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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2024-09-20
Concept: Book Codes and Books in AP&C

Concept: Book Codes and Books in AP&C

Many companies that are under different jurisdictions require accounting and reporting of results according to different accounting principles. The different methods of reporting usually contain the same transactions but with some transactions having different accounting treatment and adjustments. Examples:
  • Accounting Authority – U.S. GAAP by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).
  • International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
  • Regulatory Agencies – Department of Education (DOE), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Book Codes

In Adaptive Planning and Consolidation (AP&C), all accounting entries are tied to a book code. Book codes defines where transactions are accounted for inside the general ledger. Workday associates all accounting transactions to a book code. You can define book codes for your financial transactions based on your reporting requirements. Example: You can define:
  • A Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) book code to record current year GAAP adjustments.
  • An International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) book code to record International IFRS adjustments.
  • A Tax Adjustment book code to record tax adjustments.
  • Period End Adjustment book code to record period end adjustments.
  • Management Restatements book code to record adjustments for management reporting. This book code won’t affect external reporting.
Workday provides book codes and books to record and segregate the transactions for financial reporting.
You can also create additional book codes to meet specific needs for your reporting requirements. Example: You can define source and target book codes for revaluation, equity pickup, and allocations.
You can create a Year End Adjustments book code to record year end adjustments and combine it with the Blank book code to form the Reporting book.
Accounting transactions post directly to the Blank book code or Common book, except for:
  • Asset-related transactions when Multibook Asset Accounting is enabled. Those transactions will post to the specific book code associated with the Asset book.
  • Supplier Lease contract related transactions when
    Lease Contract Book Code Configuration
    has been completed. Instead, it will post to a specific book code for lease contract based on your configuration.
  • Special journal entries.
  • Special journal entries such as revaluation, equity pickup, allocations and noncontrolling interest.
The Blank book code or the Common book is displayed in both the Management and External reporting book.

Book

Next you create books. You can group book codes together into books for financial reporting. A book rolls up activity from one or more book codes, including the Blank book code. Example:
  • IFRS Book = Blank book code + IFRS book code
  • Tax Book = Blank book code + Tax Adjustment book code

Common Book

In Workday, most transactions are recorded in the Blank book code or the Common book. The Common book includes accounting transactions, which are primarily accounting journals within Workday Financials. Accounting journals don’t include a specific book code value, so the book code value is blank (Blank book code). Therefore, the resulting ledger balances are implicitly a part of a Common book.
This table provides an example of how you can define books and book codes in Workday:
Names of book codes and books are specific to your Workday tenant and might be different from the values suggested here.
Book Name
Includes Book Codes
Includes Blank Book Code
Tenant Default
Description
All Adjustments
IFRS Adjustments
Local GAAP Adjustments
Tax Adjustments
No
No
Includes the 3 book codes specified. Won’t include the Blank book code.
Common Book
GAAP
Yes
Yes
Includes:
  • All transactions with a Blank book code (all accounting transactions and manual journals with a Blank book code).
  • All journal transactions that have a GAAP book code.
IFRS Book
IFRS
IFRS Adjustments
Yes
No
Includes:
  • All entries with a Blank book code (all the accounting transactions and manual journals with a Blank book code).
  • All journal entries that have the IFRS or IFRS Adjustments book codes.