Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: It is used to record completed working hours with a cost center that may differ from the employee's master cost center
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
SAP Time Management uses a number of time infotypes to record different aspects of employees' time, such as planned working time, attendances, absences, and overtime. Infotype 2002 (Attendances) plays a key role in recording actual working time that was performed by the employee. This data can influence time evaluation, payroll, and cost allocation when employees work in different cost centers or on specific projects. This question asks you to identify the statement that correctly describes the main use of IT2002 attendances.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- IT2002 is the Attendance infotype in SAP Time Management.
- Planned working time is usually stored in IT0007 (Planned Working Time).
- Substitutions to planned time are often recorded in IT2003 (Substitutions).
- Absences are recorded in IT2001, and overtime can be recorded in IT2005.
- The question focuses on the role of IT2002 in recording actual working hours and possibly alternative cost centers.
Concept / Approach:
IT2002 is used to record actual attendances, meaning the actual hours worked by an employee on particular days or during specific intervals. These entries can override or supplement planned working time and can carry additional information such as activity types or alternative cost centers. Recording an attendance in IT2002 may, for example, allocate the worked hours to a different cost center than the one stored in the employee's master data, enabling more precise cost accounting. Planned working time changes or uncompleted planned times are handled by other infotypes, not by IT2002.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the basic purpose of IT2002: to record actual attendance times, such as when an employee works on a specific task or in a different location.
Step 2: Recognise that permanent changes to planned working time are maintained in IT0007 or related infotypes, not in IT2002.
Step 3: Understand that IT2002 can include information about alternative cost centers, allowing the actual working hours to be charged differently from the master cost center.
Step 4: Note that planned working times and uncompleted planned times are handled through planned working time and absence infotypes, not via IT2002 alone.
Step 5: Conclude that the statement describing recording completed working hours with a possibly different cost center is the correct description of IT2002 usage.
Verification / Alternative check:
Opening IT2002 (Attendances) in SAP via transaction PA30 shows fields for attendance type, start and end times, and potentially cost center or activity allocation fields depending on configuration. This confirms that IT2002 records actual performed working hours and allows allocation to cost objects. Documentation on time evaluation further shows that IT2002 entries are processed to generate time wage types and cost-relevant information. Permanent changes to planned time and uncompleted planned times are not recorded here, aligning with the explanation above.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A is wrong because permanent changes to planned working time are typically made in infotype 0007 (Planned Working Time) or controlled by work schedules and substitutions, not in IT2002. Option C is incorrect since IT2002 does not record only planned working hours; it records the hours actually worked. Option D is wrong because planned working times that were not completed would be reflected through absences (IT2001) or time evaluation, not as attendances in IT2002.
Common Pitfalls:
A common pitfall is to confuse IT2002 with IT0007 or IT2003 and to think of it as a place to store planned schedules rather than actual worked time. Another mistake is to forget its importance for cost allocation: if alternative cost centers are not captured in IT2002, costs may remain on the wrong master cost center. Understanding the specific role of IT2002 in recording actual attendance data, including alternative cost centers, helps ensure accurate time evaluation and cost accounting.
Final Answer:
The correct answer is It is used to record completed working hours with a cost center that may differ from the employee's master cost center, because IT2002 is specially designed to capture actual attendances and allow allocation of those hours to appropriate cost objects in SAP Time Management.
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