Cost model hierarchy

All the accounts in the IT chart of accounts belong to segments, which are structured in a cost model hierarchy.

The cost model hierarchy makes it possible for you to roll up expenses from lower-level accounts and segments to higher-level accounts and segments. For example, assume that you use the default hierarchy, which has the business service segment under the business unit segment. This rollup enables you to have the expenses that are allocated to a business service, such as email, also apply to the business units that consume the email service, one of which is commonly IT.

Note: Using the workbench is the preferred method of modifying the hierarchy, rather than using the Segment Relationship form. When you use the workbench to modify the hierarchy, it automatically creates all the rules and methods.

Default segment hierarchy

By default, the segments in the IT chart of accounts are in this hierarchy:

Root level: Business Unit
Level 2: Business Service
Level 3: IT Shared Service

The default segment hierarchy — Figure 1. Default segment hierarchy

You can add a segment to the second level and lower levels but not to the top, or root level, of an existing hierarchy. To replace the root segment, you must first remove all segments previously included in the hierarchy. The hierarchy can only have one root segment and it is always the first segment added to the structure. Each segment in the hierarchy can have only one parent segment. Each parent segment can have one or more child segments.

Note: The hierarchy only defines relationships between the segments. You must still use Allocation Setup page to define the actual rollup rules.

Build segment hierarchy

You can use the Build segment hierarchy link in the Financial Model form to create model hierarchy easily using interactive user interface as in financial modeling workbench. Add new segments to the hierarchy or remove segments from the cost model per your requirements.

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