SAP Finance Glossary: FI/FICO and CO Terms Explained in Business Language
A practical glossary of important SAP FI/FICO and CO terms for learners who want to connect accounting and controlling vocabulary to business meaning.
General Ledger
The central financial record where accounting entries are organised by accounts so the organisation can produce balances and financial statements.
Accounts Payable
The process and subledger area concerned with amounts the organisation owes suppliers and the documents, payments and open items related to those liabilities.
Accounts Receivable
The process and subledger area concerned with amounts customers owe the organisation, including invoices, incoming payments and open-item management.
Fiscal Year
The accounting year structure used to organise periods for posting and reporting. It may or may not match the calendar year depending on the organisation.
Posting Period
A time interval in which financial postings are permitted. Period controls help finance manage close activities and prevent unintended postings into closed periods.
Cost Center
An internal responsibility unit used to collect and analyse costs, often representing a department, function or operational area.
Profit Center
An internal responsibility view used to analyse revenues and costs for a segment of the business from a management perspective.
Internal Order
A controlling object commonly used to collect and monitor costs for a specific activity or purpose where a permanent cost-center structure is not the best fit.
Asset Accounting
The financial process for managing fixed assets through acquisition, depreciation, transfer, retirement and reporting.
Reconciliation
The process of confirming that related records and balances agree and investigating differences before reporting or close.
Document Type
A classification that helps control and identify accounting documents, including aspects such as permitted number ranges and transaction context.
Chart of Accounts
The structured list of general-ledger accounts used to classify financial activity for accounting and reporting.