PO Approval Groups

Description:

PO approval groups and approval rules e.g. amount limits or account ranges

Parameters

Operating Unit, Approval Group

Used tables

hr_locations, financials_system_params_all, gl_ledgers, mtl_default_category_sets, mtl_category_sets_b, hr_all_organization_units_vl, po_control_groups_all, po_control_rules, fnd_id_flex_structures

Dependencies

If you would like to try one of these Oracle EBS SQLs without having Blitz Report installed, note that some of the reports require functions from utility package xxen_util.

Example Report

PO Approval Groups 25-Jul-2017 120349.xlsx

Report SQL

www.enginatics.com/reports/po-approval-groups/

Blitz Report™ import options

PO_Approval_Groups.xml

Case Study & Technical Analysis: PO Approval Groups Report

Executive Summary

The PO Approval Groups report is a crucial configuration and audit tool for Oracle Purchasing, providing detailed insights into the setup of Purchase Order (PO) approval groups and their associated approval rules. It consolidates information on various rules, such as amount limits and account ranges, that govern the automatic routing and approval of purchasing documents. This report is indispensable for procurement administrators, system configurators, and auditors to ensure that financial controls are robust, approval workflows are correctly configured, and compliance with purchasing policies is maintained across the organization.

Business Challenge

Defining and managing a secure and efficient PO approval matrix is fundamental for financial control, preventing unauthorized spending, and ensuring compliance. However, the intricacies of approval group configurations in Oracle Purchasing can pose significant challenges:

Complex Rule Definitions: Approval groups often involve multiple rules based on various criteria (e.g., document amount, GL account, item category). Understanding the complete set of rules for each group requires navigating through several application screens.
Auditing Spending Authority: Regularly auditing approval rules and limits to ensure they align with segregation of duties policies and organizational spending limits is a critical but often manual and error-prone process.
Troubleshooting Approval Failures: When a PO fails to route or gets stuck in an approval workflow, the root cause can often be traced back to a misconfigured approval rule within a group. Diagnosing these issues requires precise information on the active rules.
Compliance and Financial Governance: Demonstrating to auditors that robust financial controls are in place and that PO approvals adhere to company policy requires clear, auditable documentation of the approval rules.

The Solution

This report offers a consolidated, detailed, and easily auditable view of PO approval group configurations, transforming how procurement teams manage their authorization matrix.

Clear Approval Rule Overview: It presents a detailed list of PO approval groups and their associated rules, including amount limits, account ranges, and other criteria. This provides a clear, at-a-glance understanding of the approval logic.
Simplified Configuration Audit: Procurement administrators and auditors can use this report to quickly review and verify approval rules, ensuring they are correctly configured and align with internal control requirements and spending policies.
Accelerated Troubleshooting: When a PO approval workflow issue arises, this report provides immediate insight into the active approval rules, helping to quickly pinpoint and resolve misconfigurations that cause delays.
Enhanced Financial Governance: By providing transparent documentation of approval groups and rules, the report strengthens financial governance and makes it easier to demonstrate compliance during internal and external audits.

Technical Architecture (High Level)

The report queries Oracle Purchasing and General Ledger tables to link approval group definitions with their specific rules.

Primary Tables Involved:
- po_control_groups_all (the central table defining the approval groups themselves).
- po_control_rules (stores the specific rules, such as amount ranges, GL account ranges, item category ranges, that belong to each approval group).
- hr_all_organization_units_vl (for operating unit context).
- gl_ledgers (for ledger information if rules involve GL accounts).
- fnd_id_flex_structures (for key flexfield definitions, if account ranges are used).
Logical Relationships: The report selects approval groups from po_control_groups_all. For each group, it then joins to po_control_rules to extract all the individual rules that govern that approval group. It also joins to other relevant tables to provide descriptive information (e.g., GL account segment names for account range rules).

Parameters & Filtering

The report offers flexible parameters for targeted analysis of approval group configurations:

Operating Unit: Filters the report to a specific business unit or organizational context.
Approval Group: Allows users to focus on the rules associated with a particular approval group, which is useful for detailed review or troubleshooting.

Performance & Optimization

As a configuration report, it is optimized for efficient retrieval of setup data.

Low Data Volume: The underlying tables (po_control_groups_all, po_control_rules) contain configuration data, which is typically a much smaller volume than transactional data, ensuring fast query execution.
Indexed Joins: The queries leverage standard Oracle indexes on control_group_id for efficient joins between the approval group and rule definition tables.

FAQ

1. What types of rules can be defined within a PO Approval Group? Approval groups can have various types of rules, including: approval limits based on document amount, rules based on specific GL account ranges (e.g., capital expenditure accounts), rules based on item categories, and rules based on item commodities. These rules dictate when a document requires approval and by whom.

2. How does this report help prevent unauthorized spending? By providing a clear, auditable view of all approval rules and their limits, the report allows procurement and finance teams to ensure that spending authority is correctly configured and aligned with internal policies. Any missing or overly broad rules can be quickly identified and corrected.

3. Can this report show which employees or positions are associated with these approval groups? This report focuses on the rules defined within an approval group. To see which employees or positions are linked to these groups, you would typically use a related report like the ‘PO Approval Assignments’ report, as that report explicitly joins approval groups to HR jobs/positions.

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Alert	CRM Foundation
ALR Alerts	JTF Grid Datasources
Contracts Core	Lease and Finance Management
OKC Contract Lines Summary	OKL Termination Quotes
Payments	Process Manufacturing Inventory
IBY Payment Process Request Details	GMI Cycle Count Forms
Public Sector Financials	Shipping Execution
PSA Budgetary Control Transactions	WSH Shipping/Delivery Transactions
Warehouse Management	XML Publisher
WMS Control Board Tasks	XDO Publisher Data Definitions
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OKS Service Contracts Billing History OKS Service Contracts Billing Schedule	AD Applied Patches AD Applied Patches 11i AD Applied Patches R12.2
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Advanced Pricing	Bills of Material
QP Customer Pricing Engine Request QP Modifier Details QP Price Lists QP Pricing Agreements QP Pricing Attribute Definitions	BOM Bill of Material Structure BOM Calendar Exceptions BOM Calendars BOM Item Where Used GUI BOM Routings
Property Manager	Advanced Supply Chain Planning
PN GL Reconciliation PN Generate Lease Analysis PN Generate Lease Details PN Generate Portfolio Detail PN Generate Portfolio Summary	MSC Exceptions MSC Horizontal Plan MSC Pegging Hierarchy MSC Pegging Hierarchy 11i MSC Plan Orders MSC Vertical Plan
E-Business Tax	Projects
ZX Financial Tax Register ZX Lines Summary ZX Party Tax Profiles ZX Tax Accounts ZX Tax Regimes ZX US Sales Tax	PA Capital Project Summary with Asset Detail PA Project Budget PA Revenue, Cost, Budgets by Resources PA Revenue, Cost, Budgets by Work Breakdown Structure PA Task Schedule PA Transaction Sources
Human Resources	Master Scheduling/MRP
PER Employee Assignments PER Employee Grade Changes PER Employee Salary Change PER Information Type Security PER Organization Hierarchy PER Organizations PER Security Profiles	MRP End Assembly Pegging MRP Exceptions MRP Financial Analysis MRP Horizontal Plan MRP Item Forecast MRP Pegging MRP Plan Orders MRP Sourcing Rules and Bills of Distribution
Order Management	Work in Process
ONT Cancelled Orders ONT Order Holds ONT Orders ONT Orders and Lines ONT Recurring Billing Plan ONT System Parameters ONT Transaction Types Listing ONT Transaction Types and Line WF Processes	WIP Account Distribution WIP Discrete Job Shortage WIP Entities WIP Entities Summary WIP Outside Processing WIP Required Components WIP Value WIP Value Summary
Cash Management	Cost Management
CE Bank Account Balances CE Bank Branches CE Bank Statement Import Execution CE Bank Statement and Reconciliation CE Bank Transaction Codes Listing CE Cash in Transit CE Cleared Transactions CE General Ledger Cash Account Usage CE General Ledger Reconciliation CE Transactions Available for Reconciliation	CST AP and PO Accrual Reconciliation CST COGS Revenue Matching CST Cost Groups CST Detailed Item Cost CST Inventory Value - Multi-Organization (Element Costs) 11i CST Inventory Value - Multi-Organization (Item Costs) CST Inventory Value Report - by Subinventory (Item Cost) CST Item Cost Reports CST Miscellaneous Accrual Reconciliation CST Period Close Subinventory Value CST Period Close Subinventory Value Summary CST Periodic Inventory Value CST Supply Chain Indented Bills of Material Cost CST Uninvoiced Receipts
Purchasing	Discoverer
PO Approval Assignments PO Approval Groups PO Approved Supplier List PO Cancelled Purchase Orders PO Cancelled Requisitions PO Document Types PO Headers PO Headers 11i PO Headers and Lines PO Headers and Lines 11i PO Internal Requisitions and Sales Orders PO Internal Requisitions/Deliveries Discrepancy PO Invoice Price Variance PO Purchase Price Variance PO Purchase Requisitions with PO Details	DIS Access Privileges DIS Business Areas DIS Discoverer and Blitz Report Users DIS End User Layers DIS Folders, Business Areas, Items and LOVs DIS Import Performance DIS Items, Folders and Formulas DIS Migration identify missing EulConditions DIS Users DIS Workbook Export Script DIS Workbook Import Validation DIS Workbook Owner Export Script DIS Workbooks, Folders, Items and LOVs DIS Worksheet Execution History DIS Worksheet Execution Summary DIS Worksheet SQLs
Assets	Payables
FA Additions By Source FA Asset Additions FA Asset Book Details FA Asset Book Details 11i FA Asset Cost FA Asset Impairments FA Asset Inventory FA Asset Inventory Report FA Asset Reclassification FA Asset Register FA Asset Retirements FA Asset Summary (Germany) FA CIP Cost FA Cost Adjustments FA Depreciation Projection FA Depreciation Reserve FA Journal Entry Reserve Ledger FA Revaluation Reserve FA Tax Reserve Ledger	AP 1099 Payments AP Accounted Invoice Aging AP Cash Requirement AP DPIVA Export LSNA AP Expenses AP Final Payment Register 11i AP Intercompany Invoice Details AP Invoice Approval Status AP Invoice Audit Listing AP Invoice Payments AP Invoice Payments 11i AP Invoice on Hold AP Invoice on Hold 11i AP Invoices and Lines AP Invoices and Lines 11i AP Invoices with PO, Intercompany and SLA Details AP Matched and Modified Receipts AP Negative Supplier Balance AP Open Balances Revaluation AP Open Items Revaluation AP Posted Invoice Register AP Posted Payment Register AP Preliminary Payment Register 11i AP Supplier Statement AP Suppliers AP Suppliers 11i AP Suppliers Revenue Summary AP Suppliers Revenue Summary 11i AP Trial Balance AP Trial Balance Report Definitions
Receivables	General Ledger
AR Adjustment Register AR Aging AR Aging Buckets and Interest Tiers Setup AR Applied Receipts AR Autoinvoice Interface Summary AR Customer Credit Limits AR Customer Credit Snapshot AR Customer Open Balances Period Lookback AR Customer Statement AR Customers and Sites AR Disputed Invoice AR European Sales Listing AR Incomplete Transactions AR Miscellaneous Receipts AR Miscellaneous Receipts 11i AR Open Balances Revaluation AR Open Items Revaluation AR Past Due Invoice AR Payment Terms AR Receipt Register AR Sales Journal By Customer AR Transaction Register AR Transaction Types AR Transactions and Lines AR Transactions and Lines 11i AR Transactions and Payments AR Transactions and Payments 11i AR Unaccounted Transaction Sweep AR Unapplied Receipts Register AR to GL Reconciliation	GL Account Analysis GL Account Analysis (Distributions) GL Account Analysis (Distributions) 11g GL Account Analysis (Drilldown) GL Account Analysis (Drilldown) (with inventory and WIP) GL Account Analysis 11g GL Account Analysis 11i GL Balance GL Balance (pivot) GL Balance by Account Hierarchy GL Code Combinations GL Daily Rates GL Data Access Sets GL FSG Reports GL FSG Row Orders GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) GL Header Categories Summary GL Journals GL Journals (Drilldown) GL Journals (Drilldown) 11g GL Journals 11i GL Ledger Sets GL Ledgers and Legal Entities GL Ledgers and Organizations GL Oracle FSG Converter GL Oracle FSG Converter 11g GL Period Status GL Periods GL Summary Templates GL Trial Balance - Detail GL effective vs accounting vs period start and end date comparison
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Application Object Library	Database Administration
FND Application Context File FND Applications FND Attached Documents FND Attachment Functions FND Audit Setup FND Audit Table Changes by Column FND Audit Table Changes by Record FND Concurrent Managers FND Concurrent Program Incompatibilities FND Concurrent Programs and Executables FND Concurrent Programs and Executables 11i FND Concurrent Request Conflicts FND Concurrent Requests FND Concurrent Requests 11i FND Concurrent Requests Summary FND Data Groups FND Descriptive Flexfield Table Columns FND Descriptive Flexfields FND Document Categories FND Document Sequence Assignments FND Document Sequences FND FNDLOAD Object Transfer FND Flex Hierarchies (Rollup Groups) FND Flex Value Hierarchy FND Flex Value Security Rules FND Flex Value Sets, Usages and Values FND Flex Values FND Form Functions FND Forms Personalizations FND Help Documents and Targets FND Histogram Columns FND Key Flexfields FND Languages FND Lobs FND Log Messages FND Lookup Search FND Lookup Values FND Lookup Values Comparison between environments FND Menu Entries FND Messages FND Nodes FND Profile Option Values FND Profile Options FND Request Groups FND Responsibilities FND Responsibility Access FND Responsibility Access 11i FND Responsibility Menu Exclusions FND Role Hierarchy FND Roles FND Rollup Groups FND SOA Runtime Error FND Tables and Columns FND User Login History FND User Login Page Favorites FND User Login Summary FND User Responsibilities FND User Roles FND User Roles 11i FND Users	DBA AWR Active Session History DBA AWR Blocking Session Summary DBA AWR CPU Load (active session history) DBA AWR CPU vs Wait Time Summary DBA AWR Interconnect Traffic DBA AWR Latch Summary DBA AWR Latch by Time DBA AWR PGA History DBA AWR SQL Execution Plan History DBA AWR SQL Performance Summary DBA AWR Settings DBA AWR System Metrics Summary DBA AWR System Time Percentages DBA AWR System Time Summary DBA AWR Tablespace Usage DBA AWR Wait Class by Time DBA AWR Wait Event Summary DBA AWR Wait Event Summary (active session history) DBA Alert Log DBA Archive / Redo Log Rate DBA Automated Maintenance Tasks DBA Blocking Sessions DBA CPU Benchmark1 DBA CPU Benchmark2 DBA CPU Benchmark3 DBA Dependencies (used by) DBA Dependencies (uses) DBA Editioned Object Summary DBA Editions DBA External Table Creation DBA Feature Usage Statistics DBA Hierarchical Profiler Data DBA Index Columns DBA Jobs DBA Log Switches DBA Objects DBA Parameters DBA Profiler Data DBA Redo Log Files DBA Registry SQL Patch DBA Result Cache Objects and Dependencies DBA Result Cache Statistics DBA SGA Active Session History DBA SGA Blocking Session Summary DBA SGA Buffer Cache Object Usage DBA SGA CPU Load (active session history) DBA SGA Memory Allocation DBA SGA SQL Execution Plan History DBA SGA SQL Performance Summary DBA SGA Target Advice DBA SGA Wait Event Summary (active session history) DBA SGA+PGA Memory Configuration DBA Scheduler Jobs DBA Segments DBA Session Longops DBA Table Columns DBA Table Modifications DBA Tablespace Usage DBA Text Search DBA Trace File Contents