Management Accounting & Cost Control
Corporate Support Functions › Finance & Accounting · 18 L4 steps · 5 phases · 5 decision gates · Updated 2026-03-19 22:03
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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)
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L4 Process Steps
| Step | Step Name | Role / Swim Lane | System | Input | Output | KPI | Dec? | Exc? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phase 1 1.1 |
Maintain cost centre hierarchy in SAP CO | Management Accountant | SAP S/4HANA CO (Controlling) | Approved organisational structure and departmental headcount plan | Cost centre master data with hierarchy nodes aligned to P&L structure | 100% of cost centres mapped to a valid profit centre before period open | N | N |
| 1.2 | Load approved budget baseline into SAP CO | Financial Planning Analyst | SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) | Board-approved annual budget locked in SAP BPC | Cost centre plan versions activated in SAP CO for current fiscal year | Budget upload completed ≤3 business days after board approval | N | N |
| 1.3 | Configure activity types and internal activity rates | CO Functional Consultant | SAP S/4HANA CO (Controlling) | Planned cost centre volumes (flight hours, maintenance man-hours, FTE counts) | Validated activity type rates for internal cost transfers (e.g. $/flight-hour, $/MHR) | Activity rate variance vs prior year ≤5%; all rates signed off by Finance Director | Y | N |
Phase 2 2.1 |
Capture direct cost postings via SAP FI/MM | Accounts Payable Specialist | SAP S/4HANA FI (Financial Accounting) | Supplier invoices, purchase orders, and expense reports from SAP Concur | Verified FI document postings assigned to correct cost centres and cost elements | Invoice processing cycle time ≤2 days; <0.5% posting error rate per period | N | Y |
| 2.2 | Run periodic assessment cycles for indirect costs | Management Accountant | SAP S/4HANA CO (Controlling) | Closed FI period with all direct postings; allocation cycle configuration | Indirect costs distributed from sender cost centres (IT, HR, Finance) to receiver cost centres | Assessment cycle runtime ≤4 hours; 100% of sender cost centre balances zeroed after cycle | N | Y |
| 2.3 | Settle maintenance work orders to cost objects | MRO Finance Analyst | AMOS by Swiss AviationSoftware | Completed maintenance work orders with labour, parts, and subcontract costs | Settled maintenance costs transferred from AMOS work orders to SAP CO cost centres or internal orders | Work order settlement rate ≥98% within 5 business days of task completion | N | Y |
| 2.4 | Validate allocation cycles balanced to zero | Management Accountant | SAP S/4HANA CO (Controlling) | Completed assessment and settlement cycle results | Period-close sign-off confirmation; unallocated balance report | Unallocated balance <$1,000 (rounding tolerance) per sender cost centre after cycle | Y | Y |
Phase 3 3.1 |
Extract flight-level unit costs from SAP CO-PA | Route Profitability Analyst | SAP S/4HANA CO-PA (Profitability Analysis) | Settled cost centre and order actuals; flight schedule from Amadeus SkyWORKS | Per-flight cost breakdown by cost element (fuel, crew, maintenance, fees, overhead) | CASM (Cost per Available Seat Mile) calculated for 100% of operated flights within 48 hours of period close | N | Y |
| 3.2 | Join revenue and capacity data via AWS Redshift | Data Analytics Engineer | AWS Redshift | Passenger revenue from Amadeus Altéa PSS; ancillary revenue from booking engine; ASM/RPM from Amadeus SkyWORKS | Integrated flight-level dataset combining cost, revenue, and capacity metrics | Data pipeline latency ≤6 hours after period close; revenue reconciliation variance vs FI ledger <0.1% | N | Y |
| 3.3 | Calculate CASM, RASM, and contribution margin | Route Profitability Analyst | Tableau | Integrated flight-level dataset from AWS Redshift | Route-level and fleet-type profitability scorecard (CASM, RASM, load factor, contribution margin $/seat) | Network contribution margin ≥18% of total revenue; CASM ex-fuel ≤8.5¢ | N | N |
| 3.4 | Flag underperforming routes for network review | Head of Route Profitability | Tableau | Route profitability scorecard; minimum profitability threshold (CFO-approved) | Route watch-list submitted to Network Planning for schedule review in Amadeus SkySYM | Routes with contribution margin <5% for 3 consecutive months escalated within 5 business days | Y | N |
Phase 4 4.1 |
Run budget vs actuals comparison in SAP BPC | Management Accountant | SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) | Locked budget baseline; period actuals loaded from SAP S/4HANA FI/CO | Variance report by cost centre, cost element, and P&L line | Variance report published ≤4 business days after period close | N | N |
| 4.2 | Classify and quantify material variances by type | Management Accountant | SAP S/4HANA CO (Controlling) | Variance report; cost centre manager commentary submitted via email or SharePoint | Variance classification register (price variance, volume variance, mix variance, one-off items) | ≥90% of variances >$50K classified and explained within 5 business days of period close | N | Y |
| 4.3 | Determine if variance requires CFO escalation | Finance Business Partner | SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) | Classified variance register; materiality thresholds approved by CFO | Escalation decision: CFO notified within 24 hours if threshold breached | 100% of variances exceeding $500K or 10% of cost centre budget escalated within 24 hours | Y | N |
| 4.4 | Conduct root-cause analysis with cost centre managers | Finance Business Partner | SAP S/4HANA CO (Controlling) | Escalated variance items; cost centre transaction drill-down from SAP CO | Root-cause analysis memo; corrective action plan with owner and due date | Root-cause memo issued within 3 business days of escalation trigger | N | Y |
Phase 5 5.1 |
Compile monthly management accounts pack | Head of Management Accounting | Tableau | Variance analysis, route profitability scorecard, corrective action plans | Monthly management accounts pack (P&L, cost bridge, KPI dashboard, CFO narrative) | Management pack distributed to CFO and ExCo ≤6 business days after period close | N | N |
| 5.2 | Issue cost reduction directives to business units | CFO / Finance Director | SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) | Approved cost control decisions from CFO review of management pack | Revised cost centre spending authorities; updated BPC reforecast with reduction targets | Cost reduction directives issued within 2 business days of ExCo approval | Y | N |
| 5.3 | Trigger rolling reforecast cycle in SAP BPC | Financial Planning Analyst | SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) | Cost reduction directives; updated fuel price and capacity assumptions | Revised full-year forecast published in SAP BPC; new CASM and EBITDAR outlook circulated | Rolling reforecast completed and published ≤10 business days after period close | N | N |
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