translates the majority of Balance Sheet accounts using a layered approach. Because the Balance Sheet accounts in FCCS are linked to the Movements dimension to capture transaction detail required for populating a cash flow statement, the Movements dimension holds the Opening balances, the activity for the balance sheet account by period, and then the Closing balance. Each of these is translated differently.

 

The Opening Balance reflects the translated USD balance from the prior period, depending on the view. For the Periodic View, the Opening Balance equals the Closing Balance from the prior month. For the YTD view, the Opening Balance equals the Closing Balance from the prior year-end. For the QTD view, the Opening Balance equals the Closing Balance from the prior quarter end. Essentially FCCS picks up both the local and the translated USD balances from the appropriate Closing periods and copies those balances to the corresponding Opening Balances.

 

 

The Activity for a period is always translated similar to the P&L activity. Periodic values are translated at the Average Rate, and the sum of each months translated values represents the translated USD YTD values. This data is captured in a relevant Movement dimension member below the parent FCCS_Mvmts_Subtotal.

 

FCCS Calculates the FX on each balance sheet account by splitting the FX effect on the Opening Balance into FCCS_Mvmts_FX_Opening and on the Periodic Change into FCCS_Mvmts_FX_Movement.

 

The sum of the translated Opening plus Activity balances and the translated FX Effect equals the Closing Balance. The Closing Balance ALSO reflects the translation of that YTD (LTD) Ending Balance at the EOM Rate. The translation of the Balance Sheet accounts can then be broken down as follows:

 

Closing Balance = Translated Ending balance. This is the sum of the Opening Balance+Subtotal (changes) and FX. It equals the local closing balance * EOM Rate for the period.

 

Opening Balance = Translated Ending balance from the prior month if Periodic view; Prior YE if YTD view. For the QTD view, the Ending balance from the prior QTR End.

 

Total Movements = Translated local change * Cur Mth's Avg Rate. YTD change is the sum of Jan to the current month periodic values (similar to the P&L).

 

FX on Opening = FCCS_Mvmts_FX_Opening = (FCCS_OpeningBalance * (CM EOMRate – Prior Period EOMRate))

FX on Movement = FCCS_Mvmts_FX_Movement = (FCCS_Mvmts_Subtotal * CM EOMRate) – (FCCS_Mvmts_Subtotal * CM Avg Rate)

 

The Prior Period rate depends on whether you are reviewing the calculation for the Month (rate is prior month), Quarter (then rate is prior qtr end) or YTD (rate is Prior Year End).

 

3.4     Translation of Balance Sheet at Historical Rates

 

Some Balance Sheet accounts require translation at the spot rate on the date of transaction. That spot rate must remain fixed over time, thus it is referred to as an historic rate, while the method to translate using this historic rate is referred to as the Historical Translation Method. FCCS has some difficulty translating at historic rates because one balance can be comprised of multiple historically translated balances, it is often easier to use an override method to translate these. An override amount consists of tracking the underlying detail for the correct translated amount offline and inputting this amount to FCCS to "override" the translation. FCCS allows for two different override methods, an amount override and a rate override. If the override is a rate, FCCS will translate using that historical override rate rather than the Ending FX rate to derive the correct translated balance. If the override is an amount, during translation FCCS will "override" the balance translated using the Ending FX Rate and instead replace it with the override input amount.

 

NOTE: It is important to note that if an account is defined in FCCS with one of the "historical" attributes, any local amounts without an override will get translated using the Average rate.

 

3.4.1  Using the Override Input Form in FCCS

 

The Override method in FCCS is used to facilitate Historical translations. These are typically for balances that are translated at the spot rate on the date of transaction. Because FCCS does not translate using daily rates, a method that allows users to input the correct translated amount is used. Once that amount is input and the Consolidation job run, FCCS will "OVERRIDE" the normal translation and use the amount of the input instead to represent the translated balance.

 

To use the override method in FCCS, accounts that require historical translation should be defined with the Exchange Rate Type of Historical Amount Override. Check with the Application Service Administrator, who can help determine if and what accounts are defined with this Rate Type.

 

Once the accounts are appropriately identified as allowing "overrides" on translation, the seeded web form will allow users to input the USD translated balance. Override input should match exactly the same intersection for all dimensions except Consolidation and Currency.

 

To access the Override Input form, open the Data card.

 

• A list of grids will appear. Find the UChicago USD Amt Override Input grid and select it to open.

• The form will open.

• The accounts that show as rows are all accounts defined with the Exchange Rate Type of "Historical Amount Override". The Dimension selections for Movement, Data Source, Intercompany, Region, Business Segment, and Cost Center should match the same intersections the local data is stored at. You can use Smart View to drill into the data to find these exact intersections or use Data Management to help identify this (the Workbench Grid).
• To change the selections on the POV bar, select the pencil icon. Then make the selections that match those for the local currency data.

 

• Below is a screen shot of the form.

• • The POV bar shows the dimensions that require a user to review and select a member and are represented in blue, indicating a hyper-link that opens the Member Selection box. It is very important to define the dimension intersections for the USD override input to match exactly where the local currency balance resides. Data Exchange or Smart View can be used to determine the locations of these intersections, but the form should show that local currency balance in Column one (1).
  • The rows in the form will show all accounts that are defined for Override Input (assigned the Exchange Rate Type of Historical Amount Override). Currently only the seeded member for Investment in Subs is defined this way. This can be changed as needed.
  • The first column represents the local currency data that requires the historical translation instead of the regular translation.
  • The second column is for the USD historically translated balance that will override the regular translated amount. This will become the new USD translated balance.
  • The third column shows the actual USD translated balance. Before input this will likely be the local currency translated at AVERAGE RATE. After input and the data is consolidated, the amount in Column 2 should equal the amount in Column 3.
• When you have finished input, select the Save button at the top right-hand side of the screen. You will need to run the Consolidation job to see the final results. Once that has finished running, you can select the Refresh button to refresh the data on the screen.

 

3.4.2  Cumulative Translation Adjustment (CTA)

A local currency entity's balance sheet can go from being in balance at local currency, but out of balance after translation. The result of this is due to the different rates applied to certain balance sheet accounts. For most accounts, the EOM Rate for the current month is applied to the Closing balance. But there are exceptions to this. For instance, Equity accounts are typically translated at a historical rate. Beginning Retained Earnings should translate at the PYE rate so that it matches the translated ending balance for the last month of the prior year. Current Year Retained Earnings (Net Income in Retained Earnings) should be the result of a translation of the local balance at Average Rate. The different rates applied to these accounts will cause the balance sheet to no longer balance. To rebalance the balance sheet and capture this FX differential, FCCS automatically calculates the difference, and then populates this to a specific account in the Equity section, FCCS_CTA.

 

The amount in FCCS_CTA can be analyzed by using the Movement dimension. The FX is calculated and populated as a Movement by balance sheet account in the intersection of each account and the Movement member: FCCS_Mvmts_FX_to_CTA. During translation, account balances whose translated values diverge from translation at EOM Rate, are captured in this Movement member. Below is a sample spreadsheet showing how this process works in FCCS:

 

The sum of those differences should be the amount in the FCCS_CTA account. Which cell G32 represents. Col G shows that the Movement dimension member, FX_to_CTA, is also capturing those same amounts. This allows users to drill on this data to analyze the CTA balance.

 

 

4.1     Overview of Task Manager

Task Manager helps to define, execute, and report on the interdependent activities of a reporting period. It provides centralized monitoring of all close process tasks and provides a visible, automated, repeatable system of record for running close process. Tasks are specific activities assigned to users to facilitate a process like month-end close and contained in FCCS within a Schedule.

 

Tasks have due dates, an assignee and a backup (optional) along with other options such as approvers, instructions, parameters (for integrated type tasks) and can specify instructions, require the answering of question(s) or attachments. Users interact with each task assigned to them and SUBMIT the task when done to indicate its completion, which are then captured in reports and dashboards to allow for monitoring of the process.

 

Schedules, as collections of tasks, provide the means to coordinate and monitor the overall progress of all tasks within the Schedule.

 

Users can interact with their assigned tasks in three ways:

1. From a Worklist on the main desktop. This will open the Task Worklist page.
2. From an email notification (if email notification has been turned on)
3. From within the Tasks card, in either the Worklist and Schedule Tasks pages.

 

The Worklist on the main desktop shows the status of tasks for the reporting period. It is important to review the reporting period shown. Each task is part of an overall Schedule, which is assigned a specific reporting period within FCCS. To change the reporting period, select the small down-arrows under the Year and Period to reflect the current reporting period. The Worklist will show you the number of: Late tasks, tasks due today, tasks due within the next 7 days and the total number of open tasks. The "word" next to each number is a link you can select to open the Task card and take you to the entire worklist.

 

You can alternatively navigate to all your assigned tasks by selecting the Tasks card on the main desktop.

 

Within the Tasks screen, to the left are three icons you can use to navigate within Tasks:

1. The first icon is the Worklist. This shows all tasks for a period, regardless of Schedule and also includes Journals.
2. The second icon is the Schedule Tasks. This allows a user to separate viewing tasks not only by Schedule, but with an extensive list of filter possibilities that make this view the easiest to see what tasks need to be worked on.
3. The third icon is Alerts. This can be used by users to alert to roadblocks in completing their tasks, such as system downtime, issues with security, etc.

 

4.2     Working within Task Worklist

There are several ways to filter the list of tasks within the Worklist by selecting either an icon or hyperlink:

• To see only those tasks assigned to you, select the small person icon next to the filter icon.

• You can see all tasks due for a particular reporting period, such as Mar FY24, by selecting a Year or Period. To select a particular Year or Period member, select the required member in the member list to the right. It should then appear in the Selected section to the left. The previous selection will remain in the Selected section. You can select the member to remove it, and it will disappear from the Selected section.

• You can filter on Due to see those tasks that are due today, in the next seven days or those tasks that are late.

• You can filter on Source to see specific types of tasks, although currently this filters on a broader range of tasks, such as Journals, forms, etc. To see all tasks defined within a Task Manager Schedule, either Schedule Tasks can be selected, or the selection can be left at All.

• You can filter on Status to see only tasks that are Closed, Open or Pending.

• The list of tasks viewed can also be sorted. To change the sorting of tasks shown, to the far right, select the small down arrow next to Type (the default choice) and select the sort choice you prefer.

• To open a task, select the Task Name. It will open the task details page.

• Finally, a graph will display to the far right showing a high-level graph with the status of all the tasks.

 

4.3     Working within Schedule Tasks

The Schedule Task page has more filters to allow users more options to view the tasks they want to work with or see.

 

• The first filter is the small filter icon to the right of the View selection box. Use this to toggle back and forth to show the filter section (Schedule and Add a Filter) or not show it.

• The Schedule filter allows you to only see tasks from a specific Schedule or from multiple Schedules. Select the Schedule names to move the selections to the Selected column.

• You can also add specific filters from a pre-created list. This filter provides lots of options for how to view the list of tasks.

• To open a task from the list, select the Task Name.

 

4.4     Working with Tasks – Opening and Submitting

 

The Task details will show the timing of the task, priority and any comments, questions, attributes and alerts assigned. As a user, you will complete the task as required. If questions are needed to be answered, you will see a number above the Questions column, but can also see this on the right-hand side of the screen in the task icons to the left. Any questions that must be answered will appear with a yellow triangle within the Questions icon.

 

Select the Questions icon and answer any questions shown. Most have a drop-down box that require a Yes/No response, but sometimes can ask you to provide information.

 

 

• Once you have completed the task and successfully answered any questions, you can select Submit Task to finalize the task.

• If you try to Submit Task before answering any required questions or other actions, you will receive the message below:

• If all required steps such as questions have been answered, a message will notify you the task will be closed. Select the Yes button.

Note: If for any reason you need to re-open it, contact your FCCS Administrator

The details for your task will now update to let you know it has been submitted and successfully closed.

 

• When the task is successfully submitted, it will note the status with a green circle with a white checkmark within it. 

 

 

5.1     Introduction to Smart View

Smart View is a Microsoft Office plug-in where you can view, import, manipulate, distribute and share data from FCCS in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint interfaces. Smart View benefits include:

• A familiar Microsoft Office interface to view and analyze data
• Methods for users to create multiple Ad Hoc reports to provide additional analysis or detail not found in pre-built reports
• Sharing of relevant spreadsheets quickly and efficiently among users
• Ability to import documents from Financial Reporting
• Shared Connections and Private Connection

 

5.2     SmartView Ribbon

The SmartView Ribbon displays all of the necessary features to connect UChicago's Oracle applications to Excel.

 

5.3     Customizing Smart View Using Options

Options allow the user to customize the Smart View report for specific needs related to formatting, navigation, the hierarchy and display. Access Options from the Smart View tab to view all sub menu option items. Options include: 

 

5.3.1  Member Options

 

 

5.3.2  Data Options

 

 

5.3.3  Advanced Options

 

5.3.4  Formatting Options

 

5.3.5  Cell Styles Tab

 

5.3.5.1.        Setting Cell Styles

Smart View data source providers each have a set of default cell styles to identify cell types. For example, Planning designates dirty cells by a yellow background and read-only cells by a gray background. You can modify default styles in Smart View change cell styles by selecting different fonts, background colors, or border colors.

• Expand the list and select a member or data cell.
• Select Properties and select Font, Background, or Border to modify the cell style.
• Check the box to enable the style.
• Style will only come into effect after a Refresh.
• To revert cell styles to the default styles of the connected Smart View provider, Select Default Styles.

Note: The Use Excel Formatting option overrides all style options set in the Cell Styles tab of the Options dialog box.

 

5.3.5.2.        Cell Style Precedence

Cells can be associated with more than one style; you can specify the order in which styles are applied in such cells. To see a child member style, turn off the parent member style. To see a shared member style, turn off both parent and child member styles.

To change the order of precedence for member and data cell styles, select the member or data cell and then select Move Up or Move Down to give higher or lower precedence, respectively, to the style for that cell type.

 

Note: To reverse cell precedence of cell styles to their defaults, select Default Styles.

 

5.4     Ad-hoc Analysis

In ad hoc analysis, use Smart View functionality with Excel spreadsheets to retrieve and analyze data by selecting members, using functions, and performing a variety of operations, including formatting, to design your reports. Ad Hoc grids are used to analyze data from a data source. Creating an ad hoc query enables data to be viewed for specific dimensions from FCCS without writing spreadsheet functions.

 

Use the Ad Hoc Analysis tool to:

• Create a data grid
• Zoom in and out within a dimension
• Change the POV as needed to satisfy analytical needs

 

5.4.1  Open Ad-hoc Analysis Grid

After logging into the SmartView connection, ensure that your connection is active. From the SmartView ribbon, select on the Connections box, then Active Connections, and finally your connection name. This will activate the connection. A new SmartView ribbon will open, FCCS Ad hoc and you will see a check mark next to your connection name.

 

Once you have connected and activated the connection within your current spreadsheet, there are two options to create a new Ad-hoc Analysis grid:

 

• Open a default grid by placing your pointer in cell A1 and then selecting Refresh. Default grids have Accounts and Entity in the rows and Year and Period in the columns. The new default smart view grid will also have the rest of the dimensions in the first row, which represents the grid point of view.

• Or Choose Ad Hoc Analysis from the bottom menu options of the Smart View Panel.

 

 

5.4.2  Selecting Members for Ad-hoc Analysis

Once users have moved dimensions to the appropriate areas of the form, they will need to start defining the details for each dimension. Use the Member Selection dialog box to view options to manage dimension members. Users can filter the list of members and they can view labels or descriptions for dimension members. Users can select a maximum of 1,000 members for the ad hoc POV. Users can also search for dimension members.

 

• Highlight the dimension in the row or column to select the member and then select Member Selection.

• If the member is in the POV, then highlight the dimension and select the down arrow to select the ellipses (…)

 

5.4.3  Basic Member Selection

To select members for the Point of View (POV):

• Select the Dimension Name in the right side and use the the blue arrow pointing towards the left of the window to remove it.
• Expand the outline (select the + icon) and check the boxes next to the members needed in the Smart View analysis
• Select the blue arrow pointing towards the right side of the window to bring the selected member(s) from the left to the right side.
• Once the selection is made, users can order the members with the arrow if needed.
• Select OK when finished.

 

To select members for the rows and/or columns,

• Select the cell in the row or column containing a member to be changed.
• From the FCCS Ad Hoc ribbon, select Member Selection.
• Follow similar process noted above for adding members in the POV.
• For the selection of multiple members, check the two boxes at the bottom to be sure it shows the direction you want to copy those members to: down as rows or across in columns.
• Dimension members in the rows and columns can also be manually typed if a user knows the exact syntax for the member label.
• Select OK.

• Users can also filter members by relationship. Select the down arrow beside the Relationships Filter (small filter icon) at the top of the window.

 

5.4.4  SmartView Ribbon – FCCS Ad hoc Functionality

After Hyperion Smart View for Office is installed, the Hyperion Smart View toolbar is displayed in Excel automatically. Once an active connection to the database is established, the FCCS Ad Hoc tab will appear.

 

Below is a table explaining the functions contained within the FCCS Ad hoc tab that allow a user to manipulate an ad hoc query to facilitate reporting and analysis.

 

5.4.4.1.        Zoom in and Zoom Out

You can drill down to various levels of data in the grid by expanding the members. When you zoom in on a member, it is expanded according to the options specified in the Options dialog box. If you select the option to zoom in on all levels, the grid displays all descendants of the selected member. The default zoom option is to zoom in to the next level, which will retrieve data for the children of the selected member.

 

To zoom in on a member, highlight the member and go to SmartView > Zoom In or icon shown on the ribbon. You can also zoom in by double-clicking your left mouse button, but that is a setting in Options.

 

           

Users can drill back up to higher levels of data in the grid by collapsing, or zooming out to, parent level dimension members.  Zoom out will always go up one level.

 

To zoom out on a member, highlight the member and go to SmartView > Zoom Out or icon on the ribbon. You can also zoom in by double-clicking your right mouse button.

 

5.4.4.2.        Pivot

Pivoting will change the orientation of the data on the worksheet. You can move dimensions between rows and columns and move dimensions in and out of the grid. When you move between rows and columns, the system moves the selected dimension to the outermost row or column on the opposite axis. For example, when you select a dimension in the column area to Pivot, the system moves the dimension to the far-left side of the grid, and when you select a dimension in the row area to Pivot, the system moves the dimension to the top of the grid.

 

To Pivot, highlight the cell with the dimension and go to SmartView > Pivot or icon on the ribbon. All members associated with that dimension will moved, as well.

You can also select to pivot a dimension out of the grid to the POV. Before you remove a dimension from a grid, you must make sure there is at least one dimension left for that area in the grid.

 

To Pivot to POV, highlight the cell with the dimension and go to SmartView > Pivot to POV. All members of that dimension will be moved into the POV, as well. You will see members originally in the grid listed in the drop-down box.

 

5.4.4.3.        Keep Only/Remove Only

When you select Keep Only, the system keeps only the selected member(s) (the active cell) or member range within the grid. All unselected members are removed from the worksheet for that dimension. The options that you select for member retention also affect the behavior of the Keep Only option.

 

You can select single member, use Ctrl to select multiple members, or highlight a range and go to SmartView > Keep Only or icon on the ribbon. Or you can simply just delete the member(s) and associated data from the grid.

 

You can also modify the ad hoc grid by removing dimension members from the grid. When you select Remove Only, the system removes the selected member(s) (the active cell) and data or member range and data from the worksheet for that dimension. All unselected members are retained in the worksheet. You can select single member, use Ctrl to select multiple members, or highlight a range and go to SmartView > Remove Only or icon on the ribbon. Or you can simply just delete the member(s) and associated data from the grid.

Note: If you delete members from a grid using the Delete key (not using the Remove Only command), you must also delete the corresponding data points; otherwise, when you refresh the grid, the remaining cells are treated as comments.

 

5.4.4.4.        Refresh

You can refresh the grid at any time to retrieve data from the connected data source into the active worksheet.  Refreshing the grid also helps you to determine if you are pulling the correct data. For example, after you change the Point of View, you can refresh the grid to see the changes. If you want to save the Point of View settings in a worksheet, you must refresh the settings before you save the worksheet.

 

To refresh the grid, take the following action:

From the FCCS Ad Hoc ribbon, select the Refresh icon         

 

5.4.4.5.        Alternative Drilldown methods

An additional method for drilling down into rows and columns from parent dimension members to lower levels is to simply double-click on a member. The driver of how far down the drill will take a user is dependent on the Member Options set in the Options panel selected. For instance, if the Member Option is set to Next level, then the siblings below the member double-clicked on will appear.  If All Levels is selected, then every level below the parent a user selected will display.

 

Below is a sample of Dimension selections along with pivoting Entity to the column and double-clicking on the top Balance Sheet account to Next Level.

 

5.5     Function Builder

Use Functions to retrieve data from a Microsoft Excel worksheet and save it to a data source, or to send data from a data source to a worksheet. Functions can also be used to display member descriptions and labels and send and retrieve cell text. Below are the most commonly used functions:

 

To analyze data within a spreadsheet, all dimensions must be available for reference or member selection. Members can be hidden for report distribution. If referencing cells, member names must be used; therefore, those rows/columns may be purposefully hidden and referenced by other cells to only show descriptions.

• Set up a blank spreadsheet with all 15 dimensions represented. Below is a sample showing most dimension members defined in column B, rows 1 through 10. These are the items that will not change from row to row or column to column. Items in column B rows 12 – 16 will change as the formula is copied to additional columns. Account is represented in the rows.

• From the Smart View ribbon, select the Functions icon and choose Build Function to display the Function Build Tool.

• The Select Function window will appear. Select the Function to be used. In this example the HsGetValue is selected. The parameters of the HsGetValue Function must then be defined

• Choose the connection name from the Connection field drop down box to connect to the active connection. You can also choose to make the Connection reference a cell containing the Connection name, particularly if multiple people will be using the spreadsheet and they have not named their Connection to the FCCS application the same.

 

• To create a cell reference to the Connection in your worksheet, select the box with the black arrow. The "Select Single Cell Reference" box will display. Select the cell containing the Connection name (in the example this is in cell B1). Then select OK.

• Add the absolute reference symbols (the "$") in front of both the column and row. This will show with the absolute reference symbols initially, but when the HsGetValue full screen displays, the absolute references are removed, requiring they be added back. This ensures as the formula is copied to additional rows and columns, the reference to the Connection does not change.

• Then select the box to the far right of the Member List row.

• Leave the Member selection as is, as this will be changed with member references. Select OK.

• When the Function Arguments for the HsGetValue formula appear, you can then tailor each of the dimension formulas to reference cells within your spreadsheet that represent each dimension.
• You can expand the box by dragging the bottom of the box to make it easier to see all dimension formulas

• Use absolute references to make building the report even faster ($ fixes a column or row reference depending on whether users want the reference to copy and change across or remain the same). This way you can build the formula in one cell, then copy it across or down to other cells rather than building the function for each cell.
• To change the member selections to cell references, clear the member name from each dimension (member name after the # sign). Make sure to leave the double quotes.
• Example for Period:

• For each dimension in the Member List, select the Cell Reference button at the end of the dimension row.

• The HsGetValue dialog box will display.
• From here, select your spreadsheet on the cell that contains the reference for that dimension. For period, select cell B15. The Function builder will then create the reference for you. Select the OK button.
• The reference selector will initially put in the $ to create the absolute reference, but when users select OK to go back to the Function Builder, $ will disappear. You can add it back to the formula where needed. If the reference is correct, you should see the "Member Name" correctly show to the right of the Member Formula row for that Dimension.

• Note that the absolute reference for Period was fixed on the row reference but not the column. This is so that the spreadsheet can be updated with multiple periods across the columns and the formula will follow that and change the cell reference to point to each new column's period label. For those items in rows, the column reference would be fixed, while the row reference would not. For instance, below is the reference for Account which will be defined or the rows so the Column should be fixed with an absolute reference ($), but not the row.

• Whereas for those items that are in one section of the spreadsheet that represents a fixed point of view, the references are both fixed. For instance, Data Source will remain the same for all cells, thus is fixed on the reference in cell B5.

• Go through each dimension on the Member List and edit the cell references as needed. You will notice that to the far right the member for each dimension will appear if the reference is correctly defined. As each dimension is replaced with a cell reference, the result will be shown to the right to assist in checking that the cell reference was correct. Select the OK button when done. Then to pull in the new cell data, select the Refresh icon.

• Once you select OK out of the Formula Function builder, the data cell will show as "#NEED REFRESH". Select the Refresh button and you should see data for that cell.

 

5.5.1  Function Formula

The Function Builder then creates a formula to reference where each dimension member a particular cell should use to define what data to pull from FCCS. You can then add members to your spreadsheet for the rows or columns and then copy the formula to build your spreadsheet out. You can also move dimensions from one place to another, for instance you could move the Entity down to the rows rather than have it in the Point of View section. Be sure that as you move the formula, you review the cell references and any absolute ($) you fix to it so that the reference will change as you expect it to as you copy it. Below is a sample of the final formula. Note that each dimension is specifically referenced and then after each is the cell reference that denotes the member to pull data from.

 

 

6.1     Introduction to Web Reporting

 

use to see data from FCCS. The reports are typically created by someone designated as the Service Administrator, although a designated Power User can create and edit reports as well. This functionality dictates how users see data as the reports are standardized in their format, so it is typically limited to a small group to ensure some degree of control over the process. Most reports can be created to be fairly dynamic using functions built within the tool. This allows for less modifications as the application (and the organization it serves) changes as time goes on.

 

6.2     Running a Web Report

To run web reports:

• From the main FCCS desktop, navigate to the Reports card.
• The first tab, Reports, should display first. This is where the web reports can be found. From the Management Reports folder, select the small dark arrow next to it to expand the folder.

 

General Reports hold reports that have no logo (such as UC or UMC logo) and can be run for any Entity, Period or Year. These reports can be used by anyone.

 

UC Reports holds all the reports for the University reporting.

 

UCM Reports holds all reports created specifically for the Medical Center reporting.

 

To run a report:

 

Select the HTML or PDF icon to the right of the report.

If you have not run any web reports before, the POV may default to Jul of FY23. To change this, select the hyperlinks on the POV to change the Dimension selections.

 

Note: Any dimensions not on the POV are hard-coded either in the Rows or Columns in the report, or in the Point of View. For many reports, the Custom dimension selections should be the same, thus are hard coded to ensure standardization of the reports.

 

 

• When you first click, a menu will appear with a few other choices. If none of these choices match your required selection, select the hyperlink for All Members….

• The Member Selector menu should appear. Select the arrows to the right of Parent level members to drill further. Navigation will be to the right. Once you have found our selection, select the member. You may have to click just to the left of it. Make sure it is indicated with a blue check mark. Select OK.

• The report should render on the screen.

• You can change the POV by selecting the hyperlinks in the POV bar, or from the menu at the right, select one of the choices. For instance you can select the Show POV if in HTML to show the full POV or not. You can also change the format of the report and run it in PDF or Excel.

 

Below is a sample of running the report to Excel.

 

• To close the report, select Close.