Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: No, asset sales should use revenue accounts that are defined through Asset Accounting account determination, not just any revenue account with an open field status.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
When fixed assets are sold, SAP FI Asset Accounting needs to post not only the retirement of the asset from the balance sheet but also any resulting gain or loss to the correct revenue or expense accounts. These postings are controlled by account determination settings in Asset Accounting. Certification questions often check whether you understand that you cannot arbitrarily pick any revenue account for an asset sale just because its field status is open.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Asset Accounting uses account determination tables for each asset class to decide which general ledger accounts are used for acquisitions, depreciation, retirements, and gains or losses on sale. This ensures that financial statements reflect asset movements consistently and that legal and management reporting requirements are met. Although field status defines which document fields are accessible during posting, it does not provide a license to bypass account determination and post to arbitrary revenue accounts.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that asset sale postings are typically created using dedicated transactions in FI AA, not by manual general ledger entries.
Step 2: Understand that these transactions rely on asset class account determination to find the correct revenue or expense accounts.
Step 3: Recognize that using any random revenue account would break consistency and could lead to misstatements.
Step 4: Review the options and identify which one states that asset sales should use accounts defined via account determination, not any revenue account.
Step 5: Select option a as the correct answer.
Verification / Alternative check:
In a typical configuration, you define different asset classes for buildings, machinery, vehicles, and so on. For each class, you specify separate accounts for revenue from asset sale and for loss on disposal. When you process an asset sale, the system automatically posts to those accounts. If you tried to use an arbitrary revenue account outside this configuration, the postings would not reconcile neatly with fixed asset reports. This reinforces the principle that account determination, not just field status, governs which revenue accounts are suitable for asset sales.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option b is wrong because it ignores the central role of account determination and incorrectly states that any revenue account is acceptable. Option c is incorrect because revenue accounts for asset sales are usually profit and loss accounts, not balance sheet accounts. Option d is wrong because asset sales generally post to revenue and sometimes to customer accounts, not only to cash accounts. Option e falsely claims that Asset Accounting ignores account determination during sales, which contradicts standard system behavior.
Common Pitfalls:
One pitfall is to assume that if the system technically allows a manual posting, it is a good accounting practice. Another is to confuse the freedom of manual FI postings with controlled postings from Asset Accounting. For certification and real life practice, remember that asset sale postings should be routed through configured account determination, ensuring accurate and consistent financial reporting.
Final Answer:
Asset sales should not be posted to just any revenue account; asset sales should use revenue accounts that are defined through Asset Accounting account determination, not just any revenue account with an open field status.
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