WO2002001393A2 - Dynamic enterprise resource planning chart of accounts and methods for implementing the same - Google Patents

Dynamic enterprise resource planning chart of accounts and methods for implementing the same Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2002001393A2
WO2002001393A2 PCT/US2001/020320 US0120320W WO0201393A2 WO 2002001393 A2 WO2002001393 A2 WO 2002001393A2 US 0120320 W US0120320 W US 0120320W WO 0201393 A2 WO0201393 A2 WO 0201393A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
coa
accounts
account
chart
dynamic
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2001/020320
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Eric F. Marsh
Original Assignee
Aristasoft Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
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Publication date
Application filed by Aristasoft Corporation filed Critical Aristasoft Corporation
Priority to AU2001271482A priority Critical patent/AU2001271482A1/en
Publication of WO2002001393A2 publication Critical patent/WO2002001393A2/en

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    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Definitions

  • This invention relates generally to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and, more particularly, to the robust and dynamic organization of accounts in chart format to be used in connection with ERP systems.
  • ERP enterprise resource planning
  • IT information technology
  • LANs local area networks
  • WANs wide area networks
  • Internet connectivity Internet connectivity
  • ERP systems generally integrate all of the an organization's critical applications into an intelligently interconnected system.
  • the ERP system should be capable of assimilating requirements or ideas from customers, and capable of incorporating different technologies including database management systems, operating systems, the Internet, procurement, data warehouses, and networks.
  • ERP systems should be able to integrate numerous types of account data to dynamically update and track the operation of a given business.
  • Figure 1 shows a tree diagram of functions to be tracked by an exemplary ERP system 10.
  • functions include finance 12, distribution 14, manufacturing 16, human resources 18, and payroll 20.
  • the first major function is finance 12, which includes modules of general accounting 22, accounts receivable 24 (A/R), and accounts payable 26 (A/P).
  • the components of general accounting 22 include, in this example, assets 46, liabilities 48, owner's equity 50, revenue 52, cost of goods sold (COGS) 54, and adjustments to COGS 56.
  • the next major function is distribution 14, which contains three modules which are sales orders 28, procurement 30, and inventory 32.
  • Major function manufacturing 16 includes two modules which are data management (PDM) 34 and materials resource planning 36 (MRP).
  • PDM 34 includes two components which are research and development (R&D) 58 and distributions research planning (DRP) 60.
  • MRP 36 includes exemplary sub-accounts work order processing 62 and supply & demand 64.
  • Human resources 18 is another major function and contains two modules which are employees 38 and benefits 40.
  • the final major function is payroll 20 which includes payroll details 42 and taxes 44.
  • the ERP system 10 has as its components numerous types of functions and modules which must be intelligently managed for a particular business enterprise.
  • COA chart of accounts
  • COA chart of accounts
  • different account numbers have more digits than other account numbers.
  • a particular account number could have 6 digits while another account number of the same account type can have 9 digits
  • an accounts receivable account may have a certain generic 6 digit account number such as 140500 while another accounts receivable account could have a 9 digit account number like 14060.100, with the last three digits designating a certain subtype of that account such as accounts receivable from a specific customer. Consequently, confusion can take place when attempting to categorize and organize account types with different numbers of digits in their account numbers.
  • the present invention fills these needs by providing a robust and dynamic organization of accounts in a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with ERP systems.
  • COA chart of accounts
  • the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, computer readable media, or a device. Several inventive embodiments of the present invention are described below.
  • a method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business develops an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated where the infrastructure includes defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions. Then the dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system is generated where the constant numbering system includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system. Legacy accounts of a legacy COA are then mapped to the accounts of the dynamic COA with each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA.
  • a method for using a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed.
  • the method provides a dynamic chart of accounts and then inputs a request for account information for a report into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
  • the dynamic chart of accounts is accessed to retrieve the requested account information.
  • the requested account information is then retrieved by accessing the selected account information from an account database.
  • the report having the requested account information organized in accordance with predefined rules defined by the dynamic chart of accounts is displayed where the displaying is presented by way of an interface rendered by the ERP system.
  • a method for using a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed.
  • a dynamic chart of accounts is provided after which a change of account information is inputted into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Then the dynamic chart of accounts is accessed. The change of account information is then associated with an account within an account database by utilizing a constant numbering system defined by the dynamic chart of accounts. Then the change of account information is written to the account database.
  • a computer readable media having program instructions for generating a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed.
  • an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated is developed where the infrastructure includes defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions.
  • the dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system is generated where the constant numbering system includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system.
  • Legacy accounts of a legacy COA are mapped to the accounts of the dynamic COA with each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA.
  • a computer readable media having program instructions for implementing a dynamic chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business
  • COA dynamic chart of accounts
  • ERP enterprise resource planning
  • a request for account information for a report is inputted into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
  • the dynamic chart of accounts is accessed to retrieve the requested account information.
  • the requested account information is then is retrieved by accessing the selected account information from an account database.
  • the report having the requested account information organized in accordance with predefined rules defined by the dynamic chart of accounts is displayed where the displaying is presented by way of an interface rendered by the ERP system.
  • a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business includes a plurality of account numbers and an account description for each of the plurality of account numbers.
  • the chart of accounts also includes a level of detail for each of the plurality of account numbers and a posting edit code for each of the plurality of account numbers.
  • the plurality of account numbers are organized in a spreadsheet format implementing a constant numbering system which includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system.
  • a method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is provided.
  • the method first develops an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated where the infrastructure includes defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions.
  • the dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system is generated where the constant numbering system includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system.
  • Legacy accounts of a legacy COA are mapped to the accounts of the dynamic COA with each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA.
  • the accounts of the dynamic COA are divided into general account classifications (GAC) with each particular GAC including accounts specific to the particular GAC. h addition, each particular GAC and each specific account follow the constant numbering system.
  • the GAC includes assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provisions for income tax.
  • an organization's account data may be intelligently organized into categories that are flexible and expandable as the organization grows.
  • the intelligent organization of account data is made possible by use of a constant numbering system without exception.
  • This constant numbering system allows organization of accounts by hierarchical levels of detail which permits the easy and powerful management of accounts, hi addition, the dynamic COA permits seamless interfacing to other data handling and presentation programs to allow business executives and analysts to easily, efficiently, and quickly visualize account data in many different ways.
  • Figure 1 shows a tree diagram of data to be tracked by an exemplary ERP system.
  • FIG. 2 shows a flowchart defining an overview of a process for generating and using a chart of accounts (COA) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 3 shows a flowchart defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 4 shows a flowchart defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 5 shows a flowchart defining a level of detail hierarchy for each digit of the five digit of a five digit numbering system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6 shows a flowchart defining mapping of the COA of the legacy system to the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 7 shows a flowchart defining a data mining of information associated with the dynamic COA using the ERP.
  • Figure 8 shows a flowchart defining the developing of an infrastructure for a dynamic COA.
  • Figure 9 shows a pyramid hierarchy describing the level of detail hierarchy in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 10 shows a level 3 chart of accounts (COA) in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 11 shows a level 4 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 12 shows a level 5 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 13 shows a level 6 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 14 shows a level 7 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • an IT solution works with an ERP system to effectively manage and handle the different account types of a business or organization
  • the COA is configured to seamlessly interface with an ERP system, such as One WorldTM available from J.D. EdwardsTM.
  • the COA is configured to be intelligently constructed to transform an organization's legacy account data into intelligently arranged categories that are flexible and expandable as the organization grows. It should be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the COA is flexible enough to be used, with minor modification, with any other ERP system, such as those made by SAPTM, OracleTM, PeoplesoftTM, BaanTM, etc.
  • the organization of the COA enables users to efficiently perform data mining in an organized manner, and also enables fast and efficient report writing without additional programming.
  • the COA enables seamless integration between a company's COA and ERP system.
  • the focus of the present invention is to intelligently organize accounts and seamlessly interface to other data handling and presentation programs.
  • the organization provides end users, such as company executives and officials, with on- demand access to critical company information (e.g., such as that required by specific SEC reporting rules). In the past, such information required extensive preparation by accounting professionals, programmers, and/or consultants.
  • the COA is designed to include specific accounts that are most relevant to a specific industry.
  • the ERP system and the COA will reside on one or more client specific servers which may be housed at an IT service provider such as, for example, Exodus Communications, Inc. of Santa Clara, California.
  • the COA works in concert with the ERP system to increase functionality by allowing the presentation of accounting data in a desired presentation manner, h one example operation, the OneWorldTM program is configured to work with the COA to generate desired accounting data into a desired form. As mentioned above, such form may be dictated by specific government reporting requirements.
  • Figure 2 shows a flowchart 200 defining an overview of a process for generating and using a chart of accounts (COA) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • COA chart of accounts
  • the processes depicted in the flowchart 200 may be in a program instruction form written on any type of computer readable media.
  • the program instructions can be in the form of software code developed using any suitable type of programming language.
  • the process flow of Figure 2 will illustrate an exemplary process whereby a desired report may be generated and displayed by implementing a dynamic COA to handle and organize accounting data that may be derived from a legacy system.
  • an infrastructure is analyzed for a business' s legacy chart of accounts (COA).
  • Operation 202 examines the business 's legacy COA to find accounts and account numbers used by the business within its legacy COA.
  • a COA is generally an account reference chart that shows account numbers associated with certain accounts.
  • a legacy COA is typically a previously maintained COA depicting the business 's account data (accounts and account numbers) in chart format.
  • prior art COAs do not follow any kind of strict numbering system or interrelationship.
  • operation 203 an infrastructure is developed for a dynamic COA by combining accounting standards with multiple previously built COAs to be integrated with the legacy COA.
  • Operation 203 builds an infrastructure for a dynamic COA which can be integrated with the accounts within the legacy COA.
  • operation 203 examines text book accounting principles, SEC reporting formats, previously built industry specific COAs, and combines the accounts derived from those sources to create an infrastructure for a dynamic chart of accounts.
  • the industry specific COAs are previously built COAs that are related to the industry that the business is in. For example, if an infrastructure dynamic COA is being built for an Internet company, previously built COAs relevant to that particular industry will be examined. In this fashion, operation 203 builds an infrastructure that is flexible, specific, relevant, and expandable. Operation 203 will be explained further in reference to Figure 8.
  • a dynamic COA is generated in a spreadsheet format, and the dynamic COA includes accounts for a business while following a constant numbering system without exception.
  • Exemplary dynamic COAs are shown in table A and Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.
  • the process of generating the dynamic COA is described in reference to Figure 3.
  • the accounts within the dynamic COA correspond to the types of accounts used by the business.
  • Table A (shown below) depicts all of the different accounts for a particular business. It should be appreciated that the accounts in Table A are exemplary in nature and any number or type of accounts may be used in a dynamic COA depending on the business requirements and/or specific industry.
  • the accounts of a dynamic COA are organized by a constant numbering system without exception so as to categorize the account types by hierarchical levels of detail (LOD).
  • LOD hierarchical levels of detail
  • the COA generated in operation 204 is dynamic because with each new dynamic COA generation, the COA grows by the addition of new and different accounts not previously contained by the previously built COAs.
  • a previously built industry specific COA may have 100 accounts before a new COA is generated for business A.
  • the legacy COA for business A may contain 5 new accounts not previously contained within the previously built COA. Therefore, when the new dynamic COA is generated for business A by integrating the previously built COAs with the legacy COA, the dynamic COA will contain the 100 accounts (from the previously built COAs) plus the additional 5 new accounts (from the legacy COA). Consequently, when a dynamic COA is generated for business B, the previously built COAs will have 105 accounts.
  • the dynamic COA is dynamic enough to handle the additional account type information. As can be seen, the dynamic COAs are robust and are designed with the ability to continually grow and expand.
  • a name identification is customized for accounts used by the legacy system, and the dynamic COA retains generic accounts for future use as expansion requires.
  • the name of the accounts within a dynamic COA template are changed to match the description of the corresponding accounts (of the same type) within the business legacy COA. For example, if a dynamic COA has an account for "bank-1" and the legacy COA has an account for "bank-SVB", the description of the account within the dynamic COA (i.e. bank-1) will be changed to reflect the description of the legacy COA (ie. bank-SVB).
  • the dynamic COA During operation 206, if certain account types within the dynamic COA template are not used by the business at the time of the dynamic COA generation, the dynamic COA still retains the generic accounts for future use. Therefore, because of its robustness and flexibility, the dynamic COA has the ability to expand with a business as the business increases in size and complexity.
  • operation 208 the COA of the legacy system is mapped to the dynamic COA.
  • Operation 208 copies account data from the legacy COA and associates such data with the accounts and the account numbers of the dynamic COA. This operation allows the dynamic COA to have access to the accounts contained within the legacy COA and creates a way for the easy account data updating and retrieval. Operation 208 is explained further in reference to Figure 6.
  • the method then continues to operation 210 where the dynamic COA contained in the spreadsheet is imported to an ERP solution.
  • the dynamic COA in spreadsheet format seamlessly interfaces with the ERP system so a user through the use of both the ERP system and the dynamic COA can examine, manipulate, and organize the accounts.
  • the dynamic COA in spreadsheet format may be directly manipulated and handled by a business using the ERP solution to customize its accounting organization. It should be understood that the dynamic COA in spreadsheet format may be accessed in a number of ways such as through an ERP system, a spreadsheet program, etc. Exemplary dynamic COAs in spreadsheet format are shown in Table A, and Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. hi one embodiment, the dynamic COA has four columns of account information.
  • the first column states the object account number which is a specific and constant number assigned to certain types of accounts.
  • the second column is the description of the account type corresponding to the object account number.
  • the third column shows the level of detail of the account type shown. The level of detail will be fully explained below in reference to Figure 4.
  • the fourth column shows the posting edit codes (PECs) which are described in more detail with reference to Figure 3.
  • PECs posting edit codes
  • the dynamic COAs may be presented in different formats such as a dynamic COA having more columns of account information, having additional types of account information, etc.
  • operation 212 data mine information is associated with the dynamic COA using the ERP.
  • Operation 212 is explained in detail in reference to Figure 7.
  • data mine info ⁇ nation (information to be added to an account because of a transaction) is incorporated into the account database by use of the dynamic COA through data inputted or modified by way of the ERP system.
  • A/R accounts receivable
  • the ERP system is directed to the accounts to be updated.
  • the robust and dynamic COA assists in easily and powerfully updating accounting information.
  • pre-configuring the mapping of business transactions to their associated accounts greatly reduces the amount of customization needed to set up multiple ERP systems for different companies.
  • a desired report is generated in a desired format using the data mined information using ERP functionality.
  • a report may be generated which includes the updated data mined account information in one of many different formats.
  • a business user may desire a report describing a business's accounts in level 3 detail (broadest account category)(see Figure 9).
  • the accounts in the broadest account category are also known as general account classifications (GAC).
  • GAC general account classifications
  • the ERP system obtains the account data from the database through the use of the dynamic COA and transmits the organized account data in level 3 detail to the business user.
  • a dynamic COA such as one shown in Figure 10 may be used.
  • the GAC are shown which include the account categories assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provision for income tax.
  • a dynamic COA such as one shown in Figure 11 may be used by the ERP system to retrieve level 4 accounts, h this embodiment, level 4 accounts (sub-accounts of one of the GAC) are shown. For example, current assets, long-term investments, property plant & equipment, intangible assets, and other non-current assets are all level 4 accounts which in combination form "assets" which is one of the GAC. In a similar manner, accounts may be shown in level 5, 6, and 7 detail with use of the corresponding dynamic COAs as shown in Figures 12, 13, and 14.
  • the exemplary dynamic COA of Table A multiple levels of detail are used to create hierarchically structured accounts which can be easily classified and organized according to the level of specificity desired as well as following particular rules that are built into the structure of the dynamic COA.
  • any business person would be able to manage accounting data in the macroscopic environment by using, for example, a level 3 dynamic COA, or manage accounting data in the microscopic environment by using, for example, a level 7 dynamic COA.
  • the generated report from the use of the dynamic COA may be utilized for a variety of purposes such as for lOk's, balance sheets, income statements, or any other type of accounting or reporting statement.
  • the method finally moves to operation 216 where the desired report is displayed for an end user, hi operation 216, the desired report generated by operation 214 is displayed to one of many different types of users such as CFOs, controllers, department managers, stockholders, government agencies (e.g., SEC), or the like, hi one embodiment, the end user (e.g., company employees) may be located offsite (e.g., away from the office, at a branch office, or any other location having network access) and may access the desired report, such as one used for SEC filing, on a processing and display program. As mentioned above, one example of a processing and display program may be OneWorldTM.
  • the desired report may be in any variety of formats depending on the business use for the report such as income statements, balance sheets, and the like.
  • the dynamic COA with its constant numbering system may be used to easily manage and handle account data while at the same time being robust and powerful enough to be expanded and customized depending on the needs of a business or organization.
  • Figure 3 shows a flowchart 204 defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • h initial operation 218 a five digit numbering system is defined for a column of numbers of the dynamic COA that is defined in the spreadsheet format.
  • five digit object account numbers are created in the first column of the dynamic COA.
  • the numbering system may utilize any number of digits or characters as long as all types of accounts may be categorized coherently, efficiently, and constantly without exceptions. It should also be realized that the numbering system may be embedding within other digits and/or characters or may be utilized within another numbering scheme.
  • a five digit numbering system as exemplified herein may be embedded within a 25 character field which includes other types of business information.
  • the account numbers may also be presented or formatted in different ways on the spreadsheet such as being organized by rows instead of columns. Operation 218 is discussed in further detail in reference to Figure 4.
  • the method proceeds to operation 220 where the column of numbers is separated into general accounting classifications (GAC) with each of the GAC having the five digit numbering system and a first digit identifying each of the GAC.
  • GAC are major account types that contain all of the accounts for a business.
  • the first digit of the exemplary numbering system ranges from 1 to 9 with each of the different digits representing different major account types (or GAC).
  • Figure 10 shows a level three COA where nine GAC are shown.
  • the first of the GAC, assets is represented by the number 1 in the first digit of the five digit number.
  • the five digits are therefore a predetermined number in this example.
  • the second of the GAC, liabilities is shown by the number 2 in the first digit of the five digit number.
  • the first digits 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the five digit number represent respectively the following of the GAC: stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold, adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provision for income tax.
  • LOD level of detail
  • table A shows an exemplary COA where the first digit of five represents the broadest account type category (GAC) while the fifth digit represents the most specific account type within the account category represented by the first digit.
  • every digit of the object account number 11149 represents a level of detail of the account.
  • the first digit in the object account number 11149 represents that the account is an assets account.
  • the second digit of 11149 represents that the account is a current assets account.
  • the third digit of 11149 represents that the account is a cash and bank deposits account.
  • the fourth digit of 11149 represents that the account is a checking account.
  • the fifth digit of 11149 represents that the account is a checking account-sweep account.
  • each successive digit within the object account number represents a more specific account within the type of account represented by the digit before it.
  • a level 7 account must be a more specific account within (or a sub-account of) a level 6 account which is in turn a more specific account within a level 5 account.
  • the ERP system is able to data mine and retrieve accounting data in an organized and flexible manner, making report definition and database extraction easier to both develop and maintain, h prior art systems, the generation of reports typically requires excessive involvement by consultants and programmers to account for exceptions that are built into the COA.
  • a default name identification is generated for each number in the column of numbers.
  • the default name identification is the description derived from the previously built COAs used to create the infrastructure of the dynamic COA.
  • Posting edit codes are letters which dictate what types of account entries the system will and will not accept.
  • N denotes that the specific account will not accept account entries at all.
  • M shows that the specific account will accept only machine entries, and an entry of "L” illustrates that the account type will only accept account entries with sub-ledgers.
  • An entry of "B” indicates that that the account type will only accept budget entries while an entry of "I” indicates that the account type is inactivated.
  • FIG. 4 shows a flowchart 218 defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Initial operation 228 defines a level of detail (LOD) hierarchy for each digit of the five digits.
  • LOD level of detail
  • the LOD represented by the first digit is the broadest account category and increases in detail with the second, third, fourth, and fifth digits.
  • the second digit represents an account category which is a sub-account of first digit account category.
  • the third digit represents an account category which is a sub- account of the second digit account category and so on.
  • operation 230 the method concludes with operation 230 where a column of numbers are nested according to the LOD hierarchy within each defining category. For example, as can be seen in Figure 11, all accounts that are sub-accounts (account nos. 11000-19000) of assets (account no. 10000) are displayed before another major account is displayed.
  • GAC next major account
  • liabilities i.e., liabilities
  • Figure 5 shows a flowchart 228 defining a level of detail hierarchy for each digit of the five digit of a five digit numbering system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, h initial operation 232, a first digit of the five digits is defined to have a generic level of detail (LOD). The first digit represents one of the GAC of the dynamic COA which is one of the broadest account categories.
  • LOD level of detail
  • the method proceeds to operation 234 where a second digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the first digit.
  • the method then proceeds to operation 236 where a third digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the second digit.
  • the method continues to operation 238 where a fourth digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the third digit.
  • the method concludes with operation 240 where a fifth digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the fourth digit.
  • a level of detail hierarchy can be seen in reference to Figure 3 above with regard to account number 11149. This robust organization of accounts allows for easy account manipulation when information regarding certain levels of accounts must be retrieved by a business during, for example, preparation of an SEC mandated report. It should be understood that such efficient generation is made possible due to the COA structure which follows a defined infrastructure.
  • Figure 6 shows a flowchart 208 defining mapping of the COA of the legacy system to the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • a COA of the legacy system is scanned (manually by a person or by a computer) to identify name identifications associated with a general accounting classifications (GAC).
  • GAC general accounting classifications
  • name identifications are "descriptions" as displayed in one of the column headings in Table A and Figures 10-14.
  • the legacy COA is examined to determine what account descriptions are given to accounts within a GAC.
  • the method proceeds to operation 244 where a number and name identification is copied from the legacy system.
  • h operation 244 the account number and the description of the accounts within the GAC are copied.
  • the method then proceeds to operation 246 where the number and name identification is pasted into a mapping table that associates the number and name identification of the legacy system to specific numbers of the dynamic COA.
  • the account from the legacy COA is associated to a number within the constant numbering system of the dynamic COA.
  • operation 248 determines if there is another number for a current GAC. This operation makes sure that all of the account types and numbers from the legacy COA that is within a certain GAC have been mapped to specific account numbers in the dynamic COA.
  • Operation 252 represents the operation path when another account exists for the current GAC. hi operation 252, the method proceeds to build mapping for the next GAC. After operation 252, the method repeats operations 242, 244, 246, and 248. Operation 250 represents the operation path when no other GAC exists. If operation 250 determines that there is no other GAC then the method terminates.
  • Figure 7 shows a flowchart 212 defining a data mining of information associated with the dynamic COA using the ERP.
  • a business * transaction is processed within the ERP.
  • a business transaction such as paying an invoice, is entered into the ERP system by, for example, an employee of an organization or business.
  • the transaction must have a date, an account number and name, an amount of the transaction, and a description for the transaction to be recorded.
  • the method proceeds to operation 255 where an account from a dynamic COA that is being requested by the ERP system is determined.
  • the specific account within the dynamic COA that is affected by the transaction is found by the ERP system using the dynamic COA.
  • the method then proceeds to operation 256 where the account being requested from the dynamic COA that was imported into the ERP is validated.
  • the method continues to operation 257 where the transaction is recorded against a validated account.
  • the update required by the transaction is processed where certain account entries are changed to reflect the transaction, hi one embodiment, if a customer of a business pays an invoice, the business would need to credit an accounts receivable account (A/R) and debit a cash account, hi this exemplary transaction, the accounts receivable account and the cash account would have to be updated by using the ERP system and the dynamic COA to revise the account data entries.
  • the method then continues to operation 258 where a decision is made whether to process another transaction.
  • the method terminates, but if other transactions exist which have not been processed, the method repeats operations 254, 255, 256, 257, and 258.
  • the dynamic COA allows easy data mining and the retrieval of that data mined information by keeping track of account categories through the constant numbering system.
  • Figure 8 shows a flowchart 203 defining the developing of an infrastructure for a dynamic COA.
  • a legacy COA is provided.
  • a legacy COA is a previously maintained COA depicting the business's account data (through the account numbers and exceptions, and account names) in chart format. If a company is newly formed or does not have a COA, a company could begin recording its original business transactions utilizing the dynamic COA.
  • the method proceeds to operation 264 which searches for a template dynamic COA built inco orating account information of previously built dynamic COAs.
  • the template (or infrastructure) dynamic COA is created from a combination of previously built COAs.
  • the accounts within the previously built COAs are incorporated into the dynamic COA template.
  • the method then proceeds to operation 266 where the template dynamic COA is compared with the legacy COA to ascertain if the template dynamic COA includes each account in the legacy COA.
  • Operation 266 determines whether the template dynamic COA has all of the accounts included within the legacy COA (i.e. all accounts used by the business).
  • the method continues to operation 268 which determines if the template dynamic COA includes each account information of the legacy COA. If the template dynamic COA includes each account information of the legacy COA, the method terminates.
  • the method proceeds to operation 270 where the legacy COA is combined with the template dynamic COA to generate a new dynamic COA.
  • the account information contained by the legacy COA that is not in the dynamic COA template is obtained from the legacy COA and incorporated into the dynamic COA template utilizing the methodology depicted in Figures 2-7. After operation 270, the method terminates.
  • Figure 9 shows a pyramid hierarchy 300 describing the level of detail hierarchy in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the first level of the pyramid hierarchy 300 is level- 1 302 showing the broadest level of detail.
  • Level- 1 302 includes all accounting data related to a particular company.
  • level- 1 302 may refer to one company of many companies in a multi-company conglomerate or some other type of business organization which includes many different companies.
  • the second level of the pyramid hierarchy 300 is level-2 304 showing accounting information for a business unit.
  • Level-2 304 is a more detailed account type within the level-1 302 account category. Examples of level-2 304 are, for example, specialized divisions or departments of a business such as finance, human resources, payroll, manufacturing, distribution, and the like.
  • the third level of the pyramid hierarchy 300 is level-3 306 which shows GAC (i.e., assets) within the level-2 304 business unit.
  • GAC i.e., assets
  • the exemplary numbering system described above in reference to Table A and Figures 10-14 begin with the level-3 306 GAC.
  • the fourth level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-4 308 which depicts a sub-group of GAC (i.e., current assets). Current assets is a more specialized account type within assets.
  • the fifth level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-5 310 which illustrates a sub-group of level-4 308 (i.e., cash and bank deposits). Cash and bank deposits is a more specialized account type included under the broader account type, current assets.
  • the sixth level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-6 312 showing a sub-group of level 5 (i.e., checking account).
  • the checking account is a more detailed account type within the broader account type, cash and bank deposits.
  • the seventh level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-7 314 which shows a sub-group of level 6 (i.e., checking account - SVB, which is a specific type of checking account).
  • the eighth and ninth levels of the pyramid hierarchy are level-8 316 and level-9 318 respectively. Both the eighth and ninth levels are reserved levels which may be used if additional account levels become necessary.
  • the levels of the pyramid hierarchy 300 may represent any type of accounts such as assets, liabilities, revenue, and the like.
  • the pyramid hierarchy 300 shows the coherent organization of accounts which helps the dynamic COA to manage the accounts in an easy but powerful way.
  • Figure 10 shows a level 3 chart of accounts (COA) in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the level 3 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each of the GAC.
  • the level 3 COA in one exemplary embodiment, shows all of the GAC for a particular business as indicated by the object account number.
  • Figure 11 shows a level 4 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the level 4 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC.
  • the level 4 COA shows the GAC which have a level of detail (LOD) 3 and the accounts with a LOD of 4. Therefore, this COA shows all of the GAC and all of the level 4 accounts.
  • LOD level of detail
  • Figure 12 shows a level 5 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • the level 5 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC.
  • the level 5 COA shows the GAC which have an LOD of 3 and the accounts with a level ofdetail (LOD) 4 and 5.
  • LOD level ofdetail
  • Figure 13 shows a level 6 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • the level 6 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC.
  • the level 6 COA shows the GAC with an LOD of 3 and the accounts a LOD of 4, 5, and 6. Therefore, this COA shows all level 3 GAC, all of the level 4 accounts, level 5 accounts, and level 6 accounts.
  • Figure 14 shows a level 7 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • the level 7 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC.
  • PEC posting edit code
  • the level 7 COA shows all of the GAC and all of the accounts for a particular business including level 4, 5, 6, and 7 accounts.
  • Table A For a complete exemplary representation, reference can be made to Table A.
  • the invention may employ various computer-implemented operations involving data stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as producing, identifying, determining, or comparing.
  • the invention also relates to a device or an apparatus for performing these operations.
  • the apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may be a general purpose computer selectively activated or configured by a computer program stored in the computer.
  • various general purpose machines may be used with computer programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required operations.
  • the invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium.
  • the computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD- ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes, and other optical data storage devices.
  • the computer readable medium can also be distributed over a network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Description

DYNAMIC ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING CHART OF ACCOUNTS AND METHODS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SAME by Inventor
Eric F. Marsh
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and, more particularly, to the robust and dynamic organization of accounts in chart format to be used in connection with ERP systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
The growth in computer information technology has spurred the creation of numerous ways to keep track of different types of accounts in a business setting. Within information technology (IT), there are two types of information technology systems. One type of IT support is targeted toward the so called "desktop" enviromnents. This type of IT support includes, for example, setting up and maintaining personal computers, servers computers, and associated local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), Internet connectivity, and related service and infrastructure.
Another type of IT support involves application system support, such as ERP systems. ERP systems generally integrate all of the an organization's critical applications into an intelligently interconnected system. For instance, the ERP system should be capable of assimilating requirements or ideas from customers, and capable of incorporating different technologies including database management systems, operating systems, the Internet, procurement, data warehouses, and networks. Thus, ERP systems should be able to integrate numerous types of account data to dynamically update and track the operation of a given business.
Figure 1 shows a tree diagram of functions to be tracked by an exemplary ERP system 10. Examples of functions include finance 12, distribution 14, manufacturing 16, human resources 18, and payroll 20. The first major function is finance 12, which includes modules of general accounting 22, accounts receivable 24 (A/R), and accounts payable 26 (A/P). The components of general accounting 22 include, in this example, assets 46, liabilities 48, owner's equity 50, revenue 52, cost of goods sold (COGS) 54, and adjustments to COGS 56. The next major function is distribution 14, which contains three modules which are sales orders 28, procurement 30, and inventory 32. Major function manufacturing 16 includes two modules which are data management (PDM) 34 and materials resource planning 36 (MRP). PDM 34 includes two components which are research and development (R&D) 58 and distributions research planning (DRP) 60. MRP 36 includes exemplary sub-accounts work order processing 62 and supply & demand 64. Human resources 18 is another major function and contains two modules which are employees 38 and benefits 40. The final major function is payroll 20 which includes payroll details 42 and taxes 44. From this high level overview, the ERP system 10 has as its components numerous types of functions and modules which must be intelligently managed for a particular business enterprise.
Although new information technologies such as ERPs have provided both larger and smaller enterprises with newer and more powerful ways of tracking different types of accounts, regrettably these technologies also create associated problems and difficulties.
Unfortunately, oftentimes an organization will need to organize, structure, or track different accounts in specific ways as required during data mining (e.g., updating data), report writing at specific fiscal intervals, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report generation, or analytical analysis of the organization's data. For these purposes, a chart of accounts (COA) is often used to record (capture) the financial aspects pertaining to the business transactions of a company. But, with the present types of chart of accounts (COA) maintained by organizations and interfaced with ERP systems, such data retrieval or data updating cannot be conducted without use of business consultants and computer programmers at a high expenditure of time, money and resources. For example, the COAs available today have numerous categories of accounts, which are organized using a company specific numbering system. Unfortunately, in many circumstances account numbers given to certain accounts do not always correspond to the correct account category. Therefore, a specific account number will not strictly define what type of account that specific number is supposed to represent.
This inconsistency is in part governed by the fact that companies try to maintain legacy numbering techniques for the different accounts or the business consultants generate new charts of accounts with exceptions to the numbering system. Although these exceptions handle certain account rectification for a given client desiring to move to an ERP based system, these exceptions have the downside of introducing inconsistent account interrelationships. To remedy this problem, the company that is moving to an ERP based system will be required to spend a significant amount of time with its business consultants and computer programmers to account for each and every exception built into the creation of its custom chart of accounts. Even when such programming is complete, the company users of the ERP system, such as a chief financial officer (CFO), will be required to continually invest in additional business consulting time to generate reports during a given fiscal year. Such report writing is often a complicated task since the report must incorporate certain accounting rules, government guidelines (e.g., such as those dictated by the SEC), and other presentation rules.
Additionally, in certain COAs, different account numbers have more digits than other account numbers. For example, a particular account number could have 6 digits while another account number of the same account type can have 9 digits, h one embodiment, an accounts receivable account may have a certain generic 6 digit account number such as 140500 while another accounts receivable account could have a 9 digit account number like 14060.100, with the last three digits designating a certain subtype of that account such as accounts receivable from a specific customer. Consequently, confusion can take place when attempting to categorize and organize account types with different numbers of digits in their account numbers.
Even when the present COAs have provisions for organizing account numbers by account types, most COAs do not always account for growth or subdivisions of account types. Therefore, when new sections of accounts or new individual accounts are added to a COA, new haphazard account numbers which do not correspond to the correct account types maybe assigned to the new accounts. Therefore, any additions of new accounts to a correctly organized COA can create problems when such additions are not foreseen and accounted for by the COA. As mentioned above, this creates problems later when specific account types or account numbers must be manipulated for a particular business purpose. Once again, time-staking computer programming effort must be expended to handle the account numbers into consistent and correct account type numbers before processing of the account data can be contemplated. This is a manual and static mapping (programming) effort that is not dynamically updated or maintained as new utilizations of the reporting structure are created or developed.
Much of the aforementioned problems with present COAs arise because each COA tends to be rigid and not capable of being reconfigured without high cost. Because these systems are not dynamic or robust, when account numbers must be organized or reorganized into correct account types by programming, an enterprise will have to spend excessive time and money to manipulate its chart of account data. Because these systems are not robust, accounts must be added often.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Broadly speaking, the present invention fills these needs by providing a robust and dynamic organization of accounts in a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with ERP systems. It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, computer readable media, or a device. Several inventive embodiments of the present invention are described below.
In one embodiment, a method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is provided, h this embodiment, the method develops an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated where the infrastructure includes defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions. Then the dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system is generated where the constant numbering system includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system. Legacy accounts of a legacy COA are then mapped to the accounts of the dynamic COA with each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA. hi another embodiment, a method for using a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed. In this embodiment, the method provides a dynamic chart of accounts and then inputs a request for account information for a report into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Then the dynamic chart of accounts is accessed to retrieve the requested account information. The requested account information is then retrieved by accessing the selected account information from an account database. The report having the requested account information organized in accordance with predefined rules defined by the dynamic chart of accounts is displayed where the displaying is presented by way of an interface rendered by the ERP system.
In another embodiment, a method for using a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed. First, a dynamic chart of accounts is provided after which a change of account information is inputted into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Then the dynamic chart of accounts is accessed. The change of account information is then associated with an account within an account database by utilizing a constant numbering system defined by the dynamic chart of accounts. Then the change of account information is written to the account database. hi yet another embodiment, a computer readable media having program instructions for generating a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed. In this embodiment, an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated is developed where the infrastructure includes defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions. The dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system is generated where the constant numbering system includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system. Legacy accounts of a legacy COA are mapped to the accounts of the dynamic COA with each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA.
In another embodiment, a computer readable media having program instructions for implementing a dynamic chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed, h this embodiment, a request for account information for a report is inputted into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Then the dynamic chart of accounts is accessed to retrieve the requested account information. The requested account information is then is retrieved by accessing the selected account information from an account database. The report having the requested account information organized in accordance with predefined rules defined by the dynamic chart of accounts is displayed where the displaying is presented by way of an interface rendered by the ERP system.
In one embodiment, a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is disclosed. The chart of accounts includes a plurality of account numbers and an account description for each of the plurality of account numbers. The chart of accounts also includes a level of detail for each of the plurality of account numbers and a posting edit code for each of the plurality of account numbers. The plurality of account numbers are organized in a spreadsheet format implementing a constant numbering system which includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system. h another embodiment, a method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business is provided. The method first develops an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated where the infrastructure includes defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions. The dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system is generated where the constant numbering system includes each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system. Legacy accounts of a legacy COA are mapped to the accounts of the dynamic COA with each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA. The accounts of the dynamic COA are divided into general account classifications (GAC) with each particular GAC including accounts specific to the particular GAC. h addition, each particular GAC and each specific account follow the constant numbering system. The GAC includes assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provisions for income tax.
The advantages of the present invention are numerous. Most notably, by creating a robust and dynamic chart of accounts (COA) and methods for using the same in connection with ERP systems, an organization's account data may be intelligently organized into categories that are flexible and expandable as the organization grows. The intelligent organization of account data is made possible by use of a constant numbering system without exception. This constant numbering system allows organization of accounts by hierarchical levels of detail which permits the easy and powerful management of accounts, hi addition, the dynamic COA permits seamless interfacing to other data handling and presentation programs to allow business executives and analysts to easily, efficiently, and quickly visualize account data in many different ways.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and like reference numerals designate like structural elements.
Figure 1 shows a tree diagram of data to be tracked by an exemplary ERP system.
Figure 2 shows a flowchart defining an overview of a process for generating and using a chart of accounts (COA) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a flowchart defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 shows a flowchart defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 shows a flowchart defining a level of detail hierarchy for each digit of the five digit of a five digit numbering system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 shows a flowchart defining mapping of the COA of the legacy system to the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 shows a flowchart defining a data mining of information associated with the dynamic COA using the ERP.
Figure 8 shows a flowchart defining the developing of an infrastructure for a dynamic COA.
Figure 9 shows a pyramid hierarchy describing the level of detail hierarchy in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 10 shows a level 3 chart of accounts (COA) in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 11 shows a level 4 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 12 shows a level 5 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 13 shows a level 6 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 14 shows a level 7 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An invention is described for a robust and dynamic chart of accounts (COA) and methods for using the same in connection with ERP systems. It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details, h other instances, well known process operations have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
In order to solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention, an IT solution, works with an ERP system to effectively manage and handle the different account types of a business or organization, hi one embodiment, the COA is configured to seamlessly interface with an ERP system, such as One World™ available from J.D. Edwards™. The COA is configured to be intelligently constructed to transform an organization's legacy account data into intelligently arranged categories that are flexible and expandable as the organization grows. It should be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the COA is flexible enough to be used, with minor modification, with any other ERP system, such as those made by SAP™, Oracle™, Peoplesoft™, Baan™, etc.
The organization of the COA enables users to efficiently perform data mining in an organized manner, and also enables fast and efficient report writing without additional programming. Thus, the COA enables seamless integration between a company's COA and ERP system. The focus of the present invention is to intelligently organize accounts and seamlessly interface to other data handling and presentation programs. The organization provides end users, such as company executives and officials, with on- demand access to critical company information (e.g., such as that required by specific SEC reporting rules). In the past, such information required extensive preparation by accounting professionals, programmers, and/or consultants. In one embodiment, the COA is designed to include specific accounts that are most relevant to a specific industry. One such industry is the emerging growth high-tech industry which requires specific accounts to enable fast an efficient report generation to meet specific reporting requirements, such as those set by the SEC and the like. The generation of the COA is therefore designed to be configured and customized for specific companies in a prompt and cost effective manner. This feature is particularly important to the aforementioned emerging growth companies that desire to transition to more sophisticated ERP systems.
In one embodiment, the ERP system and the COA will reside on one or more client specific servers which may be housed at an IT service provider such as, for example, Exodus Communications, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. The COA works in concert with the ERP system to increase functionality by allowing the presentation of accounting data in a desired presentation manner, h one example operation, the OneWorld™ program is configured to work with the COA to generate desired accounting data into a desired form. As mentioned above, such form may be dictated by specific government reporting requirements.
Figure 2 shows a flowchart 200 defining an overview of a process for generating and using a chart of accounts (COA) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the processes depicted in the flowchart 200 may be in a program instruction form written on any type of computer readable media. For instance, the program instructions can be in the form of software code developed using any suitable type of programming language. For completeness, the process flow of Figure 2 will illustrate an exemplary process whereby a desired report may be generated and displayed by implementing a dynamic COA to handle and organize accounting data that may be derived from a legacy system.
In initial operation 202, an infrastructure is analyzed for a business' s legacy chart of accounts (COA). Operation 202 examines the business 's legacy COA to find accounts and account numbers used by the business within its legacy COA. As defined herein, a COA is generally an account reference chart that shows account numbers associated with certain accounts. A legacy COA is typically a previously maintained COA depicting the business 's account data (accounts and account numbers) in chart format. As mentioned in the background, prior art COAs do not follow any kind of strict numbering system or interrelationship.
After operation 202, the method proceeds to operation 203 where an infrastructure is developed for a dynamic COA by combining accounting standards with multiple previously built COAs to be integrated with the legacy COA. Operation 203 builds an infrastructure for a dynamic COA which can be integrated with the accounts within the legacy COA. In one embodiment, operation 203 examines text book accounting principles, SEC reporting formats, previously built industry specific COAs, and combines the accounts derived from those sources to create an infrastructure for a dynamic chart of accounts. The industry specific COAs are previously built COAs that are related to the industry that the business is in. For example, if an infrastructure dynamic COA is being built for an Internet company, previously built COAs relevant to that particular industry will be examined. In this fashion, operation 203 builds an infrastructure that is flexible, specific, relevant, and expandable. Operation 203 will be explained further in reference to Figure 8.
After operation 203, the method continues to operation 204 where a dynamic COA is generated in a spreadsheet format, and the dynamic COA includes accounts for a business while following a constant numbering system without exception. Exemplary dynamic COAs are shown in table A and Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. The process of generating the dynamic COA is described in reference to Figure 3. The accounts within the dynamic COA (as obtained from previously built COAs and the business's legacy COA through operation 203) correspond to the types of accounts used by the business. For example, Table A (shown below) depicts all of the different accounts for a particular business. It should be appreciated that the accounts in Table A are exemplary in nature and any number or type of accounts may be used in a dynamic COA depending on the business requirements and/or specific industry.
The accounts of a dynamic COA are organized by a constant numbering system without exception so as to categorize the account types by hierarchical levels of detail (LOD). This constant numbering system achieves the organization by assigning categorical meanings to certain digits within an account number. By use of the constant numbering system without exception, all of the account types can be intelligently manipulated and handled to produce various forms of accounting reports.
The COA generated in operation 204 is dynamic because with each new dynamic COA generation, the COA grows by the addition of new and different accounts not previously contained by the previously built COAs. For example, a previously built industry specific COA may have 100 accounts before a new COA is generated for business A. The legacy COA for business A may contain 5 new accounts not previously contained within the previously built COA. Therefore, when the new dynamic COA is generated for business A by integrating the previously built COAs with the legacy COA, the dynamic COA will contain the 100 accounts (from the previously built COAs) plus the additional 5 new accounts (from the legacy COA). Consequently, when a dynamic COA is generated for business B, the previously built COAs will have 105 accounts. In addition, when business A requires addition of a new account, the dynamic COA is dynamic enough to handle the additional account type information. As can be seen, the dynamic COAs are robust and are designed with the ability to continually grow and expand.
The method then proceeds to operation 206 where a name identification is customized for accounts used by the legacy system, and the dynamic COA retains generic accounts for future use as expansion requires. In operation 206, the name of the accounts within a dynamic COA template are changed to match the description of the corresponding accounts (of the same type) within the business legacy COA. For example, if a dynamic COA has an account for "bank-1" and the legacy COA has an account for "bank-SVB", the description of the account within the dynamic COA (i.e. bank-1) will be changed to reflect the description of the legacy COA (ie. bank-SVB). During operation 206, if certain account types within the dynamic COA template are not used by the business at the time of the dynamic COA generation, the dynamic COA still retains the generic accounts for future use. Therefore, because of its robustness and flexibility, the dynamic COA has the ability to expand with a business as the business increases in size and complexity.
After operation 206, the method proceeds to operation 208 where the COA of the legacy system is mapped to the dynamic COA. Operation 208 copies account data from the legacy COA and associates such data with the accounts and the account numbers of the dynamic COA. This operation allows the dynamic COA to have access to the accounts contained within the legacy COA and creates a way for the easy account data updating and retrieval. Operation 208 is explained further in reference to Figure 6.
The method then continues to operation 210 where the dynamic COA contained in the spreadsheet is imported to an ERP solution. In this operation, the dynamic COA in spreadsheet format seamlessly interfaces with the ERP system so a user through the use of both the ERP system and the dynamic COA can examine, manipulate, and organize the accounts. In one embodiment, the dynamic COA in spreadsheet format may be directly manipulated and handled by a business using the ERP solution to customize its accounting organization. It should be understood that the dynamic COA in spreadsheet format may be accessed in a number of ways such as through an ERP system, a spreadsheet program, etc. Exemplary dynamic COAs in spreadsheet format are shown in Table A, and Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. hi one embodiment, the dynamic COA has four columns of account information. The first column states the object account number which is a specific and constant number assigned to certain types of accounts. The second column is the description of the account type corresponding to the object account number. The third column shows the level of detail of the account type shown. The level of detail will be fully explained below in reference to Figure 4. The fourth column shows the posting edit codes (PECs) which are described in more detail with reference to Figure 3. In general the posting edit codes describe what entries may be made to a certain account. It should be appreciated that the dynamic COAs may be presented in different formats such as a dynamic COA having more columns of account information, having additional types of account information, etc.
After operation 210, the method proceeds to operation 212 where data mine information is associated with the dynamic COA using the ERP. Operation 212 is explained in detail in reference to Figure 7. In operation 212, data mine infoπnation (information to be added to an account because of a transaction) is incorporated into the account database by use of the dynamic COA through data inputted or modified by way of the ERP system. In one embodiment, when a new transaction occurs and a business using the ERP system receives payment for a service provided previously, an accounts receivable (A/R) account is credited and a cash account is debited. In this operation, through the use of the constant numbering system in the dynamic COA and the mapping previously discussed, the ERP system is directed to the accounts to be updated. As can be seen, the robust and dynamic COA assists in easily and powerfully updating accounting information. In an alternative embodiment, with a static robust COA, pre-configuring the mapping of business transactions to their associated accounts greatly reduces the amount of customization needed to set up multiple ERP systems for different companies.
The method then proceeds to operation 214 where a desired report is generated in a desired format using the data mined information using ERP functionality. In operation 214, a report may be generated which includes the updated data mined account information in one of many different formats. In one embodiment, a business user may desire a report describing a business's accounts in level 3 detail (broadest account category)(see Figure 9). In the dynamic COA, the accounts in the broadest account category are also known as general account classifications (GAC). In this case, the ERP system obtains the account data from the database through the use of the dynamic COA and transmits the organized account data in level 3 detail to the business user. To retrieve level 3 account data, a dynamic COA such as one shown in Figure 10 may be used. In this exemplary dynamic COA, the GAC are shown which include the account categories assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provision for income tax.
If the user would like to see more specific accounts within one of a GAC, a dynamic COA such as one shown in Figure 11 may be used by the ERP system to retrieve level 4 accounts, h this embodiment, level 4 accounts (sub-accounts of one of the GAC) are shown. For example, current assets, long-term investments, property plant & equipment, intangible assets, and other non-current assets are all level 4 accounts which in combination form "assets" which is one of the GAC. In a similar manner, accounts may be shown in level 5, 6, and 7 detail with use of the corresponding dynamic COAs as shown in Figures 12, 13, and 14.
As can be seen, in the exemplary dynamic COA of Table A, multiple levels of detail are used to create hierarchically structured accounts which can be easily classified and organized according to the level of specificity desired as well as following particular rules that are built into the structure of the dynamic COA. Thus, any business person would be able to manage accounting data in the macroscopic environment by using, for example, a level 3 dynamic COA, or manage accounting data in the microscopic environment by using, for example, a level 7 dynamic COA. The generated report from the use of the dynamic COA may be utilized for a variety of purposes such as for lOk's, balance sheets, income statements, or any other type of accounting or reporting statement. Consequently, the diverse functionality of the present invention makes it so robust that the dynamic COA can be used in a variety of business environments. The method finally moves to operation 216 where the desired report is displayed for an end user, hi operation 216, the desired report generated by operation 214 is displayed to one of many different types of users such as CFOs, controllers, department managers, stockholders, government agencies (e.g., SEC), or the like, hi one embodiment, the end user (e.g., company employees) may be located offsite (e.g., away from the office, at a branch office, or any other location having network access) and may access the desired report, such as one used for SEC filing, on a processing and display program. As mentioned above, one example of a processing and display program may be OneWorld™. It should be appreciated that the desired report may be in any variety of formats depending on the business use for the report such as income statements, balance sheets, and the like. As can be seen, the dynamic COA with its constant numbering system may be used to easily manage and handle account data while at the same time being robust and powerful enough to be expanded and customized depending on the needs of a business or organization.
Figure 3 shows a flowchart 204 defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, h initial operation 218 a five digit numbering system is defined for a column of numbers of the dynamic COA that is defined in the spreadsheet format. In this operation, as can be seen in exemplary Table A and Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, five digit object account numbers are created in the first column of the dynamic COA. It should be appreciated that the numbering system may utilize any number of digits or characters as long as all types of accounts may be categorized coherently, efficiently, and constantly without exceptions. It should also be realized that the numbering system may be embedding within other digits and/or characters or may be utilized within another numbering scheme. For example, a five digit numbering system as exemplified herein may be embedded within a 25 character field which includes other types of business information. The account numbers may also be presented or formatted in different ways on the spreadsheet such as being organized by rows instead of columns. Operation 218 is discussed in further detail in reference to Figure 4.
After operation 218, the method proceeds to operation 220 where the column of numbers is separated into general accounting classifications (GAC) with each of the GAC having the five digit numbering system and a first digit identifying each of the GAC. The GAC are major account types that contain all of the accounts for a business. As can be seen in Table A, and in Figure 10, the first digit of the exemplary numbering system ranges from 1 to 9 with each of the different digits representing different major account types (or GAC). For example, Figure 10 shows a level three COA where nine GAC are shown. The first of the GAC, assets, is represented by the number 1 in the first digit of the five digit number. The five digits are therefore a predetermined number in this example. The second of the GAC, liabilities, is shown by the number 2 in the first digit of the five digit number. As with the previous two examples, the first digits 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the five digit number represent respectively the following of the GAC: stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold, adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provision for income tax.
The method then proceeds to operation 222 where a level of detail (LOD) is associated for each digit of the five digits in a given number selected from the column of numbers with the given number belonging to any one of the GAC. As indicated above, table A shows an exemplary COA where the first digit of five represents the broadest account type category (GAC) while the fifth digit represents the most specific account type within the account category represented by the first digit.
For example, every digit of the object account number 11149 represents a level of detail of the account. The first digit in the object account number 11149 represents that the account is an assets account. The second digit of 11149 represents that the account is a current assets account. The third digit of 11149 represents that the account is a cash and bank deposits account. The fourth digit of 11149 represents that the account is a checking account. The fifth digit of 11149 represents that the account is a checking account-sweep account. As can be seen, each successive digit within the object account number represents a more specific account within the type of account represented by the digit before it. Additionally, in this numbering scheme, one account number is always used for a particular account so the dynamic COA will never have two account numbers with the same name or description, thus being strictly constant. If the legacy COA has for example, two "accounts receivable" accounts with separate account numbers, both of those accounts will be mapped to one dynamic COA account number. Moreover, levels of detail increase in successive numerical steps and do not skip numbers. In one embodiment, a level 7 account must be a more specific account within (or a sub-account of) a level 6 account which is in turn a more specific account within a level 5 account. If a level 5 account exists and no level 6 accounts exist within the level 5 account, there cannot be a level 7 account which is a more specific account of the level 5 account, hi such a case, the next sub-account of level 5 will be assigned a level 6 account number. By rigidly adhering to such an exemplary constant numbering system, the ERP system is able to data mine and retrieve accounting data in an organized and flexible manner, making report definition and database extraction easier to both develop and maintain, h prior art systems, the generation of reports typically requires excessive involvement by consultants and programmers to account for exceptions that are built into the COA.
After operation 222, the method proceeds to operation 224 where a default name identification is generated for each number in the column of numbers. The default name identification is the description derived from the previously built COAs used to create the infrastructure of the dynamic COA.
After operation 224, the method concludes with operation 226 where a posting edit code (PEC) is associated with each given number. Posting edit codes are letters which dictate what types of account entries the system will and will not accept. In one embodiment, an entry of "N" denotes that the specific account will not accept account entries at all. An entry of "M" shows that the specific account will accept only machine entries, and an entry of "L" illustrates that the account type will only accept account entries with sub-ledgers. An entry of "B" indicates that that the account type will only accept budget entries while an entry of "I" indicates that the account type is inactivated. "F's are used once an account has recorded data within the account and the user no longers wishes to utilize that account, therefore, no accounts are labeled "I" in the template. If there is no entry in the PEC column, that account type will accept any type of account entry. For example, none of the GACs will accept account entries because the entries for the GAC accounts are the cumulative amount of their respective specific accounts (or sub-accounts). Figure 4 shows a flowchart 218 defining a generation of the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Initial operation 228 defines a level of detail (LOD) hierarchy for each digit of the five digits. As described above in reference to Figure 3 and below in reference to Figure 5, the LOD represented by the first digit is the broadest account category and increases in detail with the second, third, fourth, and fifth digits. The second digit represents an account category which is a sub-account of first digit account category. The third digit represents an account category which is a sub- account of the second digit account category and so on. After operation 228, the method concludes with operation 230 where a column of numbers are nested according to the LOD hierarchy within each defining category. For example, as can be seen in Figure 11, all accounts that are sub-accounts (account nos. 11000-19000) of assets (account no. 10000) are displayed before another major account is displayed. After all of the assets sub-accounts have been listed, then the next major account (i.e., GAC) such as, for example, liabilities (account no. 20000) is displayed. With this hierarchical organization, account types with certain levels of details can be retrieved easily.
Figure 5 shows a flowchart 228 defining a level of detail hierarchy for each digit of the five digit of a five digit numbering system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, h initial operation 232, a first digit of the five digits is defined to have a generic level of detail (LOD). The first digit represents one of the GAC of the dynamic COA which is one of the broadest account categories. After operation 232, the method proceeds to operation 234 where a second digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the first digit. The method then proceeds to operation 236 where a third digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the second digit. After operation 236, the method continues to operation 238 where a fourth digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the third digit. After operation 238, the method concludes with operation 240 where a fifth digit of the five digits is defined to have a more specific LOD than the fourth digit. One embodiment of the level of detail hierarchy can be seen in reference to Figure 3 above with regard to account number 11149. This robust organization of accounts allows for easy account manipulation when information regarding certain levels of accounts must be retrieved by a business during, for example, preparation of an SEC mandated report. It should be understood that such efficient generation is made possible due to the COA structure which follows a defined infrastructure.
Figure 6 shows a flowchart 208 defining mapping of the COA of the legacy system to the dynamic COA in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In initial operation 242, a COA of the legacy system is scanned (manually by a person or by a computer) to identify name identifications associated with a general accounting classifications (GAC). As discussed above, name identifications are "descriptions" as displayed in one of the column headings in Table A and Figures 10-14. hi operation 242, the legacy COA is examined to determine what account descriptions are given to accounts within a GAC. After operation 242, the method proceeds to operation 244 where a number and name identification is copied from the legacy system. Again, this and other operations of the mapping can be processed manually or in an automated manner, h operation 244, the account number and the description of the accounts within the GAC are copied. The method then proceeds to operation 246 where the number and name identification is pasted into a mapping table that associates the number and name identification of the legacy system to specific numbers of the dynamic COA. In this operation, the account from the legacy COA is associated to a number within the constant numbering system of the dynamic COA. After operation 246, the method continues to operation 248 which determines if there is another number for a current GAC. This operation makes sure that all of the account types and numbers from the legacy COA that is within a certain GAC have been mapped to specific account numbers in the dynamic COA. If there is another account number within the current GAC then the method returns to operation 244 and repeats operations 244, 246, and 248. Operation 252 represents the operation path when another account exists for the current GAC. hi operation 252, the method proceeds to build mapping for the next GAC. After operation 252, the method repeats operations 242, 244, 246, and 248. Operation 250 represents the operation path when no other GAC exists. If operation 250 determines that there is no other GAC then the method terminates.
Figure 7 shows a flowchart 212 defining a data mining of information associated with the dynamic COA using the ERP. h initial operation 254, a business* transaction is processed within the ERP. In this operation, a business transaction, such as paying an invoice, is entered into the ERP system by, for example, an employee of an organization or business. The transaction must have a date, an account number and name, an amount of the transaction, and a description for the transaction to be recorded. After operation 254, the method proceeds to operation 255 where an account from a dynamic COA that is being requested by the ERP system is determined. In this operation, the specific account within the dynamic COA that is affected by the transaction is found by the ERP system using the dynamic COA. The method then proceeds to operation 256 where the account being requested from the dynamic COA that was imported into the ERP is validated. After operation 256, the method continues to operation 257 where the transaction is recorded against a validated account. In this operation, the update required by the transaction is processed where certain account entries are changed to reflect the transaction, hi one embodiment, if a customer of a business pays an invoice, the business would need to credit an accounts receivable account (A/R) and debit a cash account, hi this exemplary transaction, the accounts receivable account and the cash account would have to be updated by using the ERP system and the dynamic COA to revise the account data entries. The method then continues to operation 258 where a decision is made whether to process another transaction. If no other transactions exist then the method terminates, but if other transactions exist which have not been processed, the method repeats operations 254, 255, 256, 257, and 258. As can be seen, the dynamic COA allows easy data mining and the retrieval of that data mined information by keeping track of account categories through the constant numbering system.
Figure 8 shows a flowchart 203 defining the developing of an infrastructure for a dynamic COA. In initial operation 262, a legacy COA is provided. As stated above, a legacy COA is a previously maintained COA depicting the business's account data (through the account numbers and exceptions, and account names) in chart format. If a company is newly formed or does not have a COA, a company could begin recording its original business transactions utilizing the dynamic COA. After operation 262, the method proceeds to operation 264 which searches for a template dynamic COA built inco orating account information of previously built dynamic COAs. As discussed above, the template (or infrastructure) dynamic COA is created from a combination of previously built COAs. Specifically, the accounts within the previously built COAs are incorporated into the dynamic COA template. The method then proceeds to operation 266 where the template dynamic COA is compared with the legacy COA to ascertain if the template dynamic COA includes each account in the legacy COA. Operation 266 determines whether the template dynamic COA has all of the accounts included within the legacy COA (i.e. all accounts used by the business). After operation 266, the method continues to operation 268 which determines if the template dynamic COA includes each account information of the legacy COA. If the template dynamic COA includes each account information of the legacy COA, the method terminates. If the template dynamic COA does include each account information of the legacy COA, the method proceeds to operation 270 where the legacy COA is combined with the template dynamic COA to generate a new dynamic COA. h operation 270, the account information contained by the legacy COA that is not in the dynamic COA template is obtained from the legacy COA and incorporated into the dynamic COA template utilizing the methodology depicted in Figures 2-7. After operation 270, the method terminates.
Figure 9 shows a pyramid hierarchy 300 describing the level of detail hierarchy in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The first level of the pyramid hierarchy 300 is level- 1 302 showing the broadest level of detail. Level- 1 302 includes all accounting data related to a particular company. In one embodiment, level- 1 302 may refer to one company of many companies in a multi-company conglomerate or some other type of business organization which includes many different companies. The second level of the pyramid hierarchy 300 is level-2 304 showing accounting information for a business unit. Level-2 304 is a more detailed account type within the level-1 302 account category. Examples of level-2 304 are, for example, specialized divisions or departments of a business such as finance, human resources, payroll, manufacturing, distribution, and the like. The third level of the pyramid hierarchy 300 is level-3 306 which shows GAC (i.e., assets) within the level-2 304 business unit. The exemplary numbering system described above in reference to Table A and Figures 10-14 begin with the level-3 306 GAC. The fourth level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-4 308 which depicts a sub-group of GAC (i.e., current assets). Current assets is a more specialized account type within assets. The fifth level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-5 310 which illustrates a sub-group of level-4 308 (i.e., cash and bank deposits). Cash and bank deposits is a more specialized account type included under the broader account type, current assets. The sixth level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-6 312 showing a sub-group of level 5 (i.e., checking account). The checking account is a more detailed account type within the broader account type, cash and bank deposits. The seventh level of the pyramid hierarchy is level-7 314 which shows a sub-group of level 6 (i.e., checking account - SVB, which is a specific type of checking account). The eighth and ninth levels of the pyramid hierarchy are level-8 316 and level-9 318 respectively. Both the eighth and ninth levels are reserved levels which may be used if additional account levels become necessary. It should be appreciated that the levels of the pyramid hierarchy 300 may represent any type of accounts such as assets, liabilities, revenue, and the like. The pyramid hierarchy 300 shows the coherent organization of accounts which helps the dynamic COA to manage the accounts in an easy but powerful way.
Figure 10 shows a level 3 chart of accounts (COA) in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the level 3 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each of the GAC. The level 3 COA, in one exemplary embodiment, shows all of the GAC for a particular business as indicated by the object account number.
Figure 11 shows a level 4 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the level 4 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC. The level 4 COA shows the GAC which have a level of detail (LOD) 3 and the accounts with a LOD of 4. Therefore, this COA shows all of the GAC and all of the level 4 accounts.
Figure 12 shows a level 5 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, h this embodiment, the level 5 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC. The level 5 COA shows the GAC which have an LOD of 3 and the accounts with a level ofdetail (LOD) 4 and 5.
Figure 13 shows a level 6 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, h this embodiment, the level 6 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC. The level 6 COA shows the GAC with an LOD of 3 and the accounts a LOD of 4, 5, and 6. Therefore, this COA shows all level 3 GAC, all of the level 4 accounts, level 5 accounts, and level 6 accounts.
Figure 14 shows a level 7 chart of accounts in a spreadsheet format in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, h this embodiment, the level 7 COA contains columns for an object account number, a description of the account, a level of detail of an account, and a posting edit code (PEC) for each account and each of the GAC. In this example, the level 7 COA shows all of the GAC and all of the accounts for a particular business including level 4, 5, 6, and 7 accounts. For a complete exemplary representation, reference can be made to Table A.
Table A
Figure imgf000024_0001
Figure imgf000025_0001
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Figure imgf000027_0001
Figure imgf000028_0001
Figure imgf000029_0001
Figure imgf000030_0001
Figure imgf000031_0001
Figure imgf000032_0001
Figure imgf000033_0001
Figure imgf000034_0001
Figure imgf000035_0001
Figure imgf000036_0001
Figure imgf000037_0001
Figure imgf000038_0001
Figure imgf000039_0001
Figure imgf000040_0001
Figure imgf000041_0001
Figure imgf000042_0001
Figure imgf000043_0001
Figure imgf000044_0001
Figure imgf000045_0001
Figure imgf000046_0001
Figure imgf000047_0001
Figure imgf000048_0001
Figure imgf000049_0001
Figure imgf000050_0001
Figure imgf000051_0001
Figure imgf000052_0001
Figure imgf000053_0001
Figure imgf000054_0001
Figure imgf000055_0001
Figure imgf000056_0001
Figure imgf000057_0001
Figure imgf000058_0001
Figure imgf000059_0001
Figure imgf000060_0001
Figure imgf000061_0001
Figure imgf000062_0001
Figure imgf000063_0001
Figure imgf000064_0001
Figure imgf000065_0001
Figure imgf000066_0001
The invention may employ various computer-implemented operations involving data stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as producing, identifying, determining, or comparing.
Any of the operations described herein that form part of the invention are useful macliine operations. The invention also relates to a device or an apparatus for performing these operations. The apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may be a general purpose computer selectively activated or configured by a computer program stored in the computer. In particular, various general purpose machines may be used with computer programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required operations.
The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD- ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes, and other optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over a network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.
Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.
What is claimed is:

Claims

Claims
1. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business, comprising: developing an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated, the infrastructure including defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions; generating the dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system, the constant numbering system including each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system; and mapping legacy accounts of a legacy COA to the accounts of the dynamic COA, each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA.
2. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 1, further comprising: dividing the accounts of the dynamic COA into general account classifications (GAC), each particular GAC including accounts specific to the particular GAC, and each particular GAC and each specific account following the constant numbering system.
3. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 1, wherein the accounting principles include text book accounting principles, the specific reporting formats include securities and exchange (SEC) reporting formats, and the industry specific account definitions include previously built industry specific COAs.
4. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 3, wherein the developing of the infrastructure includes: incorporating the text book accounting principles; incorporating the SEC reporting formats; referencing the previously built industry specific COAs; and combining information the incorporated text book accounting principles, the SEC reporting formats, the referenced previously built industry specific COAs, and the legacy COA, the combining being configured to develop the infrastructure for the dynamic COA.
5. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the accounts organized in accordance with the constant numbering system is associated with a predefined number of digits, a first digit of the predefined number of digits identifying a general account classification (GAC), and digits following the first digit defining specific levels of detail (LOD) for the dynamic COA.
6. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 1, wherein the mapping of the legacy accounts of the legacy COA includes, identifying an account from the legacy COA; copying the account from the legacy COA, the account from the legacy COA including a custom definition and a legacy account number; identify an account in the dynamic COA to be associated with the copied account; and pasting the copied account in association with the account of the dynamic COA so as to map the account from the legacy COA to the account of the dynamic COA.
7. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 6, further comprising: renaming an account name of the dynamic COA to correspond to a legacy name of the account of the legacy COA.
8. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 5, wherein the GAC includes assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provisions for income tax.
9. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 5, wherein the level of detail increases by successive numbers.
10. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 8, wherein the assets has a number 1 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, the liabilities has a number 2 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, the stockholders' equity has a number 3 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, the revenue has a number 4 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, the cost of goods sold has a number 5 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, the adjustments to COGS has a number 6 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, the operating expenses has a number 7 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, the other income and expenses has a number 8 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits, and the provisions for income has a number 9 as the first digit of the predetermined number of digits.
11. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business, comprising: providing a dynamic chart of accounts; inputting a request for account information for a report into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; accessing the dynamic chart of accounts to retrieve the requested account information; retrieving the requested account information by accessing the selected account information from an account database; and displaying the report having the requested account information organized in accordance with predefined rules defined by the dynamic chart of accounts, the displaying being presented by way of an interface rendered by the ERP system.
12. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 11, wherein each account in the dynamic chart of accounts follows a constant numbering system without exceptions.
13. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 12, wherein the accounts in the dynamic chart of accounts are divided into a plurality of general account classifications (GAC), each of the GAC having accounts specific to GAC.
14. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 11, wherein the dynamic chart of accounts is defined by an infrastructure that includes accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions.
15. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 14, wherein the accounting principles include text book accounting principles, the specific reporting formats include securities and exchange (SEC) reporting formats, and the industry specific account definitions include previously built industry specific COAs.
16. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 14, wherein the infrastructure is developed by: incorporating the text book accounting principles; incorporating the SEC reporting formats; referencing the previously built industry specific COAs; and combining information the incorporated text book accounting principles, the SEC reporting formats, the referenced previously built industry specific COAs, and a legacy COA, the combining being configured to develop the infrastructure for the dynamic COA.
17. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 12, wherein each of the accounts having the constant numbering system is associated with a predefined number of digits, a first digit of the predefined number of digits identifying a general account classification (GAC), and digits following the first digit defining specific levels of detail (LOD) for the dynamic COA.
18. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 17, wherein the GAC includes assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provisions for income tax.
19. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 17, wherein the LOD increases by successive numbers.
20. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 18, wherein the assets has a number 1 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, the liabilities has a number 2 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, the stockholders' equity has a number 3 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, the revenue has a number 4 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, the cost of goods sold has a number 5 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, the adjustments to COGS has a number 6 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, the operating expenses has a number 7 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, the other income and expenses has a number 8 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits, and the provisions for income has a number 9 as a first digit of a predetermined number of digits.
21. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business, comprising: providing a dynamic chart of accounts; inputting a change of account information into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; accessing the dynamic chart of accounts; associating the change of account information with an account within an account database by utilizing a constant numbering system defined by the dynamic chart of accounts; and writing the change of account information to the account database.
22. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 21, wherein each account in the dynamic chart of accounts follows the constant numbering system without exceptions.
23. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 22, wherein the accounts in the dynamic chart of accounts are divided into a plurality of general account classifications (GAC), each of the GAC having accounts specific to GAC.
24. A method for using a chart of accounts (COA) as recited in claim 21, wherein the dynamic chart of accounts is defined by an infrastructure that includes accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions.
25. A chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business, comprising: a plurality of account numbers; an account description for each of the plurality of account numbers; a level of detail for each of the plurality of account numbers; and a posting edit code for each of the plurality of account numbers; wherein the plurality of account numbers are organized in a spreadsheet format implementing a constant numbering system, the constant numbering system including each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system.
26. A chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business as recited in claim 25, wherein each of the plurality of account numbers organized in accordance with the constant numbering system is associated with a predefined number of digits, a first digit of the predefined number of digits identifying a general account classification (GAC), and digits following the first digit defining specific levels of detail (LOD) for the COA.
27. A chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business as recited in claim 26 wherein the GAC includes assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provisions for income tax.
28. A method for generating a chart of accounts (COA) to be used in connection with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a business, comprising: developing an infrastructure for a dynamic COA that is to be generated, the infrastructure including defined accounting principles, specific reporting formats, and industry specific account definitions; generating the dynamic COA having accounts that are organized in accordance with a constant numbering system, the constant numbering system including each account of the COA without exceptions to the constant numbering system; mapping legacy accounts of a legacy COA to the accounts of the dynamic COA, each of the legacy accounts being associated with the accounts of the dynamic COA; and dividing the accounts of the dynamic COA into general account classifications (GAC), each particular GAC including accounts specific to the particular GAC, and each particular GAC and each specific account following the constant numbering system; wherein the GAC includes assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), adjustments to COGS, operating expenses, other income and expenses, and provisions for income tax.
PCT/US2001/020320 2000-06-26 2001-06-25 Dynamic enterprise resource planning chart of accounts and methods for implementing the same WO2002001393A2 (en)

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Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2002056227A1 (en) * 2001-01-16 2002-07-18 Reuters Limited Method and apparatus for a financial database structure
US7120629B1 (en) * 2000-05-24 2006-10-10 Reachforce, Inc. Prospects harvester system for providing contact data about customers of product or service offered by business enterprise extracting text documents selected from newsgroups, discussion forums, mailing lists, querying such data to provide customers who confirm to business profile data
USRE42870E1 (en) 2000-10-04 2011-10-25 Dafineais Protocol Data B.V., Llc Text mining system for web-based business intelligence applied to web site server logs
US10055792B2 (en) 2009-11-04 2018-08-21 Michael Price System and method for automated risk management appraisal

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7120629B1 (en) * 2000-05-24 2006-10-10 Reachforce, Inc. Prospects harvester system for providing contact data about customers of product or service offered by business enterprise extracting text documents selected from newsgroups, discussion forums, mailing lists, querying such data to provide customers who confirm to business profile data
USRE42870E1 (en) 2000-10-04 2011-10-25 Dafineais Protocol Data B.V., Llc Text mining system for web-based business intelligence applied to web site server logs
WO2002056227A1 (en) * 2001-01-16 2002-07-18 Reuters Limited Method and apparatus for a financial database structure
US10055792B2 (en) 2009-11-04 2018-08-21 Michael Price System and method for automated risk management appraisal
US10810678B2 (en) 2009-11-04 2020-10-20 Michael Price System and method for automated risk management appraisal

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