Understanding InterUnit Journal Approvals
When you submit an InterUnit journal for AWE approval, the system treats the data for each business unit within the InterUnit journal as an independent transaction. Therefore, each combination of (anchor BU, journal ID, journal date, line business unit) has its own approval instance, and each instance triggers its own notifications. This works well for those who have assigned different approvers to handle different business units.
For customers who have dedicated approvers who manage multiple business units, the Automatically Approve Non-Anchor BU Journals option is available on the Installation Options – General Ledger page.
When the Automatically Approve Non-Anchor BU Journals is selected, the system only submits the combination of (anchor BU, journal ID, journal date, line BU = anchor BU) for approval. All other combinations of (anchor BU, journal ID, journal date, line BU <> anchor BU) is set to “Approved to Post” (per existing logic, the InterUnit journal can’t be posted until the anchor BU is approved). This way, only one approval instance is assigned to an InterUnit journal, which triggers one set of notifications.
When the Automatically Approve Non-Anchor BU Journals is not selected, the system only shows the line business unit journal lines on the Journal Approval page. When the Automatically Approve Non-Anchor BU Journals is selected, the system shows all the interunit journal lines on the Journal Approval page, however, the header info only shows the anchor BU.
Determine whether you want anchor BU approvers and non-anchor BU approvers to approve InterUnit journals:
If you want one set of notifications and only anchor BU approvers to approve interunit journals, then select the Automatically Approve Non-Anchor BU Journals check box on the Installation Options - General Ledger Page.
If you want one set of notifications, and anchor and non-anchor BU approvers to approve interunit journals, then complete the steps listed in the following subtopic.
Recommended Setup Steps for Anchor and Non-anchor BU Approvers
If you want one set of notifications and anchor and non-anchor BU approvers to approve InterUnit Journals:
Select the Automatically Approve Non-Anchor BU Journals check box on the Installation Options - General Ledger Page.
Define multiple roles to segregate approvers by business unit.
Note: The roles should include all business units. Approvers with multiple roles receive only one notification for each interunit journal using this method.
On the Roles - General page (PeopleTools, Security, Permissions & Roles, Roles), create multiple roles, such as; GLBUApprover1, GLBUApprover2, and GLBUApprover3.
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Roles - General page (GLBUApprover1).
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Roles - General page (GLBUApprover2).
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Roles - General page (GLBUApprover3).
On the Roles - Members page, indicate the members for the role.
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Roles - Members (GLBUApprover1).
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Roles - Members (GLBUApprover2).
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Roles - Members (GLBUApprover3).
Assign the role to each member using the User Profiles – Roles page (PeopleTools, Security, User Profiles, User Profiles).
Define an equal number of AWE user lists using the User List Definition Page.
Each links to one of the roles created in step 2:
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the User List Definition (GLBUApprover1).
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the User List Definition (GLBUApprover2).
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the User List Definition (GLBUApprover3).
Define an AWE rule with multiple paths using the Setup Process Definitions Page.
Each path routes to the corresponding business unit approver list.
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Setup Process Definitions Page.
From the Setup Process Definitions page, select the Criteria button for each path to define a User Entered criteria type and route this path to the corresponding business unit approvers. For example:
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Actuals business unit approval path 1.
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Actuals business unit approval path 2.
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Actuals business unit approval path 3.
Note: Each role defined in step 2 should have an approval path defined.
The Record field value must be JRNL_AF_LBU_VW and the Field Name value must be BUSINESS_UNIT2, to get the line business unit values. You can define as many Criteria Definitions as needed if you can’t put all business units into one criteria, using these values.
For more information about the Approval Workflow Engine and the Approval Framework, see Approval Framework, Defining the Setup Process Definitions Component.