Management Accounts works by drawing on the Nominal Ledger transactions, converting that data into drill files, then generating a drill-down structure. The raw data is copied into the Management Accounts module by a program in the End Of Day or alternatively Nominal Ledger transactions can be copied at any stage of the day by running the Copy NL to MA actuals option.
Budgets and forecasts can also be input into the Management Accounts for comparison against the actuals.
To view management accounts:
The MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS menu is displayed.
The Management Accounts form is displayed.
Note: When you select the View Management Accounts option, the data available to view are controlled by the priority level of your password. The System Manager assigns the level of access for each user ID.
The model on the screen can be navigated with the use of the mouse. By clicking on a value in the grid, the next level of analysis for that value is displayed.
Left button double click = to go down a level
Right button click = to go up a level
When a drill plane has no further levels to drill into then if possible, the drill rotates and the second dimension becomes available for analysis. This action can also be performed at any level in the analysis.
PUSH BUTTONS
Up: Displays the analysis of the previous level, for the top analysis key path. This has the opposite effect to drilling down.
Rotate: Causes a display change to the present data. It changes nothing else. Hence the totals do not change in Rotation, just the breakdown and titles against the figures. The rotation changes the analysis displayed from a breakdown by expense code to a breakdown of the same total by cost centre (or vice versa). Once the Management Accounts view has been rotated then these figures can also be drilled down into, until the bottom of the hierarchy is reached. At the lowest level of the Management Accounts drill the system invokes the standard Nominal Ledger Display options with standard functionality.
Begin: Moves the display to the analysis of the opening level.
Sign: Changes the signs of all the values in the display. This is useful if you wishes to change the appearance of graphs. (For example, using true signs, a graph of sales figures points downwards!)
Period: Select the left and right arrow keys to move the period displayed up or down. Alternatively, data for different periods can be viewed by fixing the periods within customised views.
Views: The default view is standard but when inside the model you can define your own personalised views of the data. By right clicking on the Column heading you can Create, Amend, or Delete additional columns of data. The following elements can be edited for each column displayed:
Heading: This is a column heading label.
Content: This defines the data content of the column and differentiates between:
Period- A single period
YTD- Cumulative Year to Date
Quarter- A three month period, either a single quarter or a cumulative (to date)
Rollyear- A rolling year (i.e. last 12 periods)
Fullyear- A full year (i.e. last financial year)
Variance- % difference between two columns
Dataset: This defines the dataset (budget type) to use for the data content of the column. All the available data sets are displayed.
Period: This defines which period the data in the column relates to and differentiates between:
Current
Previous
Next
Fixed
If Fixed is selected, then a period number for the fixed data should also be specified. The data for the period selected will not be incremented for this particular view as the month rolls forward.
Rounding: For presentation purposes, and to allow more columns on the screen, the values can be rounded down to different levels. A choice of radio buttons are available to help make your selection. Click on the radio button rounding value that satisfies your criteria.
Note: When retrieving a saved view, a list of all possible views available to your ID is displayed.
Save: When a particular view of the drill data has been found or created, that you find of use, then it is possible to save this view for future reference. At the time of saving this view then the view must be given a name and the it must be decided whether to make this view Shared or Relative. A Shared check box and a Relative check box are available when saving a view.
The views form is displayed when you click the Views button on the Management Accounts form.
PUSH BUTTONS
Load: Loads a previously saved view.
Save: When a particular view of the drill data has been found or created, that you find of use, then it is possible to save this view for future reference. At the time of saving this view then the view must be given a name and the it must be decided whether to make this view Shared or Relative. A Shared check box and a Relative check box are available when saving a view.
Delete: This presents a list of all available views, allowing you to select the view to be deleted.
Tick boxes
Shared: Save the view with the Shared check box ticked to make this view available to all Management Accounts users.
Relative: Save the view with the Relative check box ticked to make this view available to only the person who saved it.
Management Accounts has the ability to present its data in graphical formats. It is possible to present the information in several different styles.
When in a particular view, you can choose the graphical format for the data display.
By selecting a cell and then double clicking on the figure in the grid a graph is displayed.
RADIO BUTTONS
Last12: Compares the last 12 actual values.
Set12: Compares the last 12 dataset values. If the system has 2 or more years then it is possible to compare a value over two years.
Trend: Allocates the Percentage share for each aspect of the view.
Compare: Set the Compare check box to a tick to allow you to compare data across different years.
RADIO BUTTONS
Share: Graphs the figures in the selected column in a pie chart format showing the respective percentage share values.
Compare: Graphs the figures in the displayed columns in a bar chart format for comparison.
