To enable Essbase to generate the currency database outline automatically, you modify dimensions and members in the main database outline. In the Sample currency application, the main database is Interntl.
The main database outline can contain from 3 to n dimensions. At minimum, the main database must contain the following dimensions:
A dimension tagged as time. Tagging a dimension as time generates a dimension in the currency database that is identical to the time dimension in the main database. In the Sample.Interntl database, the dimension tagged as time is Year.
A dimension tagged as accounts. Tagging a dimension as accounts and assigning currency categories to its members creates a dimension in the currency database that contains members for each of the individual currency categories. Category assignment enables the application of different exchange rates to various accounts or measures. In the Sample.Interntl database, the dimension tagged as accounts is Measures.
Each descendant of a member inherits the currency category tag of its ancestor. A member or sub-branch of members also can have its own category.
For example, profit and loss (P&L) accounts may use exchange rates that differ from the rates used with balance sheet accounts. In addition, some accounts may not require conversion. For example, in the Sample.Interntl database, members such as Margin% and Profit% require no conversion. You tag members not to be converted as No Conversion. The No Conversion tag is not inherited.
A market-related dimension tagged as country. Tagging a dimension as country and assigning currency names to individual countries creates a member in the currency database for each currency. In the Sample.Interntl database, the Market dimension is tagged as country. The currency name for this dimension is USD (U.S. dollars), because all local currencies must be converted to USD, the company’s common currency.
Because multiple members can have the same currency name, the number of currency names is typically less than the total number of members in the dimension. As shown in Table 31, Interntl Database Currency Names, the Sample.Interntl database uses only six currency names for the 15 members in the Market dimension. Each of the children of the member Europe uses a different currency and, therefore, must be assigned an individual currency name. However, the U.S. dimension and its four regional members all use the same currency. The same is true of the Canada member and its three city members. When the children of a given member share a currency, you must define a currency name for only the parent member.
When preparing a main database outline for currency conversion, you can create an optional currency partition to tell Essbase which slice of the database holds local currency data and which holds data to be converted. The dimension that you tag as currency partition contains members for both local currency values and converted values. Local currency data is converted to common currency data using currency conversion calculation scripts. In the Sample.Interntl database, the Scenario dimension is the currency partition dimension.
For instructions on how to use currency partition dimensions, see Keeping Local and Converted Values.
A currency conversion partition applies only to the Currency Conversion option. It is not related to the Partitioning option that enables data to be shared between databases by using a replicated, linked, or transparent partition. |
The Oracle Essbase Spreadsheet Add-in User's Guide provides examples of ad hoc currency reporting capabilities. Report scripts enable the creation of reports that convert data when the report is displayed, as discussed under Converting Currencies in Report Scripts.
For a list of methods used to create the main database outline, see Creating Main Database Outlines. |