Hyperion Enterprise Overview

Introduction

Hyperion Enterprise is a management reporting and consolidation system. Hyperion Enterprise can handle wide range of financial management tasks. This document describes the following aspects of Hyperion Enterprise version 5.1:

• Databases
• Dimensions
• Configuration
• Entities
• Accounts
• Categories
• Periods
• Report Writer
• Spreadsheet Links
• Customisation
• Summary

Databases

Hyperion Enterprise can use the following databases:

• Hyperion proprietary file-system database
• SQL database

Dimensions

Hyperion Enterprise has the following predefine dimensions:

• Account
• Category
• Consolidation Detail
• Currency
• Period
• Entity
• Field
• Frequency
• Parent
• First Level Subaccount
• Second Level Subaccount
• Subentity

Hyperion Enterprise has no user defined dimensions. The main dimensions are discussed below.

Configuration

Hyperion Enterprise can be entirely configured through a graphical desktop. Additionally some configuration can be modified by editing text files. The main modules which can be configured are described below. The order they are listed in is roughly the order in which they need to be configured.

Entities

[Entities screen shot]

The following are configured in the Entities module:

Entities

Entities can be divisions, subsidiaries, plants, regions, products, or any other organisational units. The following information is stored for each entity:

• Id
• Description
• Currency
• Chart method
• Security class
• Substructure
• Code
• Scale
• Type (Inter-company, Elimination or Journal)
• Percent Consolidation
• Percent Ownership
• Percent Control
• Consolidation method
• Translation method

Organisations

Entities are grouped into organisations to define business structures. The main features of organisations are:

• Multiple organisations can be defined e.g. statutory, product, geographic etc.
• Organisations can vary by period.

Substructures

Substructures are user defined group of entities that you attach to base entities. Substructures can be in a variety of way. For example you could define a substructure to:

• store input data, adjustment data, and post-adjustment data;
• perform and track currency conversions and
• analysis entities by standard department.

You can use the same substructure repeatedly within an application to store the same type of detail information for different entities.

Currencies

Currencies used by the application.

Entity Conversion Tables

Defines mappings used to import and export data.

Entity Lists

Defines groups of entities

Accounts

[Accounts screen shot]

Hyperion Enterprise adopts a chart of accounts approach to accounts configuration. The following are configured in the Accounts module:

Accounts

The following information is stored for each account:

• Id
• Description
• Security class
• Subaccount table
• Code
• Scaled
• Type (Income, Expense, Asset, Liability, Balance, Flow)

Subaccounts

Accounts Conversion Tables

Inter-company Matching

Accounts List

Account lists are subsets of the chart of accounts and are used in the Data Entry, Database, and Reports windows. An account list could be used defined which accounts appear on an income statement. Account lists can be fixed or dynamic.

Categories

In Hyperion Enterprise categories normally contain data for a financial year. Any number of categories can be created. The following information is stored for each category:

• Id
• Description
• Frequency (normally daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, trimester, half-yearly or yearly)
• Start Period
• Start Year
• Number of Periods
• Security class
• Scale

Time

Calculations

Hyperion Enterprise has over 60 predefined and custom user defined functions. Custom functions can make applications easier to build and maintain.

Reporting

[Report writer screen shot]

Hyperion Enterprise has a comprehensive and powerful report writer. However, it is complex and the typical users will not like it. You will find you use the spreadsheet links most of the time.

Spreadsheet Links

Hyperion Enterprise has two spreadsheets links

Hyperion Enterprise has excellent spreadsheet links and support Lotus 123 and Microsoft Excel. The links have the following features:

• Retrieved data from and save data to the Hyperion Enterprise database.
• Drill down through organisation and accounts.
• Switch dimensions.

Customisation

Hyperion Enterprise has a very comprehensive API (Application Programming Interface) with hundred of functions. The API can be accessed from Visual Basic and C++.

Summary

Hyperion Enterprise is a extremely flexible, powerful and comprehensive consolidation systems that will meet the most demanding business requirements. It has a good report writer and excellent spreadsheet links. However, its power and flexibility make it a complex product which will probably  be more expensive to buy and maintain than simpler consolidation packages. Hyperion Enterprise is most appropriate for very large multi-nationals which sell similar products in many markets and need to collect hundreds or thousands of lines of detailed management information. Smaller more diversified groups which collect less management information are likely to find a simpler package more appropriate.

Hyperion Enterprise v5.1 in not web enabled and groups which want to implement a single central database will have to use Hyperion Spiderman, Citrix or a similar technology for data entry and reporting. Hyperion Financial Management is web enabled and appears to be Hyperion's current sales priority. The future development of Hyperion Enterprise therefore needs to be considered.