C_TS413_1909 SAP Asset Management Interview Questions

The “SAP Certified Application Associate – SAP S/4HANA Asset Management” certification exam verifies that the applicant has the fundamental and core Asset Management knowledge required for the consultant role. This certificate attests to the candidate’s broad understanding of the material and ability to apply it to projects in order to contribute to the success of the planning and implementation phases in a mentored capacity. This exam does not require prior project experience to pass.

Let’s start with C_TS413_1909 SAP Asset Management Interview Questions and answers!

Advanced Interview Questions

What is SAP Asset Management and its purpose?

SAP Asset Management is a module in the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that helps organizations manage and track their fixed assets. Its purpose is to provide a centralized and automated solution for managing the complete lifecycle of assets, from acquisition to disposal.

The module provides companies with a comprehensive overview of their assets, enabling them to make informed decisions and improve their asset utilization. This includes tracking and managing assets, monitoring their depreciation, performing maintenance and repairs, and monitoring the financial impact of assets on the business.

By using SAP Asset Management, organizations can improve their asset management processes, increase visibility into their assets, and reduce manual effort and errors. The module also helps companies comply with regulatory requirements, such as tax regulations, by providing accurate and up-to-date asset information.

In short, the purpose of SAP Asset Management is to provide organizations with an efficient and effective way to manage their assets, improve asset utilization, and optimize their asset management processes.

What are the key functionalities of SAP Asset Management?

SAP Asset Management is a module within SAP ERP that helps organizations manage and track their physical assets. Key functionalities include:

Asset Master Data Management: Maintaining and managing all relevant information related to an asset, such as its location, value, depreciation, etc.
Asset Acquisition and Retirement: Recording and tracking all asset acquisitions, retirements, and disposals, including their financial implications.
Maintenance Management: Planning, scheduling and executing maintenance activities, including preventive maintenance and repair work orders.
Depreciation Calculation: Automatically calculating the depreciation of assets based on specified methods and rules.
Cost Accounting: Allocating asset costs and expenses to the relevant cost centers or business units.
Asset History and Reports: Generating reports and accessing a complete history of an asset’s transactions, movements, and maintenance activities.
Integration with Other Modules: Integration with other SAP modules, such as Financial Accounting and Material Management, for a comprehensive view of asset management data.

How does SAP Asset Management integrate with other SAP modules?

SAP Asset Management integrates with various other SAP modules to ensure smooth functioning of the asset management process. The integration enables data sharing and real-time updates between different modules, thereby providing a comprehensive overview of the entire asset life cycle. Some of the SAP modules that SAP Asset Management integrates with are:

Financial Accounting (FI) – SAP Asset Management integrates with Financial Accounting to record and report on asset-related financial transactions.
Sales and Distribution (SD) – Integration with SD enables the automatic creation of assets through sales orders.
Material Management (MM) – Integration with MM enables the transfer of asset-related information such as procurement data and invoice information.
Plant Maintenance (PM) – PM integration enables the planning and execution of maintenance activities for assets.
Project Systems (PS) – PS integration enables the management of assets during project execution.
Warehouse Management (WM) – WM integration enables the management of assets stored in a warehouse.
Human Capital Management (HCM) – HCM integration enables the management of assets used by employees.

These integrations ensure that asset-related information is updated and accessible in real-time, enabling the efficient and effective management of assets throughout their life cycle.

Can you explain the asset accounting process in SAP Asset Management?

Asset Accounting process in SAP Asset Management involves the following steps:

Master Data Creation: In this step, the master data for the asset is created which includes asset number, asset class, depreciation areas, asset descriptions, and other relevant information.
Acquisition: The next step is to record the acquisition of the asset. This can be done through a Purchase Order or a Direct Entry transaction. The data entered here includes the acquisition cost, vendor, invoice number, and date of acquisition.
Capitalization: After recording the acquisition, the asset is capitalized in SAP. This is done by posting the asset to the General Ledger, which involves assigning the asset to a specific asset class and depreciation area.
Depreciation Run: Depreciation is calculated on a periodic basis and is based on the depreciation key assigned to the asset class. The SAP system calculates the depreciation amount and posts it to the General Ledger.
Posting of Depreciation: After the calculation of depreciation, the depreciation amount is posted to the General Ledger. This process involves debiting the depreciation expense account and crediting the accumulated depreciation account.
Retirement/Transfer of Assets: When an asset is retired or transferred to another company, the SAP system records the event. This process involves deactivating the asset, adjusting the accumulated depreciation and revaluing the asset.
Asset Reconciliation: The final step in the asset accounting process is the reconciliation of the asset data. This is done to ensure that the data in SAP is accurate and matches the physical assets. The reconciliation process includes reviewing the asset master data, the asset register, and the asset history.

The Asset Accounting process in SAP Asset Management ensures that the assets are recorded accurately and that the depreciation is calculated and posted correctly. This helps organizations to keep track of their assets, monitor their depreciation, and make informed decisions about asset utilization.

What is the difference between an asset master and a depreciation area in SAP Asset Management?

In SAP Asset Management, an Asset Master and a Depreciation Area are two separate and distinct concepts.

An Asset Master is a complete and detailed record of an asset in the system. It includes information such as asset classification, acquisition data, technical data, and financial data. An Asset Master serves as a central repository of all the information related to an asset.

A Depreciation Area, on the other hand, is an accounting unit within an Asset Master. It represents a specific view of the asset in terms of financial accounting and provides the basis for calculating depreciation and posting depreciation transactions to the general ledger. Each asset can have multiple Depreciation Areas, each with its own set of depreciation rules and financial data.

In summary, an Asset Master is the central repository of information related to an asset, while a Depreciation Area is a specific view of an asset in terms of financial accounting and depreciation calculation.

How do you perform asset retirement in SAP Asset Management?

Asset retirement in SAP Asset Management is the process of retiring an asset from active use and removing it from the balance sheet. The following steps explain how to perform asset retirement in SAP Asset Management:

Go to the SAP Asset Management module and navigate to the Asset Explorer.
Search for the asset you want to retire and open its details.
In the asset details screen, select the “Retirement” tab.
Enter the date on which you want to retire the asset and the reason for retirement.
Choose the method of asset retirement. You can either choose to transfer the asset to another company code or sell the asset.
If you choose to transfer the asset, you need to enter the company code and the new asset number. If you choose to sell the asset, you need to enter the sale date, sale price, and any other relevant details.
Save the changes.
A journal entry will be created in the general ledger to reflect the retirement of the asset.
The asset will be removed from the balance sheet and will no longer be available for use in the SAP Asset Management module.

It is important to perform asset retirement in SAP Asset Management in order to maintain accurate financial records and ensure that all assets are accounted for in the company’s books. By following these steps, you can perform asset retirement in SAP Asset Management efficiently and accurately.

Can you walk us through the asset acquisition process in SAP Asset Management?

The asset acquisition process in SAP Asset Management involves several steps to ensure that the new asset is recorded and managed properly in the system.

Preparation: The first step in the asset acquisition process is to prepare the necessary information and data for the new asset. This includes the vendor details, purchase order information, invoice details, and asset specifications.
Creation of Master Data: Once the information is prepared, the next step is to create the master data for the asset in SAP Asset Management. This includes creating a unique asset number, description, and classification.
Data Entry: The next step is to enter the asset data into SAP Asset Management. This includes entering the asset specifications, cost information, depreciation details, and any other relevant information.
Asset Assignment: Once the asset data is entered, the next step is to assign the asset to a specific asset class or category. This helps in tracking the asset and its depreciation.
Capitalization: The next step is to capitalize the asset, which means to record the asset as a fixed asset in the company’s books. This is usually done once the asset is received and is ready for use.
Acquisition Cost Calculation: Once the asset is capitalized, the next step is to calculate the acquisition cost of the asset. This includes calculating the cost of the asset, including any taxes and freight charges.
Depreciation Calculation: The next step is to calculate the depreciation of the asset. This includes determining the useful life of the asset, the depreciation method, and the depreciation rate.
Asset Transfer: If the asset is acquired by a subsidiary company, it may need to be transferred to the parent company. This process involves creating a transfer order and updating the asset data in the new company.
Final Checks: The final step in the asset acquisition process is to perform a final check to ensure that all the data is accurate and up-to-date. This includes verifying the asset master data, depreciation details, and cost information.

Overall, the asset acquisition process in SAP Asset Management is a systematic and organized approach to ensure that the new assets are recorded and managed correctly in the system.

How does SAP Asset Management handle asset maintenance and repairs?

SAP Asset Management provides various features for handling asset maintenance and repairs, including the following:

Maintenance Planning: Allows maintenance managers to plan and schedule maintenance activities for assets in advance.
Maintenance Order: Enables the creation of a maintenance order for an asset, which outlines the required repairs and maintenance activities.
Notification Management: Allows users to create and manage maintenance notifications, which are used to inform maintenance personnel of potential issues with assets.
Task Lists: Provides predefined task lists for maintenance activities, which can be used to quickly and consistently perform maintenance procedures.
Technical Objects: Technical objects in SAP Asset Management provide a detailed description of assets and their components, making it easier to identify the parts that need to be repaired or maintained.
Maintenance History: SAP Asset Management tracks the maintenance history of assets, providing a comprehensive record of all maintenance activities that have been performed on an asset.
Cost Accounting: SAP Asset Management integrates with SAP Cost Accounting to track the costs associated with maintenance and repair activities. This allows for accurate budgeting and cost control.

Overall, SAP Asset Management provides a comprehensive and integrated solution for managing asset maintenance and repairs, helping organizations to ensure that their assets are functioning optimally and reducing the likelihood of unexpected downtime.

What are the reporting options available in SAP Asset Management?

SAP Asset Management provides various reporting options to its users to get insights and analysis of their asset data. Some of the reporting options available in SAP Asset Management are:

Standard Reports: SAP Asset Management provides standard reports for specific purposes like Depreciation Report, Asset Master Report, Asset Movement Report, Asset Listing Report, and so on.
Ad Hoc Reports: Users can create ad-hoc reports in SAP Asset Management using SAP Query, SAP List Viewer, and SAP Report Painter.
Business Intelligence: SAP Asset Management provides business intelligence tools such as SAP BusinessObjects, SAP Lumira, and SAP Crystal Reports to create complex and comprehensive reports with interactive visualization.
SAP Financial Accounting (FI) Reports: Asset accounting data can be integrated with Financial Accounting and various reports can be generated for financial analysis.
SAP Material Management (MM) Reports: SAP Asset Management can be integrated with Material Management to provide reports for procurement and inventory management.
SAP Plant Maintenance (PM) Reports: SAP Asset Management can be integrated with Plant Maintenance to provide maintenance and repair reports.
SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) Reports: SAP Asset Management can be integrated with Sales and Distribution to provide sales-related reports.

In conclusion, SAP Asset Management provides multiple reporting options to its users to provide a comprehensive view of their asset data. The reports generated can be used for financial analysis, maintenance, procurement, and sales management.

Can you explain the role of classification in SAP Asset Management?

Classification in SAP Asset Management is a process of categorizing assets based on their characteristics, such as type, function, location, and so on. The purpose of asset classification is to enable more accurate and consistent tracking, management, and reporting of assets.

Classification is a critical part of the asset management process, as it provides a standardized framework for organizing and managing assets, which can lead to improved decision-making and resource allocation. In SAP Asset Management, assets can be classified using a custom-defined classification system or standard classification systems, such as International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Once assets are classified, the system can use the classification information to determine which depreciation methods to use, to generate reports based on specific asset classes, and to track and manage the assets over their lifecycle. Additionally, classifications can be used to define asset management policies, such as asset depreciation schedules, maintenance and repair procedures, and to allocate costs.

In conclusion, classification plays a crucial role in SAP Asset Management, as it provides a consistent and standardized way to categorize, manage, and report on assets, leading to improved decision-making and resource allocation.

Basic Interview Questions

1. What do you understand by SAP Asset acounting?

The SAP System’s Asset Accounting (FI-AA) component manage and oversee fixed assets. In financial accounting, it acts as a secondary ledger to General Ledger, giving precise information on transactions involving fixed assets.

2. Describe asset accounting (FI-AA)?

From acquisition until retirement/scrapping, SAP’s Asset Accounting (FI-AA) submodule maintains a company’s fixed assets. This module handles all accounting operations such as asset depreciation, insurance, and so on, and all accounting data from this module flows in real-time to FI-GL.

Direct posting from MM or PP to FI-AA (goods receipt (GR), invoice receipt (IR), or any withdrawal from a warehouse to a fixed asset) will be possible. Sales may be directly posted to client accounts thanks to the interaction with FI-AR. When a transaction does not route through the MM module, connection with FI-AP facilitates the immediate posting of an asset to FI-AA and the applicable vendor account. Using settlements in the PM module, maintenance operations may capitalize to an asset. FI-AA as well as FI-GL has real-time integration, which means that all transactions such as asset acquisition, retirement, transfer, and so on are recorded in both modules at the same time. However, batch processing is necessary to transfer the depreciation values, interest, and so on to the new system.

3. What does The FI-AA and CO integration helps in?

Assigning an asset to any type of activity. Internal Orders serve as a two-way communication channel with the FI-AA:

They aid in the collection and allocation of capital expenditure to assets.

They collect depreciation/interest from FI-AA and apply it to controlling objects. (Note: When an asset master record contains both an internal order and a cost centre. Then, depreciation always posts to the internal order rather than the cost centre.)

4.In FI-AA, what is a lean implementation?

A ‘Lean Implementation’ is a simplified version of the regular FI-AA configuration in IMG, with only the necessary configuration to enable asset accounting. This is appropriate for small businesses that use the standard functionalities of asset accounting, as well as situations where the Asset Catalog is not very large.

You should not choose lean implementation if any of the following conditions exist:

Firstly, you require more than just Depreciation Areas.
Secondly. you must also depreciate in foreign currencies.
You own Group Assets.
Next, you must create your own Depreciation Keys, Transaction Types, and Reports.
You require Group Consolidation.

5. What are the different kinds of assets in SAP?

An asset can be classified as a Simple Asset or a Complex Asset. Assets are managed using Asset Main Numbers and Asset Sub Numbers, depending on the situation. A complex asset is made up of many Sub-Assets, each of which is identified by an asset sub number. In SAP, you can also use the concept of Group Asset.

6. Explain Complex assets and asset sub numbers.

In SAP, a ‘Complex Asset’ is made up of several master records, each of which is identified by a ‘Asset Sub number.’ It’s a good idea to use asset sub-numbers if:

You must separate the’subsequent acquisitions’ from the initial one (for example, your initial acquisition was a PC, and you are adding a printer later).
Even during the ‘initial acquisition,’ you want to manage the various parts of an asset separately (for example, an initial purchase of a PC where you create separate asset master records for the monitor, CPU, etc.).

7. In SAP, what is a group asset?

In SAP, a ‘Group Asset’ is similar to a regular asset except that it can have (any number of) sub-assets denoted by Asset Sub numbers. When performing depreciation at a group level for special purposes such as tax reporting, the concept of group asset becomes necessary. Remember that SAP’s method of depreciation is always at the asset level. As a result, in order to manage at the group level, the group asset is necessary. When you decide to have group assets, you must also have’special depreciation areas’ designated for group assets; you cannot depreciate a group asset using a regular depreciation area.

8. In SAP, what is the asset super number?

In FI-AA, the concept of ‘Asset Super Number’ is only used for reporting purposes. You will assign a number of individual assets to a single asset number in this section. Using this methodology, you will be able to view all of the assets associated with the asset super number as a single asset (for example, a brake assembly line) or as individual assets (for example, machinery, equipment in the brake assembly line).

9. What is a depreciation chart? What makes it different from a charter of accounts?

A ‘Chart of Depreciation’ contains a list of depreciation areas for each country. It specifies the rules for valuing assets that are valid in a specific country or economic area. SAP includes default depreciation charts that are tailored to the needs of each country. These default depreciation charts also serve as’reference charts,’ from which you can create a new depreciation chart by copying one of the relevant charts. After copying, you can delete the depreciation areas that you no longer require. However, keep in mind that the deletion must occur before any assets are create.

10. How do you create a code for an asset accounting company?

In FI configuration, define the Company Code and assign it a chart of accounts.
Assign a depreciation chart in FI-AA format to this Company Code.
Add the necessary information for the Company Code for use in FI-AA, and your ‘asset accounting Company Code’ is now ready for use.

11. Define Depreciation

The term ‘depreciation’ refers to the decrease in the book value of an asset as a result of its use over time (‘decrease in economic usefulness’) or due to the legal framework for taxation reporting. Calculate Depreciation by taking into account the asset’s economic life, the expected value of the asset at the end of its economic life (junk/ scrap value), the method of depreciation calculation (straight line method, declining balance, sum of year digits, double declining, etc.), and the defined percentage decline in the asset’s value each year (20 percent , or 15 percent , and so on).

12. Explain the different types of depreciation.

In SAP, there are three types of depreciation:

Ordinary depreciation is nothing more than ‘planned depreciation.’
Special depreciation is use in addition to ‘ordinary depreciation,’ which normally is for tax purposes.
Unplanned depreciation is the result of a decrease in asset value cause by the unexpected occurrence of certain events.

13. What are the other areas of depreciation?

Depreciation in group currency is recorded.
Versions consolidated in local/group currency
Depreciation on the tax balance sheet
Depreciation subject to special taxation
valuation based on country (e.g., net-worth tax or state calculation)
Values/depreciations that differ from those found in depreciation area 01 (for example, cost-accounting reasons)
Depreciation area derived (the difference between book depreciation and country-specific tax depreciation)

14. Explain Depreciation areas in asset management.

For various purposes, fixed assets are value differently (business, legal, etc.). SAP manages these various valuations through ‘Depreciation Areas.’ There are various types of depreciation, such as book depreciation, tax depreciation, and cost-accounting depreciation, among others.

A depreciation area determines how and why an asset is value. The depreciation area can be either’real’ or ‘derived.’ Depending on the valuation and reporting requirements, you may need to use multiple depreciation areas for a single asset. In the system, the depreciation areas are identified by a two-character code. The depreciation areas include the depreciation terms that must enter into the asset master records or asset classes.

15. What exactly is an asset class?

In SAP, a ‘Asset Class’ is the foundation for classifying an asset based on business and legal requirements. It is essentially a collection of assets that share certain characteristics. Each asset in the system must be assign to a specific asset class. The most important configuration element is an asset class, which determines the type of asset (such as land, buildings, furniture and fixtures, equipment, assets under construction, leased assets, low value assets, and so on), the document number range, data entry screen layout for asset master creation, GL account assignments, depreciation areas, depreciation terms, and so on. An asset class is define at the Client level and is available to all of the Client’s Company Codes.

16. How do you set up FI-AA depreciation area postings to FI?

You must specify how the various depreciation areas should be posted to FI-GL. It could be any of the following possibilities:

‘Periodic processing’ for post-depreciation.
Through periodic processing, post both the APC (Acquisition and Production Costs) and depreciation.
Post the APC in’real time,’ but depreciate via periodic processing.

17. What does asset class consist of?

The asset class consists of the following items:

Control parameters for master data maintenance and account determination are contained in a header section.
A master data section—the asset master record’s administrative data default values.
Control parameters for valuation and depreciation terms are set in the valuation section.

18. What exactly is an asset class catalog?

An ‘Asset Class Catalog’ contains all of the asset classes in an enterprise and is thus applicable to all Clients. Because an asset class is valid across the Client, the majority of the asset class’s characteristics are define at the Client level; however, certain characteristics (such as the depreciation key, for example) can be define at the chart of depreciation level.

19. What is the purpose of asset classes?

An ‘Asset Class’ is the link between asset master records and relevant GL accounts. The asset class account determination allows you to post to the appropriate GL accounts. Several asset classes can use the same account determination if they all use the same chart of accounts and post to the same general ledger accounts.

20. Is it possible to automatically create asset classes?

One advantage of lean implementation configuration is the ability to automatically create asset classes from asset GL accounts. This tool selects only the system settings that are necessary, allowing asset classes to create automatically in a very short period of time. During the creation process, you can delete all existing objects (such as asset classes, number ranges, account allocations, field selections, and so on) before creating new ones.

21. What exactly is an asset master?

An ‘Asset Master’ can be created by copying an existing asset in the same or another Company Code, or it can be created from scratch for the first time. Again, when creating the master, SAP allows you to create multiple assets in one step as long as they are all similar (having the same asset class and all belonging to the same Company Code).

22. What is the purpose of asset classes?

23. Explain the two ways in which asset masters are created?

Firstly, make a copy of an existing asset to use as a template for the new one.
Secondly, create a new asset from an existing asset class so that this asset class provides the
The new asset’s default control parameters.

24. Can multiple assets be created in a single transaction?

SAP allows you to create multiple (but related) assets in a single transaction. What you should know is that all of these assets should be classified as belonging to the same asset class and have the same Company Code. In the ‘Number of similar assets’ field, enter the number of assets you need to create. When you are about to save the master records after creating the assets, you will be able to change the individual descriptions/inventory numbers. The system assigns a range of asset numbers when you save the master records. The only disadvantage of using this method of bulk asset creation is that you will not be able to create long text for any of these.

25. In an asset master, what is the time-dependent data?

All cost accounting assignment-related data, such as cost centres, internal orders, or investment projects, must be maintained in asset masters as ‘Time-dependent Data.’ Additionally, information pertaining to asset shutdown and shift operation must be kept as time-sensitive. SAP stores all time-dependent data for the assets’ entire life cycle.

26. What are the asset masters automatically set during initial acquisition?

Firstly, capitalization date Acquisition period Posting date of initial acquisition
Date of commencement of depreciation (per depreciation area)

27. Why should an asset master record be blocked?

If you decide that you do not want to post any additional acquisitions to an existing asset, you must set the Block Indicator in the asset master record. This is typically the case with AuC, where you no longer want any further additions to the asset after capitalization. The block indicator prevents only further postings but not transfers, retirements, or depreciation; even if an asset gets blocked, it can still be depreciated as other assets.

28. What do you mean by a balanced portfolio?

The reality is that a well-balanced portfolio is dependent on the primary goals that we are attempting to achieve. If you’re in charge of a pool of money for someone (or a group of people) planning for retirement, your priority should be capital preservation and light growth.

If, on the other hand, you’re dealing with clients who are already wealthy and young, you’d look for a growth mix that includes some dividend stocks (or high yield bonds) to generate consistent cash flow.

29. What are credit spreads, and why are they important?

Firstly, credit spreads are something that all asset managers will pay close attention to (even if they aren’t primarily involve in making credit investments).
Secondly, credit spreads are a straightforward concept. It’s simply the difference in yields between corporate bonds and the underlying treasury of a similar duration.
A credit spread essentially tells you how much compensation investors require in order to take on the credit risk of a specific company or group of companies. You spread this against the underlying treasury because the underlying treasury is risk-free.

30. What are the different types of asset management?

Firstly, Digital Asset Management (DAM)
Secondly, Fixed Asset Management
Next, IT Asset Management (ITAM)
Further, Enterprise Asset Management
Financial Asset Management
Infrastructure Asset Management

C_TS413_1909 SAP Asset Management free practice test