Cloud Tech and Updates
Oracle has recently released this guide to educate and inform users regarding the latest features and functionality of the 21B Cloud Financials update. It features the information Cloud Financials users need to know and describes the tasks you may need to perform for the update. Each section of the guide includes a brief description of the changes users will see with 21B, an outline of the steps you need to take to enable or begin using the feature, and a description of the resources available to help users take action. Below, we‘ll highlight some of the noteworthy features of the Oracle Cloud 21B release.
Common Technology and User Experience
In terms of the updates to technology and user experience, Cloud customers can expect to see updates to overall usability, resiliency, performance, and security as part of Oracle’s continued investment in providing service excellence.
Users should expect to see descriptive flexfield improvements on intercompany spreadsheets, intercompany clearing account generation without segment value security for existing accounts, and intercompany descriptive flexfield transfer to Receivables and Payables.
Changes to the Oracle Digital Assistant (ODA) user experience include updates to the Expenses Digital Assistant, conversational expense creation with Microsoft Teams (this will require customers take action before use by end users), frequently asked questions and Tips in ODA, and number of attendees recording for Expenses with ODA.
Under workflow for Financials, customers must selectively choose to leverage Approval Rules Navigation for Financial Workflows in Workflow Transaction Console, as well as the Workflow Transaction Console.
Financials
For Cloud Financials, new features needing to be enabled include derivation of asset location from payables invoice ship-to location and directly add assets in tax books. Generally, the changes in Cloud Financials to Budgetary Controls, Cash Management, Expenses, Federal Financials, General Ledger, and Payables will not require manual adoption since these changes are small-scale UI or process-based new features that have minimal user impact. Workflows, Assets, Joint Venture Management, Tax, and Lease Accounting will all require manual adoption.
Oracle Digital Assistant
Oracle Digital Assistant provides finance and operational professionals with the ability to easily navigate and identify data and key business insights that are contextual, relevant, and thoughtful. The digital assistant delivers an intelligent conversational experience for employees to complete important tasks and quickly access information across Oracle Fusion Applications.
For Cloud ERP specifically, update 21B has digital assistant capabilities for expenses, project time capture, as well as project management capabilities that leverage channels including SMS, Oracle Web, and Microsoft Teams. Enabling ODA for Teams is the next step towards leveraging the full capabilities delivered in this quarterly update. To enable Microsoft Teams for the Expenses Digital Assistant, users will need to create a Microsoft bot in one of these ways:
- Directly within Microsoft Teams, using App Studio
- Through the Microsoft Azure Bot Service, which will require that users have a Microsoft Azure account
- Via the Microsoft Bot Framework, which requires that users possess an Office 365 account at a level of E1 or higher
It’s worth noting that the first of these options, using the Microsoft App Studio in Teams, is the most straightforward approach for setting up the Expenses Digital Assistant feature. For more information on the power of Oracle Digital Assistant and the specific benefits and capabilities that ODA has to offer, take a look at “AI & Oracle Digital Assistant – The Basics” here.
Regional and Country-Specific Features
For regional and country-specific features, users will see large-scale UI/process-based changes to the billing software certification for Portugal, and small-scale changes to the redefined rules for tax point date adjustment. Both features are automatically adopted, though users will need to selectively enable the updates to customer and supplier balance netting in invoicing currency for when payment currencies are different, and the transaction review before finalization of the VAT period.
- For 21B, Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP has received the Billing Software Certification from the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority. Users can comply with these legal requirements for billing software in Portugal using features across Financials and Supply Chain Management.
The Functionality to meet the legal requirements of the Portuguese Billing Software Certification includes user identifications, passwords, and configurable user profiles to access and utilize Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, an audit trail of the entry and subsequent updates of transactions including document sequencing, the addition of information to invoicing and shipping printed documents, an encrypted signature is added to invoices and shipping documents, and the Portuguese Standard Audit File for Tax.
Users won’t need to take actionable steps to enable this feature, however, before use you must complete all of the prerequisite steps and mandatory setups. (View the My Oracle Support Doc ID 2750128.1 for more information).
With all of the changes and features in the 2nd quarterly update of the year, navigating the changes can be challenging. Reviewing the update 21B guide from Oracle will provide detailed information for tangible steps users will need to take to enable certain features.
For additional information on Cloud readiness and all the Oracle Cloud services we provide, check out our Cloud ERP Consulting Services for more information or get in touch with a member of our team by reaching out to [email protected].
