Understanding OVFS Constants

You use the One View Financial Statements Constants program (P09302) to set up constants. The constants determine how the system informs you that a row or column definition that you attempt to change is used in a statement definition. You can have the system issue a warning message or an error message. When you set up the constants to issue a warning message, the message appears and can be dismissed. You can then continue with the change to the row or column definition. If you set up the constants to issue an error message, you cannot change the row or column definition until you remove it from the statement definitions on which it is used.

The constants provide an important safeguard for changes to rows and column definitions because changes to row and column definitions that are used in a statement definition can make the statement definition or layout invalid.

For example, suppose that you performed the following tasks:

1. Set up a data row definition with OBJ as the grouping element, and select the Return Description check box.

2. Add the row definitions to a statement definition.

3. Create a layout version and layout for the statement definition, including the account description in the layout.

4. Modify the row definition by clearing the Return Description check box.

5. Attempt to generate a financial statement using the statement definition.

If you performed the steps in this example, your attempt to generate a financial statement would fail because the description that you included in the layout is not available to the process when you attempt to generate the statement.

Note: The OVFS constants do not apply to data selection. No error or warning message is issued for changes to data selection. See Also: Modifying Data Selection for Row and Column Definitions.

Consider setting up the constants to issue warning messages in your test environment, and set them to issue error messages in your production environment. If the constants are set up to issue warnings in the test environment, then users can continue to make changes to row and column definitions that are used in a statement definition without first removing the column or row definition from every statement definition in which it is used. Then, when the row, column, and statement definitions are moved into the production environment, you can change the constants so that no changes can be made that might adversely affect the financial statement integrity.

Note: Oracle recommends that you run the Statement Validation program (R09330) if you make changes to row, column, or statement definitions, and before you import definitions from a test environment into a production environment. The Statement Validation program generates a report that helps you identify validation errors in statement definitions. See Generating the Statement Validation Report (Release 9.2 Update).

Note: The security administrator can restrict the ability to modify OVFS components by setting up user and profile security and applying object level security to the OVFS programs. See Understanding Security for One View Financial Statements.