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56 CHAPTER 3 Introduction to Accounting

while GBI DE uses Euro€ (EUR). Further, each country has to comply with
distinctive tax laws that require it to include different tax-related data in its
general ledger accounts. The fi eld status group determines both the screen lay-
out for document entry and the status of each fi eld on the screen. The available
fi eld status options are suppress, display, required, and optional. If a fi eld is
suppressed, then it is hidden; that is, it is not displayed on the screen. A fi eld
with the display status is displayed and cannot be changed. The user must pro-
vide data for required fi elds, whereas data entry is optional for fi elds with the
optional status. Different fi eld status groups can be defi ned for different types
of accounts such as liquid asset accounts and expense accounts.
Figure 3-7 illustrates the two segments for GBI’s bank account. The chart
of accounts segment indicates that the bank account (account #100000) is part of
the GL00 COA. Both GBI US and GBI DE use this account, but the two
companies use it differently, as specifi ed in their company code segments. For
example, the two companies have different company codes (US00 and DE00)
and different currencies (USD and EUR).

Figure 3-7: General ledger account segments

Another element in the company code segment of a general ledger
account is open item management. If open item management is enabled, then
each item in the account is marked as either “open” or “cleared.” An item is
designated as open until an offsetting (debit or credit) entry is posted to the
account. At that point its status is changed to cleared. For example, when a
company ships a product to a customer, the amount owed is recorded in
a specifi c account. This item remains open until the company receives a pay-
ment. The payment offsets the open item, which is then marked as cleared.
Typically, the open item management indicator is set for clearing accounts,
which are temporary accounts that hold data until these data are moved to
another account.
Finally, when line item display is enabled, a link to the line items that are
included in account balances is maintained. Line items are the specifi c debit
and credit entries in the account. Maintaining links to the line items is necessary

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