An Underutilized EPM Gem: FCCS’s Supplemental Data Feature

In particular, the supplemental data feature is a new addition to Oracle FCCS that’s not present in its on-premises counterpart. So what exactly is the supplemental data feature of Oracle FCCS, and how should businesses be using it?

What is Supplemental Data in Oracle FCCS?

The supplemental data feature in Oracle FCCS is exactly what it sounds like: a way to work with unstructured, supplemental data taken from sources other than Oracle EPM software. In doing so, employees can gain greater control over and visibility into their manual, spreadsheet-based financial processes.

As it relates to Oracle FCCS, supplemental data may take a variety of forms: Tables for U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) footnote disclosures, tax schedule forms, etc. Not only are these financial footnotes required to be compliant with SEC regulations, they’re also a vital part of a company’s financial statements.

Collecting and consolidating all this data can be a difficult, time-consuming process without a centralized management hub. Fortunately, the Supplemental Data Manager within Oracle FCCS can serve as just that.

The Supplemental Data Manager can be accessed from the Oracle FCCS Navigator. From there, users will be able to perform tasks such as:

• Validating against general ledger balances
• Posting supplemental data values in FCCS
• Performing calculations against data loaded from a supplemental data file

For example, users can define a function to calculate a weighted average value on the data that they’ve loaded, and then post the calculated value to an account in FCCS.

Use Cases for Supplemental Data in Oracle FCCS

There are a variety of potential use cases for the supplemental data feature in Oracle FCCS. For example, employees can use the Supplemental Data Manager for “roll forward” reports, such as debt roll forwards, fixed asset roll forwards, and equity roll forwards.

Forms that ask for a large amount of unstructured information have traditionally caused issues during the financial close and consolidation process. Although there are workarounds within Oracle HFM to allow the intake of this data, they’re limited in terms of their flexibility and result in challenges during the reporting process.

The Supplemental Data Manager in Oracle FCCS provides a single centralized location for the dimensions that are used across all of an organization’s forms. Users have access to a simple, straightforward interface that they can use to design flexible data models in order to collect complex financial information.

Other use cases for supplemental data include tasks such as lease accounting. For example, supplemental data fields can be used within Oracle’s PeopleSoft Lease Administration application. These supplemental data fields collect information about a subset of object instances with fields that are relevant only to these particular object instances.

Final Thoughts

The supplemental data feature is a valuable addition to Oracle FCCS that sets it apart from its on-premises equivalent, Oracle HFM. It’s just one of the reasons why Oracle customers continue to migrate their financial close and consolidation processes to the cloud.

Looking for a partner for your FCCS migration? Datavail is a Cloud Excellence Implementor for FCCS and has helped hundreds of customers move to the cloud. Contact us today for more information, or click here to learn about our migration services.