IP Library › Granted Patent US 7,289,974
Granted Patent B2
US 7,289,974 · App. 10/654,968 · Granted Oct 30, 2007

System and method for data reconciliation

Assignee: SAP AG
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,289,974
App. No.
10/654,968
Granted
Oct 30, 2007
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for data reconciliation. In one embodiment, information identifying data sources to be reconciled may be received. Data may be retrieved from a first data source based on a dynamic link identifying data in the first data source and data from a second data source may be retrieved based on a dynamic link identifying data in the second data source. A first portion of a reconciliation rule may be processed using the retrieved data from the first data source to generate a first result. A second portion of the reconciliation rule may be processed using the retrieved data from the second data source to generate a second result. The first result may be compared with the second result. If the first result matches the second result, it may be confirmed that data in the first data source is reconciled with the data in the second data source.

Claims (116)

1. A method for reconciling data, comprising:

receiving information identifying data sources to be reconciled;

retrieving data from a first data source based on a dynamic link identifying data in the first data source;

retrieving data from a second data source based on a dynamic link identifying data in the second data source;

processing a first portion of a reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the first data source to generate a first result;

processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the second data source to generate a second result;

comparing the first result with the second result; and

storing to memory a reconciliation report, wherein the reconciliation report presents data for selected fields of the first and second data sources, and further automatically provides a first predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are matched and a second predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are not matched.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the operation of processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the first data source identifies a location of the data in the first data source.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the first data source further identifies a routine to retrieve data from the first data source.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the second data source identifies a location of the data in the second data source.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the second data source further identifies a routine to retrieve data from the second data source.

10. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of executable instructions to be executed by a processor to implement a method for reconciling data, the method comprising:

receiving information identifying data sources to be reconciled;

retrieving data from a first data source based on a dynamic link identifying data in the first data source;

retrieving data from a second data source based on a dynamic link identifying data in the second data source;

processing a first portion of a reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the first data source to generate a first result;

processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the second data source to generate a second result;

comparing the first result with the second result; and

storing to memory a reconciliation report, wherein the reconciliation report presents data for selected fields of the first and second data sources, and further automatically provides a first predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are matched and a second predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are not matched.

11. The machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the operation of processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

15. A system comprising:

first and second data sources;

a processor configured to:

receive information identifying data sources to be reconciled;

retrieve data from a first data source based on a dynamic link identifying data in the first data source;

retrieve data from a second data source based on a dynamic link identifying data in the second data source;

process a first portion of a reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the first data source to generate a first result;

process a second portion of the reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the second data source to generate a second result;

compare the first result with the second result; and an output manager configured to store to memory a reconciliation report, wherein the reconciliation report presents data for selected fields of the first and second data sources, and further automatically provides a first predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are matched and a second predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are not matched.

16. A method for reconciling data, comprising:

receiving information identifying data sources to be reconciled;

retrieving data from a first set of data sources based on a dynamic link identifying data in the first set of data sources;

retrieving data from a second set of data sources based on a dynamic link identifying data in the second set of data sources;

processing a first portion of a reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the first set of data sources to generate a first result;

processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the second set of data sources to generate a second result;

comparing the first result with the second result; and

storing to memory a reconciliation report, wherein the reconciliation report presents data for selected fields of the first and second sets of data sources, and further automatically provides a first predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are matched and a second predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are not matched.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the operation of processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the first set of data sources identifies a location of the data in the first set of data sources.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the first set of data sources further identifies a routine to retrieve data from the first set of data sources.

23. The method of claim 16 , wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the second set of data sources identifies a location of the data in the second set of data sources.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the dynamic link identifying data in the second set of data sources further identifies a routine to retrieve data from the second set of data sources.

25. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of executable instructions to be executed by a processor to implement a method for reconciling data, the method comprising:

receiving information identifying data sources to be reconciled;

retrieving data from a first set of data sources based on a dynamic link identifying data in the first set of data sources;

retrieving data from a second set of data sources based on a dynamic link identifying data in the second set of data sources;

processing a first portion of a reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the first set of data sources to generate a first result;

processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the second set of data sources to generate a second result;

comparing the first result with the second result; and

storing to memory a reconciliation report, wherein the reconciliation report presents data for selected fields of the first and second sets of data sources, and further automatically provides a first predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are matched and a second predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are not matched.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

27. The machine-readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the first result.

28. The machine-readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the operation of processing a second portion of the reconciliation rule comprises:

adding a first selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

29. The machine-readable medium of claim 28 , wherein the operation of processing a first portion of the reconciliation rule further comprises:

subtracting a second selected portion of the retrieved data to generate the second result.

30. A system comprising:

first and second sets of data sources;

a processor configured to:

receive information identifying data sources to be reconciled;

retrieve data from a first set of data sources based on a dynamic link identifying data in the first set of data sources;

retrieve data from a second set of data sources based on a dynamic link identifying data in the second set of data sources;

process a first portion of a reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the first set of data sources to generate a first result;

process a second portion of the reconciliation rule using the retrieved data from the second set of data sources to generate a second result;

compare the first result with the second result; and

an output manager configured to store to memory a reconciliation report, wherein the reconciliation report presents data for selected fields of the first and second sets of data sources, and further automatically provides a first predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are matched and a second predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are not matched.

31. A computer implemented method for data reconciliation, comprising:

retrieving a first set of data from a first data source using a first dynamic link and retrieving a second set of data from a second data source using a second dynamic link, wherein the first and second data sources are functionally independent and the first and second sets of data are generated as a result of the same transaction;

forming a reconciliation equation comprising the first and second sets of data;

evaluating the reconciliation equation; and

outputting a reconciliation report based on evaluation of the reconciliation equation, wherein the reconciliation report presents data for selected fields of the first and second sets of data sources, and further automatically provides a first predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are matched and a second predefined indication if data for corresponding fields are not matched.

32. The method of claim 31 , wherein the first dynamic link identifies criteria for determining data of the first data source to include in the first set of data and the second dynamic link identifies criteria for determining data of the second data source to include in the second set of data.

33. The method of claim 31 , wherein the first dynamic link specifies retrieval of the first set of data and the second dynamic link specifies retrieval of the second set of data.

34. The method of claim 31 , wherein forming comprises specifying an operator of the reconciliation equation.

35. The method of claim 31 , wherein evaluating comprises:

processing the first set of data to generate a first reconciliation result; and

processing the second set of data to generate a second reconciliation result.

36. The method of claim 31 , wherein outputting comprises providing further details on individual components of the first and second sets of data.

37. The method of claim 31 , wherein outputting comprises outputting the reconciliation report in accordance with user-defined preferences.

38. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a first type and the second predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a second type.

39. The method of claim 38 , wherein the graphical symbol of the first type is an equal to sign and the graphical symbol of the second type is a not equal to sign.

40. The machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the first predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a first type and the second predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a second type.

41. The machine-readable medium of claim 40 , wherein the graphical symbol of the first type is an equal to sign and the graphical symbol of the second type is a not equal to sign.

42. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a first type and the second predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a second type.

43. The system of claim 42 , wherein the graphical symbol of the first type is an equal to sign and the graphical symbol of the second type is a not equal to sign.

44. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a first type and the second predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a second type.

45. The method of claim 44 , wherein the graphical symbol of the first type is an equal to sign and the graphical symbol of the second type is a not equal to sign.

46. The machine-readable medium of claim 25 , wherein the first predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a first type and the second predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a second type.

47. The machine-readable medium of claim 46 , wherein the graphical symbol of the first type is an equal to sign and the graphical symbol of the second type is a not equal to sign.

48. The system of claim 30 , wherein the graphical symbol of the first type is an equal to sign and the graphical symbol of the second type is a not equal to sign.

49. The method of claim 48 , wherein the first predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a first type and the second predefined indication is a graphical symbol of a second type.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Aug 26, 2014
From: SAP AG
To: SAP SE
Reel/Frame 033625/0334 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 17, 2004
From: GODEBY, FRANK; HAHN, WOLFGANG; TASKER, JAMES
To: SAP AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
Reel/Frame 015685/0910 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20050055324A1 · Mar 10, 2005