Optimize your company's financial management and control with SAP FICO
In modern business management, financial and accounting control has a vital role to play in ensuring operational efficiency and compliance with regulations. Integrating a robust system like SAP FICO can be the solution to achieving these goals effectively and sustainably.
In this article, we will cover the features and benefits of SAP FICO, highlighting how this solution can optimize companies' financial and accounting processes. In addition, we will discuss Izertis' role as an SAP partner and how we can help organizations adapt to standards, such as those under the European Digital Operational Resilience Regulation (DORA), which comes into force in January 2025.
What is SAP FICO?
Helping companies make informed financial decisions
SAP FICO (Financial Accounting and Controlling), an essential component of SAP's business management system, is an integrated solution that enables companies to efficiently manage their financial and accounting processes, ensuring compliance with regulations and providing accurate, real-time information for strategic decision-making.
It comprises the Financial Accounting (FI) and Controlling (CO) modules, which work together to provide a holistic and integrated view of an organization's financial and accounting processes:
- Financial Accounting (FI) module: Covers general company accounting, including all financial transactions such as accounts payable and receivable, fixed asset management, bank accounting, reconciliations and financial reporting. It ensures that transactions recording in accordance with accounting principles and regulatory standards.
- Controlling Module (CO): Focuses on managing and controlling costs and performance. It provides tools for planning, budgeting, cost analysis, monitoring cost centers and profitability, controlling results, among others. It helps companies make informed financial decisions and monitor performance in relation to strategic objectives.
Differentiation of SAP FICO compared to SAP Business One
It is relevant to compare SAP FICO with other solutions, such as SAP Business One, because although they are SAP products and share some functionalities, they serve different needs and market segments.
On the one hand, SAP Business One is designed for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), with an integrated solution for managing various aspects of the business, such as finance, sales, purchasing, stock and production, in which its customization is more geared towards quick and easy implementation, with less complexity.
On the other hand, SAP FICO is the option that best meets the needs of large companies. Some of its differentiating elements are:
- A wider range of functionalities and high specialization in accounting and financial control.
- Possibility of being highly customized with detailed configurations and advanced reporting options.
- High scalability, meeting the needs of complex operations.
Complementary solutions to SAP FICO
SAP FICO, as a robust solution for financial and accounting control, benefits considerably from complementarity with other SAP solutions, ensuring integration and interoperability between different systems, such as:
- SAP S/4HANA: the SAP's next generation of business management systems, with an integrated and innovative platform for all business areas, including finance and accounting. With features such as real-time analysis, a simplified user interface and support for digital business processes, it provides a solid foundation for implementing SAP FICO.
- SAP Central Finance: this solution enables the integration of financial data from various sources, including SAP and non-SAP systems, into a single SAP S/4HANA system. Allows companies to consolidate and harmonize their financial operations, providing a single, real-time view of the organization's finances.
- SAP Convergent Charging: this solution is part of SAP Billing and Revenue Innovation Management (BRIM) and is used for pricing and charging management in subscription and consumption environments. With advanced features for configuring pricing models and managing contracts, it is a powerful solution for companies dealing with subscription-based business models.
- SAP Fiori: a User Experience (UX) platform that offers a modern and intuitive user interface for SAP FICO and other SAP applications. With features such as customizable dashboards, simplified navigation and support for mobile devices, it improves usability and productivity for end users.
- SAP Analytics Cloud: offers advanced data analysis and visualization capabilities for SAP FICO. With features such as predictive analysis, collaborative planning and real-time data integration, it helps companies obtain valuable insights from their financial and accounting data.
European Digital Operational Resilience Regulation (DORA)
The DORA will have a significant impact on the whole organisation
DORA, which comes into force in January 2025, is a fundamental initiative to promote resilience in the European financial sector. This regulation aims to ensure the financial organization's preparation to face and recover from adverse situations, such as operational failures or cyberattacks.
An essential aspect of DORA is that it applies to a vast spectrum of organizations in the financial sector, including credit institutions, insurance companies and payment institutions. In addition, suppliers to these organizations will also be affected, as they will have to comply with specific requirements to ensure digital operational resilience.
DORA will significantly impact the entire organization, from governance and regulation to ICT security and incident management. Organizations will be required to adjust their policies, procedures and organizational structures to ensure compliance with the regulation and protect their operations from digital threats.
Financial Management Efficiency and Compliance with Izertis
Izertis stands out among the top SAP Partners with the highest number of certifications in Portugal
With a focus on innovation and delivering value to customers, Izertis is the ideal partner for all digital transformation needs in the SAP context. We are committed to helping organizations adapt to DORA compliance. We offer multiple services, from initial diagnostics to security measures' implementation and digital operational resilience tests.
Izertis stands out among the first SAP Partners with the highest number of certifications in Portugal with a complete set of BusinessObjects certifications. Acknowledge as SAP Recognized Expertise in Business Intelligence in Portugal, it is a leader in providing high quality and efficient SAP solutions.
Contact us to find out how we can help your organization prepare for the challenges of the digital future and boost its competitiveness in the market.