Search Results gl_account_hierarchies




The GL_ACCOUNT_HIERARCHIES table in Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 is a critical component of the General Ledger (GL) module, serving as the repository for defining and maintaining account hierarchies. These hierarchies are essential for financial reporting, consolidation, and analytical purposes, enabling organizations to structure their chart of accounts (COA) in a logical and meaningful way. The table stores parent-child relationships between accounting segments, allowing for roll-up reporting and summarization of financial data.

Key Attributes of GL_ACCOUNT_HIERARCHIES

The table contains several important columns that define the hierarchical relationships:
  • HIERARCHY_ID: A unique identifier for each hierarchy definition.
  • STRUCTURE_ID: References the accounting flexfield structure to which the hierarchy belongs.
  • PARENT_VALUE: The segment value of the parent node in the hierarchy.
  • CHILD_VALUE: The segment value of the child node that rolls up to the parent.
  • RANGE_ID: Identifies a range of child values if the hierarchy uses value ranges instead of discrete values.
  • ENABLED_FLAG: Indicates whether the hierarchy relationship is active (Y/N).
  • START_DATE_ACTIVE and END_DATE_ACTIVE: Define the period during which the hierarchy is valid.

Functional Significance

Account hierarchies in Oracle GL serve multiple purposes:
  1. Financial Reporting: Enables summarized reporting at different levels (e.g., department → division → company).
  2. Budgeting: Allows budget amounts to be allocated and tracked at various hierarchy levels.
  3. Security: Supports data access control through hierarchy-based security rules.
  4. Consolidation: Facilitates financial consolidation by defining roll-up paths.

Technical Implementation

The hierarchy data is typically created and maintained through the Oracle GL application interface (Navigation: General Ledger > Setup > Financials > Flexfields > Key > Segments > Account Hierarchies). However, direct SQL manipulation is possible for bulk operations or data migrations. The hierarchy relationships are validated against the accounting flexfield definition to ensure only valid segment values are used.

Integration Points

The GL_ACCOUNT_HIERARCHIES table integrates with several other Oracle EBS components:
  • FSG (Financial Statement Generator): Uses hierarchies for row set definitions in financial reports.
  • ADFdi (Account Hierarchy Editor): Provides a modern interface for hierarchy maintenance in later versions.
  • GL_BALANCES: Balances can be queried at any level of the hierarchy through appropriate SQL joins.

Performance Considerations

For organizations with complex hierarchies or large charts of accounts, proper indexing on HIERARCHY_ID, STRUCTURE_ID, and the value columns is recommended. Oracle's tree walking mechanism (CONNECT BY in SQL) is often used to traverse these hierarchies in reports and queries.

Version-Specific Notes

While the core functionality remains consistent between 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, version 12.2.2 introduced enhancements in hierarchy management through the ADFdi interface and improved performance for hierarchy-based reporting. The underlying table structure, however, remained largely unchanged between these versions. In summary, the GL_ACCOUNT_HIERARCHIES table is a foundational element of Oracle GL's analytical capabilities, providing the structural framework for meaningful financial analysis and reporting across organizational dimensions.