Top 10 Common Interview Questions in SAP S/4HANA FICO

1. What is SAP S/4 HANA and how is it different from ECC ?

SAP S/4HANA is SAP’s next-generation ERP system that stands for SAP Business Suite 4 on HANA. It’s built on the powerful SAP HANA in-memory database, which allows for real-time data processing and simplified data models. It provides a modern user experience through SAP Fiori.

The main differences between SAP S/4 HANA and the older SAP ECC (ERP Central Component) are:

• Database: ECC can run on various databases (Oracle, MS SQL, etc.), but S/4 HANA runs only on SAP HANA.

• Data Model: S/4 HANA uses a simplified data mode - many aggregate and index tables from ECC (like BSID, BSAD) are removed, which improves performance and reduces data footprint.

• User Experience: ECC uses the traditional SAP GUI, while S/4 HANA introduces SAP Fiori, which provides a modern, role-based, and intuitive user interface for easier navigation.

• Functional Changes: Some processes and modules are redesigned in S/4 HANA - for example, New Asset Accounting, Universal Journal (ACDOCA) in Finance, and MRP Live in Logistics. Also, certain transactions and functionalities from ECC are obsolete or merged in S/4 HANA.

• Deployment Options: ECC is mainly on-premise, while S/4 HANA offers cloud, on-premise, and hybrid deployment options, giving customers more flexibility.

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2. What is the purpose of Field Status Group in SAP ?

In SAP the Field Status Group is used to control the appearance and behavior of fields during document entry in financial transactions. It determines whether a field should be required, optional, suppressed, or display-only when users post transactions using a G/L account. Field status groups are assigned to G/L accounts in the company code segment. So, whenever we use that G/L account in any posting, the system refers to the field status group to decide which fields should appear.

For example, if the field status group is set to make the Cost Center a required field, the system will not allow the user to post the transaction without filling it. This helps ensure data consistency and controls the quality of information entered into the system.

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3. What is Automatic Payment Program (APP) in SAP ?

The Automatic Payment Program, commonly known as APP, is a tool in SAP that helps companies automate the process of paying their open invoice - whether to vendors, customers (in case of refunds), or other parties. Instead of processing each payment manually, APP selects due invoices based on defined rules and processes payments in bulk, saving a lot of time and reducing errors.

You configure APP in transaction FBZP and make payments through APP Run with F110.

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4. How is Document Reversed in SAP ?

A document can be reversed using transaction codes like FB08 or F.80, depending on the type of document and scenario. Reversal is usually done to correct a wrong entry - for example, if a journal entry was posted with wrong amount, wrong account, or wrong date.

• The process is pretty straightforward. You enter the original document number, fiscal year, and posting date for the reversal. SAP then creates a new document with opposite debit and credit amounts to nullify the effect of the original entry.

  
  

• There are two main types of reversal in SAP: Reversal with Reason with FB08 or for mass reversals we use F.80, especially for year-end adjustments or bulk corrections.

• One important point is that not all documents can be reversed directly. For example, documents that are already cleared or related to fixed assets might need special handling like resetting the clearing before reversing with FBRA.

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5. What is Business Partner in SAP FICO ?

In SAP S/4 HANA, the concept of Business Partner (BP) is a central master data object that replaces the traditional customer and vendor master records from ECC. It's used to manage customers, vendors, and other parties like employees or contact persons in a single, unified data model.

The idea behind BP is to avoid data duplication and simplify the maintenance of master data. For example, if a company is both your customer and vendor, you don't need to create two separate master records - you can just maintain one Business Partner with multiple roles like Customer and Supplier.

We still create customer and vendor data for financial transactions, but it’s done through the BP transaction (BP), not through XD01 or XK01 like in ECC.

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6. What is the difference between Primary and Secondary Cost Elements ?

Primary and Secondary Cost Elements are both used to record costs in SAP Controlling (CO), but they serve different purposes.

• Primary Cost Elements represent costs that come directly from outside the organization. These are linked with G/L accounts in Financial Accounting (FI). Examples include expenses like salaries, rent, electricity, or raw materials. When a transaction is posted in FI - like a vendor invoice it automatically creates a posting in CO through the Primary Cost Element.

  
  

• Secondary Cost Elements, on the other hand, are used only within CO for internal cost allocation. They don't have a corresponding G/L account in FI. These are used for activities like cost center assessments, internal activity allocations, or settlement of internal orders. For example, if one cost center provides a service to another, we use a Secondary Cost Element to allocate those internal costs.

  
  

7. What is Parallel Accounting and how is it handled in S/4HANA ?

Parallel Accounting is a concept in SAP that allows organizations to maintain multiple sets of books to meet different accounting principles or reporting requirement - like local GAAP, IFRS, or tax regulation - at the same time.

In earlier versions like ECC, this was mainly handled using ledgers and accounts-based or ledger-based approaches. But with SAP S/4 HANA, the system has made it much more streamlined and powerful.

SAP S/4 HANA uses the Universal Journal (table ACDOCA) which allows storing all financial information in a single line item table. To handle Parallel Accounting, S/4 HANA uses Ledger Approach (Ledger-based) as the preferred method.

You can define - Leading Ledger (usually for group reporting like IFRS), and Non-Leading Ledgers (for local GAAP or other standards). Each ledger can have its own posting rules, depreciation areas, currencies, and even valuation methods, making it easy to meet different reporting requirements without duplication of data

8. What is Document Splitting in SAP S/4HANA?

   
   

Document Splitting in SAP S/4HANA is a feature in the New General Ledger that allows financial documents to be split at a more granular level - typically by segments, profit centers, or business areas—so that financial reporting can be done at these levels.

For example, if you post an expense invoice that involves multiple profit centers, document splitting ensures that the debits and credits are automatically split and assigned correctly to each profit center. This way, the system can generate balanced financial statements (like a Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet) for each profit center or segment.

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9. What is the use of the OBYC Transaction ?

The OBYC transaction in SAP is used to configure automatic account determination for inventory and material movements. Basically, whenever you do a goods movement in MM - like goods receipt, goods issue, or transfer postings - SAP needs to know which G/L accounts to post the financial impact. OBYC is where we set up that logic.

In OBYC, we assign G/L accounts based on valuation class, transaction key (like BSX, WRX, GBB, etc.), and account grouping code. So it helps ensure that material-related financial postings are happening correctly and consistently in the background.

For example, when you do a Goods Receipt (GR) for a purchase order, the system automatically posts to the Inventory account and the GR/IR clearing account - the link between the MM and FI modules is maintained through the settings we do in OBYC.

10. What are Special G/L Transactions ?

Special G/L transactions are used to handle business scenarios that are not part of the regular customer/vendor transactions, like down payments, bills of exchange, guarantees, or security deposits.

These transactions are called "special" because they are posted differently than standard transactions – for example, they often use alternative reconciliation accounts and are tracked separately for reporting and audit purposes.

SAP provides predefined Special G/L indicators (like A for down payments, F for bills of exchange), and we can also configure our own if needed. These indicators determine how the transaction is posted, which account is used, and how it's reported.

For instance, if a customer pays in advance before the actual invoice is posted, we record this using a special G/L indicator for a down payment. This keeps the transaction visible in the customer account but separate from normal open items.

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The top 10 questions we've covered offer a strong foundation to help you confidently face interviews and demonstrate your expertise.

If you're looking for more Interview Questions asked in SAP FICO,

check out our SAP FICO Interview Preparation Course - designed to help you crack interviews with confidence and clarity.

Keep practicing, stay updated with the latest in S/4HANA, and always be ready to explain not just the "how," but also the "why" behind SAP processes. Good luck with your journey!

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