Currency Translation with Multiple Scenarios

Strategic Finance uses the input assumptions for the Base scenario of an entity as default input assumptions for all input accounts in the entity—except for scenario-specific accounts.

For example, an entity has two scenarios: Base and Upside. In this entity, the Cost of Goods Sold account (v1040) is used in the Upside scenario but stored in the Base scenario, while the Sales account (v1000) has a unique value stored in the Upside scenario. However, Cost of Goods is a formula calculated as a percent of Sales, and so although the calculation stored in Base is universal to both scenarios, the resulting value is unique in Upside because the Sales account is unique.

The entity, in American dollars, has these values:

Table 7. Upside Scenario (U.S. dollars)

Account

Formula

Value

Sales (v1000)

8% Growth

2449

Cost of Goods Sold (v1040)

Inherited from Base

1776

Table 8. Base Scenario (U.S. dollars

Account

Formula

Value

Sales (v1000)

10% Growth

2541

Cost of Goods Sold (v1040)

72% of Sales

1842

The Cost of Goods Sold in the Upside scenario is calculated using the formula in the Base scenario with the Sales value in the Upside scenario. If you run this through the Currency Translator to convert to Canadian dollars at an exchange rate of 1.35:

Table 9. Upside Scenario (translated to Canadian dollars)

Account

Formula

Value

Sales (v1000)

8% Growth

1814

Cost of Goods Sold (v1040)

Inherited from Base

1316

Table 10. Base Scenario (translated to Canadian dollars)

Account

Formula

Value

Sales (v1000)

10% Growth

1882

Cost of Goods Sold (v1040)

72% of Sales

1364

In translating currencies, the issue is whether using the same assumption in Cost of Goods Sold gives the right numbers for both scenarios. To account for this, you have two options to choose from when translating currencies in a consolidation structure: translating all scenarios or an individual scenario.