Oracle releases the application updates documentation on new features and fixed issues from the Applications Release Readiness site. From there, you will be able to check the update for Customer Experience, Human Capital Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Supply Chain Management, Internet of Things Apps, Enterprise Performance Management, Adaptive Intelligent Apps, Industry Solutions, and Data.

A quick recap of the EPM applications.

• Planning
• Financial Consolidation and Close
• Profitable and Cost Management
• Account Reconciliation
• Narrative Reporting
• Tax Reporting
• Enterprise Data Management

For the above EPM cloud solutions, typically, the latest update will be installed on the first Friday of each month to test environment, and third Friday of each month to production environment. The update will be applied during the normal daily maintenance window.

For the July update, it will apply the latest updates to test environment on Friday, Jul 5th, 2019 and to production environment on Jul 19th, 2019.

In this patch, these are the major updates:

Planning

1.REST API Updates

When using REST APIs to import security records, you can now download the error message file. Additionally, you can now use the Sort Members REST API with Free Form applications.

 

2.Export Expanded Reports to Excel

Now you can include expanded rows and columns when you export a Financial Report to Microsoft Excel.

• From the Home page, click Reports, and then click the report you want to see.
• Select an export option for the report, and expand your choice of rows and columns.
• Click the Export to Excel  toggle on the top left of the page.

3.New Version of EPM Automate

A new version of EPM Automate is available with this update. These new commands are now available: exportAppSecurity and exportAppAudit.

• exportAppAudit Command: This command exports data audit records into a ZIP file, which you can download for local storage.
• exportAppSecurity Command: This command exports the date related to artifact-level access assignments (ACLs) to a ZIP file, which you can download for local storage.

4.Working with Funding Options (Strategic Modeling)

You can now work with funding options in Strategic Modeling on the Web. Funding Options enables you to pay off debt accounts with cash from surplus accounts. You specify which surplus accounts go to which debt accounts, and the order they should be repaid. You can specify fund sources the company should borrow from in paying deficits. You can identify affordable dividends, handling of common and preferred stocks, and issuance or repurchase of shares.

 

5.Working with Time Periods (Strategic Modeling)

You can now manage time periods for models in Strategic Modeling on the Web.

Configure time periods to reflect the detail required by your financial models. You can combine periods of years, weeks, months, quarters, and halves for historical and forecast data.

You can create period-to-date, trailing periods, deal periods, and sub periods.

 

6.Ability to Call External Rest Resources from Groovy Object Model

Planning Groovy object model APIs have been enhanced with the ability to call external REST APIs.

 

7.New Domain Option in Smart View (Mac And Browser) Manifest File

There is a new option to add a Domain URL in Smart View (Browser and MAC) when creating the manifest file. Smart View will extract the domain from the Server URL and will add it to the App Domains list as the default. Smart View also supports adding multiple domains.

 

Financial Consolidation and Close

1.New Version of EPM Automate

A new version of EPM Automate is available with this update. These new commands are now available: addUsersToTeam, and removeUsersFromTeam..

• addUsersToTeam Command: This command adds users listed in a CSV file to an existing team. If a user included in the CSV file is already a member of the team, this command ignores that user.
• removeUsersFromTeam Command: This command removes users listed in a CSV file from a team. If a user included in the CSV file is not a a member of the team, this command ignores that user

2.Ability to Export Metadata Validation Results

When you validate metadata, you can now export all error messages to a CSV file. The members are displayed in [Parent].[Child] format.

 

3.Using Calculation Manager in Standard Mode

These changes impact the following Calculation options:

• If you are using Standard mode, you cannot launch Calculation Manager from the Advanced Consolidation card.
• If you are using Enterprise mode, Calculation Manager will launch from Advanced Consolidation.

4.Configuring Consolidations Rule-Set Source Dataset

For Configurable Consolidations, when you create a rule-set and select the Source Dataset for the Elimination data, you can now select a different Scenario, Year, Period, Entity, Consolidation and Currency member than that currently being processed. The destination to which processed data is written will not change and will remain as the Scenario, Year, Period and Entity currently being processed.

 

5.Viewing and Filtering Jobs

When you view the list of Task Manager Jobs, you can now use the POV bar to filter the list and find a specific job. You can filter by Job Name, Status, Created by (or Modified By), Start Date and End Date.

 

6.Use REST API to Generate Reports

Using REST API, you can generate either a single predefined Financial Consolidation and Close or Tax Reporting report, or generate a custom report.

 

7.Email Generated Reports Using REST API

You can now email generated Task Manager and Supplemental Data Manager reports using REST API.

 

8.Support for Comma Separated Value (CSV) Format for Reports

You can now generate a report in Comma Separated Value (CSV) format. This is available for predefined or custom reports.

 

9.Tracing Users in Task Manager Workflows

In Task Manager workflows, a new attribute is available for each workflow stage showing the actual user for the completed workflow, for example Assignee (Actual). In the workflow, the Actual column will show who did work on the task, regardless of the user status.

 

10.Add or Remove Users When Working with Teams Using REST API

You can now add or remove a batch of users when working with teams using REST API.

 

Profitable and Cost Management

1.Better Support for Rule Development and Testing

The Profitability and Cost Management Cloud Program Documentation system report has been enhanced to better support rule development and testing. Previously, the Estimated Source Count and Estimated Destination Count columns of this report showed an estimated number of members included in the member selection for each dimension in the rule by resolving each included member down to its level 0 children, but without applying the defined member filters.  The report now applies the filters defined for each member to give an accurate member count for each dimension.

 

Account Reconciliation

1.Enhancements to Reconciliation Attachments

New enhancements to Reconciliation attachments to make your work easier include:

• Attachments that apply to more than one period of a reconciliation can now be “carried forward” and will appear when the next reconciliation is created.
• Improved oversight of attachments since you can now view who first added the attachment and when it was added.
• Easier to view attachments by adding an “expand all” option for the attachments drawer. This option can be set as the default choice for that drawer.

 

Narrative Reporting

1.Narrative Reporting Applications

In the 19.07 release, EPM Cloud introduces Free Form Planning, which provides dimensional models without dimension type restrictions as well as fast performance and support for large dimensions. Free Form Planning provides significantly more robust functionality than the legacy Narrative Reporting application and models, including read or write, member formula, and procedural logic capabilities. Because of these new powerful capabilities, the Narrative Reporting application will no longer be available to new EPM Cloud Narrative Reporting customers. Free Form Planning with its enhanced functionality can be used for custom cubes.

 

2.Working With Server Initiated Refresh

With server initiated refresh, you can easily refresh the Oracle Smart View for Office data queries in all the Excel-based doclets and reference doclets within a report package using the Refresh options in the Narrative Reporting Web application. In Smart View, you specify which Excel doclets and reference doclets to refresh. You can choose all sheets within a workbook or select only the sheets you require. From the Narrative Reporting Web application, you select to refresh data from all defined data sources or selected data sources.

 

Only one Narrative Reporting data source is allowed per report package. You can also source refreshable data queries from these Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud data sources:

• Planning
• Financial Consolidation and Close
• Tax Reporting

3.Progress Bar for Reporting Operations in Smart View

In Smart View, you can specify that a progress bar is displayed in Excel when using these commands in the Reporting group of the Narrative Reporting ribbon: Upload, Upload and Check In, or Check In. This is useful when working with very large workbooks.

 

Tax Reporting

1.Generating Reports in Tax Reporting Using REST API

You can now generate a report in Tax Reports by using REST API.  All predefined reports, and custom reports can be generated this way.

 

Enterprise Data Management

1.Add Nodes to a List from Another Viewpoint

You can add nodes to a list viewpoint from another viewpoint in the same view by using the Add From menu item on the list viewpoint or by dragging and dropping a node from another viewpoint or a request item.

 

2.Create Request Items from Compare Differences

Request items can be generated from differences resulting from a viewpoint compare to resolve the differences and synchronize the data in the viewpoints. You can generate request items for differences including missing nodes, different relationships, and different property values. You can add these request items to a new request or an existing request.

 

3.Application Validations Enabled for Node Type Bound Viewpoints

Application-specific validations are enabled and run for viewpoints having a binding status of Node Type Bound. These viewpoints are often used for what-if scenarios where the viewpoint uses the same node types as a Bound viewpoint, but uses a different hierarchy set to model changes to a hierarchy without affecting production data. Application and Node Type Level validations can be used with Node Type Bound viewpoints.

 

4.Copy Binding and Edit Settings for Financials Cloud General Ledger

You can copy hierarchy type bindings for Financials Cloud General Ledger dimensions to create new tree versions which are based on a copy of an existing tree version. When copying a dimension binding, the hierarchy set, node set, and viewpoint are also copied but use the same node type (segment values) as the original binding. Parent-child relationships in the original hierarchy set are copied to the new hierarchy set used by the new binding.

 

Tree version related settings for Financials Cloud General Ledger can be defined when copying a dimension binding or edited in the binding inspector for an existing binding. These settings include the Tree Code, Tree Version Name, Effective Start Date, and Effective End Date.

 

5.Descriptive Flexfield Support for Financials Cloud General Ledger

You can manage global and context-specific descriptive flexfields for Financials Cloud General Ledger. Descriptive flexfields can be registered for Financials Cloud General Ledgerapplications and/or segments. The registration process creates additional descriptive flexfield properties for node types defined for the Financials Cloud General Ledger application or segment.

 

Descriptive flexfield values are managed by these properties in viewpoints for Financials Cloud General Ledger. Descriptive flexfield values can be imported and exported along with the segment values they are associated with.

 

6.Edit Property Parameters for Applications

Property parameters can be edited at the application level to override the original values set during application registration. These values can be edited for a property of any application type in the property inspector.  Parameters include Default Value, and Allowed Values.

 

7.Import and Export Allowed Values for Properties

Allowed values for properties can be imported from a file and exported to a file in the property inspector.  This allows large lists of values to be imported from an external source or to perform mass updates using a file.

 

8.New Statistical Properties

The Last Modified By and Last Modified Date statistical properties are available to identify the user who last performed a request action to a node and when the user made the change. These properties can be added to node types and used in viewpoints where this information is necessary.

 

9.Inspector Dialog Sizing

Inspector dialogs have been increased in size to provide more space to display content. Inspectors are responsive and automatically resize base on the browser window.

 

10.Sample Application and Recreating the Service

A sample application is provided which consists of pre-loaded sample data and related artifacts for Enterprise Data Management. Using this out-of-box environment, you can explore the capabilities of Enterprise Data Management, get familiar with its features, and use tutorials before you start working with your own data.  The sample application includes examples for Financials Cloud General Ledger, Planning, and Financial Consolidation application types.

 

From a new option on the Settings and Actions menu, the Service administrator can recreate the service which removes all applications and artifacts. The administrator can then create a sample application, new application, or import a snapshot.

 

These are the July updates for EPM Cloud. I will keep my eyes on the monthly updates and will share more ideas going forward. See you next time.