OracleHyperionFinancialManagement(HFM)BasicscomparedtoSAP

BPC
Inthisinsight,wetrytodoasidebysidecomparisonofthemainfunctionalityofOracleHFMagainstSAPBPC,2oftheleading
solutionsintheGartnerCorporate/EnterprisePerformanceManagementMagicQuadrant.Bothsolutionsaretryingtoaddressone
ofthemajorfunctionalitiesofCPM:financialconsolidationandmanagementreporting.

ShortHistoryofHyperionOracle
Hyperion started as an independent company IMRS in 1981. Its focus has always been on the EPMmarket, initially
consolidation.
Somemajormilestonesofthecompanyincluded:
1983:releaseofMicroControl,anMSdosmanagementconsolidationsoftware,tobemaintainedbyfinanceusers
1991:releaseofHyperionEnterprise,aWindowsbased,managementconsolidationsoftware
1998:mergerofHyperionSoftwarewithArbor(mainproduct:Essbase,OLAPdB)andrebrandingtoHyperionSolutions
2000:releaseofHyperionFinancialManagement(OracleHFM),alargelywebbasedapplicationaimedatmanagementand
legalconsolidationandreporting
2006: acquisition of UpStream (a.k.a. Financial Data Quality Management, ETL focused to load data to Hyperion
products)
2007:acquisitionofHyperionbyOracle

OraclesPerformanceManagementapplications
WhencomparingthefeaturesofOracleHFMandSAPBPCweneedtobearinmindthefollowing.SAPBPCoffersfunctionality
to plan/budget and consolidate. Oracle HFM, as one of Oracles Enterprise Performance Management applications, focuses
primarilyonfinancialconsolidationonly.
OthermodulesoftheOracleEPMSuitethushavetobeconsideredwhencomparingallthefunctionalitiesofSAPBPC,especially
in the areas of Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting. These are e.g. Oracle Hyperion Planning (financial planning & budgeting
solution), Oracle Hyperion Financial Data Quality Management (for ExtractionTransformation & Loading, ETL) and Oracle
HyperionSmartViewforOffice(anExceladdin).Thelast2arealsoincludedwithOracleHFM.

Uploadofdata
SAPBPCusesanImportPackagewithtransformationandconversionfilesfortheuploadofdata,fromwithinMicrosoftExcel.
OracleHFMusesOracleHyperionFinancialDataQualityManagementEnterpriseEdition(FDMEE):thiswebbasedETL,partofthe
suite, can feed data to Oracle HFM, but also to other Oracle products, like Hyperion Planning or Essbase. Various adapters are
availabletoconnecttoothersourcedatabases(SAP(ECC6.0,SAPBW),JDEdwards).
Bothsolutionsoffertheflexibilitytoreaddatafromfilesorsourcesystemsandmapfromexternaltointernalids.FDMEEallows
todrillbackfromOracleHFMtothesourcedataorsystem.ForSAPBPC,thisfeaturewouldrequiretheusageofSAPFIM(SAP
BusinessObjectsFinancialInformationManagement).

Dataentryandreporting
ForSAPBPC,InputformsandreportsaredefinedandusedinExcel,withtheEPMaddin.Webbasedreportsandinputformsare
alsopossible,butthesearelimitedtoaselectionofelementsinrowsandcolumns.Theyareasaresultrarelyusedinthefield.
In Oracle HFM, this functionality is located, with a certain overlap, in different modules: data forms, data grids, Financial
reporting,SmartView.
However,theyalltendtobeusedbycustomersinparallel.
DataForms
Data forms are used to enter data manually. They are webbased. These allow to combine members from various dimensions,
basic calculations, formatting ... A rightclick on a cell can lead to a Linked Form for additional detail (e.g. intercompany
information).Textualcommentsoruploadedfilescanbelinkedtoacellforextrainformation.Eachrowandcolumnisdefined
separately.
DatacanbeenteredperiodicallyorYTDindifferently.
LineItemscanbeappliedondesignatedaccounts.Thisallowstoenterseparateamountsandoptionaltexttoasingleaccount
(e.g.eachentitycanspecifythecurrentaccountinvariousbanks,withindividualamountsandbanknamesasfreetext,thetotal
iswrittentothecashaccount,thedetailremainsandcanbeconsulted).

Fromacellwithinadataform,itispossibletorequestthe"EntityDetails.Thisscreenwillshowthemanuallyenteredamount,
andtheadjustmentsmadebyjournals.Itisalsopossibletodrilltothesejournals.
Recently"Ondemandruleswereintroduced.Theyallowtorunonlyasubsetofcalculations,tospeedupthecalculationsforthe
currentform.Previously,calculatingaformwasonlypossiblewhenrunningthecomplete"Calculate"ruleforthecurrententity,
period, year and scenario. This feature is comparable to packages in SAP BPC, where script logic can be divided in separate
calculations,tobeexecutedattheusersdiscretion.
Since Oracle HFM mainly revolves around the P&L and the B/S (Balance Sheet), which normally make up the majority of the
accountsdimension,thebenefitsofthissubsetofcalculationsseemslimited.
Datagrids
Datagridsareanalternativetodataforms.Theyarealsowebbased.Theusercaneasilydragdimensionstorowsandcolumns
for further selection. Contrary to data forms, they allow drilldowns, but no formatting or calculations, and no asymmetric
combinationsofdimensionmembers.TheyareverysimilartothewebbasedreportsandinputformsfromSAPBPC.
OracleHyperionFinancialReportingStudio
This windows client is the interface to create output reports with rows, columns, pageaxis, conditional formatting. Basic
calculations are possible (+,,*,/, Averages, Better/Worse variance, If Then), but not to the extent Excel has (and which SAP
BPCcaneasilyreuse).
The dimensions are set either for rows or columns. Each row and column however is defined separately. This facilitates the
creationofasymmetricreports.InSAPBPC,elementsareselectedperdimension,foreithercolumnsorrows.
Selecting Actual, Budget and Forecast, 2013, 2014 and 2015 will generate all (3x3=9) possible combinations, which either
requires suppressing of certain combinations (6 in this example, e.g. through the "Excluded Members functionality) or hard
coding.
Col1
Actual
2013

Col2
Budget
2014

Col3
Forecast
2015

Fig1:Asymmetricreport
Prompts allow users to select certain members at runtime (e.g. Select Scenarios for Column 1 and 2, 3rd column shows the
variance)(comparabletoEpmSelectMemberinSAPBPC).
Graphscanbecreatedbasedontheretrieved(possiblyhidden)data,althoughthesearenotaselaborateasExcelgraphs.
InOracleHFM,basicreportsareeasiertocreate.
SAPBPChasasteeperlearningcurve,butallows(far)morecomplexreports(e.g.ExcludedMembers,DimensionOverride).
Oncecreated,reportsareaccessedthroughtheweb,eitherinthebrowser(allowinge.g.drilldowns)orasPDF.Theycanfurther
be combined in "books", for a variety of pointofviews (equivalent to the "Context" in SAP BPC), generating a combined PDF
(e.g.P&L,B/SandC/Fforthecurrentmonth,forallEuropeansubsidiaries).
Bookscanbedistributedtoafolderlocation,orthroughemail,throughapredefinedbatchprocess,orrequestedadhoc.
OracleHyperionSmartViewforOffice
Oracle Hyperion Smart View for Office is an addin that integrates with Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint. It allows data
entry,reportingandanalysis.
Thismodulealsoworksonotherproducts,likeOraclePlanningorEssbase.
Possibilitiesare:
DataFormsorGrids:youcanopenDataformsandgridscreatedinOracleHFMinExcel.Theyareshown
withthesamelayoutasinOracleHFM,andthesamePOVchoices.Datacanbereadandwritten.
Adhocanalysis: allows to show data for a number of dimensions in rows and columns, and drill down
within existing dimension hierarchies. Dimensions and members can be selected in rows or columns from
scratch,oragridcanbeusedasstartingpoint.Itispossibletoaddexcelformulastothesequeries.With
Essbase,itispossibletocheck"Formulafill"intheOptions.Whenzoominginonadimension,thefomula
willbepropagatedalongtheexpandingroworcolumns.ThisiscomparabletoLocalMembersinSAPBPC.
However,whenconnectedtoOracleHFMthisisnot(yet?)possible.
Functions:Usingspecificfunctions,dataandcelltextcanberetrievedorwrittentothedatabase.These
functionsresultinfixedreports.
Mainfunctionsare:
HsGetValue:Retrievesdatafromadatasource(SAPBPC:EPMRetrieveData).
HsSetValue:Sendsvaluestothedatasource(SAPBPC:EPMSaveData).

HsCurrency: Retrieves the entity currency for the selected member (SAP BPC:
EPMMemberProperty).
HsSetText:Sendscelltexttothedatasource(SAPBPC:EPMSaveComment).
InSmartView,thereisnoequivalenttosomeofthemorepowerfulEPMaddinfunctionslikeEPMAxisOverride,EPMCopyRange,
EPMSuppress
Reports: Reports defined in the Reporting Studio (see above) can be opened in Excel, Word and
PowerPoint.
In general, although the reporting and data entry capabilities around Oracle HFM are not as flexible and versatile as the EPM
addinofSAPBPC,theyarequitecapableofservingtheneedsrelatedtolegalandmanagementreporting.

Userperspective
The user accesses Oracle HFM through the webbased Workspace. Once in the chosen application, he can use the standard
Application Tasks panel to access the module he wants. Alternatively, he can follow one of the Task Lists tailormade by the
administrator,whichwillguidehimstepbystep.

ProcessControl
Process control limits what and when a user can do. The administrator can decide which entities are open to viewing or
modifying.Userswillpromotetheirdatawhentheirdataiscomplete,andcertainpreestablishedcriteriaaremet(validationslike
abalancewithalimitedunbalance,filledinFTEs).
Thecheckofthevalidationonlyhappensafterthedatahasbeensaved.
ProcesscontrolallowsthecontrollerstochecktheclosingprocessandseewhospotentiallylaggingChangesinstatuscanalso
be communicated to the administrator through email. Additionally, the closing process can be split according to parts of
dimensions,e.g.intercoaccountscouldbesubmitted(andthereforelockedtotheuser)beforetheP&L,theP&LbeforetheB/S,
theB/Sbeforekpis
ThisfeatureiscomparabletotheWorkStatusinSAPBPC.
Oracle HFM has no functionality similar to the Business Process flow SAP BPC has. Business Process Flow guide a user through
specificactivities(e.g.firstfillindataentryformXYZ,thenpostjournals,thenrunaconsolidation),whicharealsomonitoredby
reviewers.InOracleHFM,theTasklistswillguidetheuserthroughtherequiredsteps,justlikeaBusinessProcessflowdoes,but
withouttheabilityfortheadministratortotracktheprogressinthetasks,ortoenforcethecorrectorderofthesteps.

Journals
Journalsallowtoenterdatainadebit/creditway.Theycanwritedatabetweenentities.Theycanbeautoreversinginthenext
period,orrecurring.
A journal is associated to a specific period. If an amount gets carried over across different periods (e.g. a movement in the
balance sheet, through rules), a user will have to find the period where the journal was originally posted in order to find its
details(contrarytoSAPBPC,wherethejournalitselfisreopenedeveryyear).

Consolidation
Ownership
The setup of the Legal Consolidation starts in the Manage Ownership panel. It stores ownership detail through the following
technicalaccounts:
ActiveConsolidation:statusofachildintoitsparent:ConsolidatetheentityYesorNotoitsparent
[PCON]: Percent consolidation. The percentage of the value of an entity that consolidates to the parent of the
entity
[POWN]:Percentownershipbasedonthesharesoftheentitythatareownedbyotherentities
[DOWN]:Percentofdirectownership
[PCTRL]:Percentcontrolbasedonthevotingsharesoftheentitythatareownedbyotherentities
Method Consolidation: method assigned to the entity, "None or a selection from the list of available methods
(Holding,Global,Proportion,EquityandDisposed)
ThisissimilartotheinformationstoredinSAPBPC.
Translationandconsolidation

SAPBPChas2businessrulesforthesetup(CurrencyConversionRulesandConsolidationRules)(tableswheresourceandtarget
accounts,datasources,calculationareselectedordefined).
OracleHFMhas2rules,TranslateandConsolidate.TheserulesarewritteninVBscript.
Thescriptsaredrivenbypropertiesofaccounts(Income,Expense,Asset,LiabilityandEquity)andUserdefinedattributes.These
attributes, like Properties in SAP BPC, allow to distinguish different members (e.g. which accounts are translated at Historical
rate?).
However, unlike SAP BPC, where properties can be defined at will, they are limited to 3 or 4 in Oracle HFM (depending on the
dimension). If more are required, it is possible to combine multiple strings in a User defined attribute, and use string
manipulationsinlogicscriptstoseparatethemagain(e.g.LEFT(UD3,4)),whichislesselegant.
Theseruleswillreaddatafromthetechnicalaccountsmentionedabove.
UsingtheUserdefinedattributesandRulesinthemostefficientwaywilllimitthemaintenanceoftherulestoaminimum.
TherearenoseparatedimensionsfordifferentconsolidationsorcurrencieslikeinSAPBPC(Groups).Differentconsolidationsare
handled through parent.child relations in the Entity dimension. If an entity needs to be consolidated to a specific group, in a
specificcurrency,aparentwillbecreatedforthatpurpose.Multipleentitiescanrolluptothatsameparententity,andanentity
canrolluptovariousparents.
Members from the Value dimension (see below) store the details from the various calculations (translation, elimination,
contribution).
WhileSAPBPCstoresexchangeratesinaseparatecube,inOracleHFMthesearestoredwithineachapplication.
Executionofthetranslationorconsolidationcanbeexecutedfromdataforms,datagrids,SmartViewandDataProcessControl,
onselectedentity,scenario,yearandperiod.
AusercanchoseforTranslationorConsolidation(taskgetsexecuted)ortheImpactedversion(taskisonlyexecutedifnecessary,
e.g. change in the data of an entity reporting to the consolidated parent), resulting in faster execution times. "Impacted
packagesarenotpossibleinSAPBPC.
Tracking((approximate)percentagecompletion,displayofentitycurrentlyconsolidated,user)andstoppingofconsolidationis
possible.
Oracle HFM and SAP BPC will handle most legal consolidations. SAP BPC has a setup through tables that is more userfriendly
thanthescriptbasedapproachfromOracleHFM.

Intercompany
Intercompanyreportscaneasilybecreatedtoshowimbalancesintransactionsbetweenpartners.Thesecanbesuppressedfrom
the report if the imbalance is between a certain threshold (in absolute or relative amounts), to be selected at runtime. Similar
reportscanbecreatedinSAPBPC.

Intercompanytransactions
ThismoduleisanintegralpartofOracleHFM,butstoresitsdataseparately,andwithadditionaldata.Itallowstoenterorload
intercompany transactions and match these between 2 partners. This can be done by the partners, and doesnt require
involvementfromtheadministrator.
TheapprovedbalancecanautomaticallybesenttothecorrespondingaccountintheChartofaccounts.Thisissetatapplication
level. While sending the data increases data integrity, it can block the closing process if parties dont agree on certain
transactions.
Next to a complete detail of the corresponding dimension members (account, time, scenario, entity(see below) ), the
transaction should contain data on transaction currency, transaction amount, either corresponding conversion rate or entity
currencyamount,andTransactionID(e.g.invoicenumber).
TheTransactionIDallowstoautomaticallymatchtransactions.Manualmatchisalsopossible.
Theadministratordefinesifmatchingisrequiredbeforepostingandwhatthetolerancesare(eitherin%orabsoluteamount).
Thisisdonebyperiodandscenario,allowingacustomapproachfore.g.monthly,quarterlyoryearendclosing.
Specifictransactionscanalsobemanuallymatchedwithtoleranceorwithoutatolerance,dependingonauserssecurityrights.
Userscansendemailalertsfromwithinthemoduletorequestinformation,promptforaction
SimilarfunctionalitycanbeachievedthroughaseparatemoduleinSAPBPC.

OracleHFMdimensions
AnOracleHFMapplicationconsistsof8predefineddimensions,and2ormorecustomdimensions.

Each member of any dimension has 3 or 4 User Defined attributes (or properties). These can be used in rules. If more are
required,itispossibletocombinemultiplestringsinaDefinedattribute,andusestringmanipulationsinlogicscriptstoseparate
themagain.
Thedimensionsaretoalargeextentfixed.

OracleHFMdimensions:
Scenario(SAPBPC:Category):Actual,BudgetPeculiarities:DefaultFrequencyallowstohavee.g.Monthlyinputdata
forActualsandQuarterlyinputdataforBudget,whichisnotpossibleinSAPBPC.
Period(SAPBPC:Time):Periodsdefinetimeandfrequencieswithinayear.ContrarytoSAPBPC,thecreationofanINP
periodisnotpossible.
Year(SAPBPC:Time):simplelistofyears,usedincombinationwiththePerioddefinition.
Account (SAP BPC:Account): a number of technical accounts are predefined, mostly linked to consolidation (Active,
PCON,PCONTROL)
Peculiarities:accountscanbeflaggedasDynamic,meaningtheywillbecalculatedonthefly,whenevershowninreports,data
formsTheyaremainlyusedforratios,allowingfore.g.divisionsonparentlevelstoobtaina%,ratherthananaggregationof
%ofunderlyingmembers(SAPBPC:dimensionformulas).
AlinkiscreatedbetweenindividualaccountsandelementsfromtheUserDefineddimensions.
Althoughalldimensionscrosseachother,foreachindividualaccountwecandefinewhattheTopMemberforeachUserDefined
dimensionis
IfflowsaredefinedinUserDefineddimension1,Flow1couldbetheparentflowforOpening,MovementandClosing,Flow2
could be the parent flow for Opening, Movement, Amortisation and Closing. As account Cash has no Amortisation, we would
defineFlow1asTopMember,andFlow2foraccountEquipment.
Thisalsodefineswhichcombinationsaccountcustommembersisvalid.Invalidcombinationswillautomaticallybeblockedfrom
inputandshowupinredininputforms
TheSubmissionGroupeachaccountbelongsto(seehigher"PhasedSubmissions)isalsospecifiedhere,accountbyaccount.
Entity(SAPBPC:Entity):Anentityrepresentsalegalentity,aregion,abusinessunitAnentitycanrolluptomultipleparents
within the hierarchy. When selecting an entity, one always selects a combination of entity and one of its parents (e.g. entity
"Bikes France rolls up both to entity "Bikes and to entity "France). When working with Bikes France, the user has to select
Bikes.BikesFranceorFrance.BikesFrance(seebelow).
Value (SAP BPC:Data source): Value members are systemgenerated and cant be changed. They contain details on the
reportingandconsolidationprocess
:normalinput,manualorthroughload
:inputthroughajournal
:totalof2previousvaluemembers
:translationofpreviousmembertotheparentcurrency.Asofthislevel,theparent.entitycombinationisrequired.
:inputthroughajournal,toALLparentssharingthesamecurrencyastheselectedparent
:totalof2previousvaluemembers
[Parent]:sameaspreviousvaluemember
[ParentAdjs]:inputthroughajournal,butONLYtotheselectedparent
[ParentTotal]:totalof2previousvaluemembers
[Proportion]:CalculationofProportionalValue
[Elimination]:calculationofEliminations(Intercompanyamounts,generationofMinorities,eliminationofinvestmentsin
subsidiaries)
[Contribution]:totalof2previousvaluemembers
[ContributionAdjs]:inputthroughajournal,directlyaffectingthecontributionoftheentitytoitsparent
[ContributionTotal]:totalof2previousvaluemembers
ThephilosophyissimilartothedatasourcedimensionfromSAPBPC,whichishowevercustomizable.
A second type of Value members is related to currencies. Every currency defined in an application is represented in the value
members.Adhoc,anyentitycurrencyvaluecanbetranslatedtoanyothercurrencypresentintheapplication.
ICP(SAPBPC:Interco):IntercompanypartnersaredefinedbyflaggingtherespectiveEntitiesas"Interco.
They automatically roll up to [ICP Entities]. [ICP None] is used for thirdparty amounts. This requires a detailed entry of third
partyandintercoamounts.
ThisissimilartoSAPBPC.SAPBPChoweveralsooffersthepossibilitytoenterthesumofintercoandthirdpartyamounts,and
obtainthirdpartyamountsbydeductingtheintercoamounts.
Custom dimensions (SAP BPC:Userdefined): custom dimensions are associated with accounts. They allow to store further
detail(flows,products,customers).Theyhaveahierarchy,withparentsaggregatedautomatically.

Thereusedtobe4fixeddimensions.Theywerecalled"smart,inthesensethattheabilitytodefinetheTopparentofacustom
dimensionforeachindividualaccountallowsthecontrolofvalidcombinations(seehigher).Thisalsoallowedtohavee.g.both
FlowdetailsonlyforB/SaccountsandatthesametimeProductdetailonlyforP&LaccountsinthesameCustomdimension1.
Thisallowstohavevirtuallymoredimensionsthanthe4Customdimensions.
Asofversion11.1.2.3,thenumberofcustomdimensionscanbecustomized.Dependingonbusinessrequirements,underlying
databaseandvolumeofdataandperformance,thenumberofcustomdimensionscanbeincreased.InSAPBPC,thecreationof
Userdefineddimensionsislesssubjecttosimilarconstraints.
Asmentionedbefore,amembercanrollupmultipletimes,todifferentparents,withinthesamehierarchy,whichisnotpossible
inSAPBPC.
View (SAP BPC: Measure: allows to view and modify the data as periodic or YTD (while in SAP BPC the decision is made
upfrontifperiodicorYTDinputisallowed),orviewasQTDetc.(inamonthlysetup).Thisisvalidforallinputaccesses(data
forms,datagrids,SmartView)

Memberlists
Member lists allow to select a subset of dimension members. This helps in the selection of members in a data form, rows for a
report,settingthescopeacalculationruleshouldbelimitedto
Theyaredefinedatapplicationlevelbyanadministrator.
Twotypesexist:
systemdefined:typicallybasedonhierarchicalproperties:e.g.descendantsorbasemembersofacertainparent
userdefined(orratheradministratordefined)
Twotypesofuserdefinedmemberlistsexist:
Static:fixedlistofselectedmembers(e.g.accountGrossSales,CostofSalesandGrossMargin)
Dynamic:basedoncertainpropertiesofthemembers(e.g.allIncometypeaccountsunderNetProfit).Theyaredynamic
inthesensethatatruntimetheywillreadthemembersandtheirpropertiesandcreatethelist.
Additionally,theycanbedrivenbythePointof view for the following dimensions: scenario, year, period and entity (e.g. base
membersoftheentityselectedbytheuser).
Theyaredefinedinascriptlanguage(seeexamplebelow).
SubEnumMembersInList()
IfHS.Dimension="EntityThen
IfHS.MemberListID=1Then
HS.AddEntityToList"UnitedStates,"Connecticut
HS.AddEntityToListUnitedStates,Massachusetts
HS.AddEntityToListUnitedStates,RhodeIsland
HS.AddEntityToListUnitedStates,Maine
ElseIfHS.MemberListID=2Then
HS.AddEntityToListUnitedStates,Connecticut
ElseIfHS.MemberListID=3Then
HS.AddEntityToListUnitedStates,California
EndIf
Member lists do not exist in SAP BPC, but various menus and functions in the EPM addin easily allow a selection based on
properties,whichismoreflexibleanduserfriendlythaninOracleHFM.

Rules
Rulesdefinethecalculationsinanapplication.TheyarewritteninVBA,oracombinationofVBAandagraphicalpresentation.
ThesearetheRuleTypes:
Calculation: Calculation rules are used for calculations that cannot be calculated through the rollup of the dimension
hierarchies. They can be used for the retrieval of opening balances, cash flow It is one single routine. It is executed
whencalculatingorconsolidatingdata.
Translation:TranslationrulesareusedtoperformcalculationsfromtheEntityvaluememberstothevaluememberwhen
theyhavedifferentcurrencies.Theyareusedtocalculatecurrencytranslationadjustments,dealwithhistoricalratesThe
Translate()routineisexecutedwhenyoutranslateorconsolidatedata.
Consolidation: Consolidation rules are used to perform consolidations, most commonly found in statutory applications
(elimination of investments, calculation of minority interests). They depend on the data entered in the Manage
Ownershippanel.

Allocation:Allocationrulesallocatedatafromoneentitytoalistofentities(e.g.tocalculateadministrativeexpensesfor
alistofentitiesbasedonthetotaladministrativeexpensesofanotherentity).Theyarenotaspowerfulastheallocation
possibilitiesinSAPBPC.ThisisafunctionalitythatismoredevelopedinOraclePlanning.
Input:InputrulesallowinputattheParententitylevel.OnlytheValuememberissupported.
NoInput:NoInputrulespreventinputattheBaseentitylevel.
Dynamic Calculation: Dynamic rules enable to dynamically calculate accounts, on the fly. Only Base accounts can be
dynamically calculated. They are used for ratios, KPIs to avoid adding up percentages at parent levels which are
meaningless.ThisissimilartodimensionformulasinSAPBPC.
Transactions:Transactionsrulesspecifytheaccountsintheapplicationthatsupportintercompanytransactions.
Equity Pickup: Equity pickup rules, used in consolidation, specify the owned entity, owner entity, and percentage of
ownership
OnDemand: Ondemand rules were introduced recently. They are used in Data Forms, and enable to run a subset of
calculations(Calculatetype)toquicklyseetheresultsinadataform.AllHSfunctionsthatcanbeusedinSubCalculate
(butnoothers)canalsobeusedinOnDemandrules.ThisissimilartopackageswithspecificcalculationsinSAPBPC.

Technical
InSAPBPC,itisfairlycommontodelveintothesourcedata,beitinSQLorSAPBW,toe.g.analysethedata,getadetailed
viewoftherecordsgeneratedbyanewscript.Thisisalsofacilitatedbythetransparentsetupofthetables.InOracleHFMthisis
not so transparent, and as such it is harder, if not impossible to analyse the source data to the average administrator of Oracle
HFM.

Conclusion
BothOracleHFMandSAPBPCareuptotheirconsolidationandreportingtasks.Totheuser,theiruserfriendlinessiscomparable.
Theyeachhavetheirstrengthsandweaknessesregardingsetupandmaintenance:reportsareeasiertosetupinOracleHFMthan
inSAPBPC,butarelesscustomizableconsolidationandtranslationrulesareeasiertosetupinSAPBPCthanOracleHFM(tables
vs.scripts).
WithSAPBPCyougetthePlanningfunctionality(liketheverypowerfulallocationscriptlogic)ontop.Forthatyouneedtoturn
toanadditionalproducte.g.HyperionPlanningintheOracleEPMsolutionset.