March 2020 Update

Revision History

This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:

Date	Feature	Notes
27 FEB 2020		Created initial document.

Overview

This document outlines the upcoming Enterprise Performance Management Cloud update.

Feature Summary

Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Monthly Update Schedule

Oracle will apply the latest monthly updates to your Test environments during the first daily maintenance that occurs at or after 23:00 UTC (15:00 PST) on Friday, March 6, 2020. Oracle will apply the latest monthly updates to your Production environments during the first daily maintenance that occurs at or after 22:00 UTC (15:00 PDT) on Friday, March 20, 2020.

The Oracle Help Center provides access to updated documentation. The updates will be available in the Help Center on Friday, March 6, 2020. Some of the links to new feature documentation included in this readiness document will not work until after the Oracle Help Center update is complete.

NOTE: Backing up the daily maintenance snapshot and restoring the environment as needed are self-service operations. Oracle recommends that you download the maintenance snapshot every day to a local server.

Please Join Oracle Cloud Customer Connect

Please take a moment to join the Cloud Customer Connect forums for EPM Cloud services. Oracle Cloud Customer Connect is a community gathering place for members to interact and collaborate on common goals and objectives. This is where you will find the latest release information, upcoming events, or answers to use-case questions. Joining takes just a few minutes. Join now!

https://cloud.oracle.com/community

NOTE: The Settings and Actions menu now contains a link to Cloud Customer Connect. To access this link, from the Home page, click the down arrow next to the user name (in the upper right-hand corner of the screen), and select Cloud Customer Connect.

Give Us Documentation Feedback

We welcome your comments and suggestions to improve the content of the What's New document and the product documentation. Please send us your feedback at EPMdoc_ww@oracle.com. In the body or title of the email, state that you are inquiring or providing feedback, and indicate for which EPM Cloud service and the monthly update cycle.

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For the latest updates and information about EPM Cloud, follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn at Hyperion EPM Info.

Defects Fixed and Considerations

Software issues addressed each month and considerations will be posted to My Oracle Support.

EPM Cloud Common

This section contains announcements related to the common EPM Cloud components such as EPM Automate, Migration, Access Control, Data Integration, and Smart View for Office.

New Video

Happy sixth birthday EPM Cloud family! We’re celebrating, in an upcoming update, with a fresh look and feel, enhanced navigation, and an improved homepage experience.

• Preview EPM Cloud's Fresh New Look and Feel

New Version of EPM Automate

A new version of EPM Automate is now available. This version contains updates to the recreate and resetService commands as well as the new runTaskMangerReport and runSupplementalDataReport commands for Financial Consolidation and Close and Tax Reporting.

NEW COMMANDS FOR FINANCIAL CONSOLIDATION AND CLOSE AND TAX REPORTING

• runTaskMangerReport command: Generates relational reports that display data from Task Manager. Relational reports are grouped as Non-Consolidation Reports in Financial Consolidation and Close and Tax Reporting.

• runSupplementalDataReport command: Generates relational reports that display data from Supplemental Data Manager. Relational reports are grouped as Non-Consolidation Reports in Financial Consolidation and Close and Tax Reporting.

CHANGES TO EXISTING COMMANDS

• The recreate command has been enhanced to accept the EssbaseChange optional arameter, which allows you to upgrade or downgrade the current Essbase version in legacy Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close Cloud, Oracle Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud and Planning and Budgeting Cloud Plus 1 environments.

• The resetService command has been enhanced to accept the AutoTune optional parameter, which auto-tunes the environment before restarting it to ensure that Essbase caches are optimized for your application. This parameter is used only in environments that use Essbase such as  Planning, Planning Modules, Tax Reporting, and Financial Consolidation and Close.

Key Resources

• Working with EPM Automate for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud
  • Installing EPM Automate
  • EPM Automate Commands

• About Essbase in EPM Cloud in Getting Started with Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud for Administrators

Support for Adding Dynamic Members in Smart View

The ability to add dynamic members is now extended to Smart View. In Smart View, users can now add dynamic members by running business rules that Service Administrators create on dimensions that are enabled for dynamic members (sometimes referred to as "on-the-fly members").

Dynamic members are members that users can create when working with business rules. A Service Administrator designs a business rule for creating dynamic members. The Service Administrator then enables end users to create dynamic members under a parent member and refreshes the database to create the required placeholders for the members. In business rules with runtime prompts, Smart View users create members by entering desired member names in the runtime prompt. Subsequent database refreshes will rename used dynamic children to the names specified by the end users and recreate the required placeholders in the database. The same processes can be followed to create and use business rules for deleting dynamic members.

Steps to Enable

Service Administrators perform the following steps to enable support for dynamic members in Smart View:

1. In Calculation Manager, create business rules that support adding dynamic members. Optionally, you may also create business rules that delete dynamic members.
2. In the Dimension Editor in Planning, for each dynamic member rule that you create, enable parent members for adding dynamic children or deleting dynamic children, as appropriate for the rule.

Smart View users perform the following steps to add or delete dynamic members in a dimension:

1. Run the business rule for adding or deleting dynamic members.
2. In the Business Rules dialog, Runtime Prompts text box, enter the member name to add.

Key Resources

• Creating a Business Rule in Designing with Calculation Manager for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud
• Enabling Parent Members for Adding Dynamic Children in Administering Planning
• Working with Oracle Smart View for Office:
  • Launching Business Rules in Excel
  • Entering Runtime Prompts

Validate Data When Loading Data as Service Administrator

In this update, you have the option to enable data validation when Service Administrators load data. All data validations enforced in data entry form will be enforced while loading data. Due to the enhanced validations the performance of data load will be slower. In prior releases data validations were enforced only for users who were not Service Administrators.

This feature is not available for Enterprise Data Management and Narrative Reporting.

Key Resources

• Defining Application Options for Planning in Administering Data Management for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Role Information

• Service Administrators

Enhanced Data Validation During Data Load in Data Management

If data cells are rejected when you load data using Data Management, the reasons for rejection are presented in a data validation report. The Validation Error report is available for download from the Process Details page by clicking the Output link. In addition, a copy of the error file is stored in the Outbox.

This feature is not available for Enterprise Data Management and Narrative Reporting.

Key Resources

• Defining Application Options for Planning in Administering Data Management for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Writing Back Journals to the Oracle Financials Cloud

You can write back Actuals data to Oracle ERP Cloud - General Ledger. Journal entries are created in the General Ledger when you write back actual data. Journal entries can be reviewed and posted in General Ledger. Prior to this update, you could only write back Budget balance types.

This feature is not available for Narrative Reporting and Enterprise Data Management.

Key Resources

• Writing Back to the Oracle Financials Cloud in the Administering Data Management for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud guide.

Recreate REST API Enhancements for Essbase Version

The Recreate REST API has been enhanced to accept an optional EssbaseChange parameter. This benefits you by allowing you to upgrade or downgrade the current Essbase version in legacy Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close Cloud, Oracle Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud, and Planning and Budgeting Cloud Plus 1 environments.

Key Resources

• Run Recreate in REST API for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud
• About Essbase in EPM Cloud in Getting Started with Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud for Administrators

Role Information

• Service Administrators

Restart REST API Enhancements for Auto Tune

The Restart Service REST API has been enhanced to accept an optional AutoTune parameter. This benefits you by auto-tuning the environment before restarting it to ensure that Essbase caches are optimized for your application.

Key Resources

• Restart the Service Instance in REST API for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Role Information

• Service Administrators

Account Reconciliation

Improved Filtering Functionality with Grouping by Preferred Fields on Unmatched Transactions

In Transaction Matching, you can now group unmatched transactions by your preferred fields. A new Bucket Attribute Mapping table in the Match Process allows administrators to create up to a maximum of three bucketing attributes for each Match Process.  These bucketing attributes display as a new bucketing bar in the Unmatched Transactions View from which you can filter preferred values and click through each bucket to simplify navigation of unmatched transactions.  For example, you may want to bucket by location or invoice number so unmatched transactions with the same value in both sources are shown together.

Steps to Enable

1. To populate the bucketing bar in Unmatched Transactions, an administrator must first configure the buckets. From Applications, select Match Type.
2. Select a Match Type, then Edit.
3. In Match Process, click the + (plus sign) next to the Bucket Attribute Mapping table to create a new bucket.
4. Add bucketing attributes and change status to Approved before saving.

Key Resources

• Filtering Unmatched Transactions by Grouping in Administering Account Reconciliation.

Enhanced Data Management Processing of BAI and MT940 Bank Files to Allow Pulling of End Balances

Data Management processing of BAI and MT940 Bank files has been enhanced to allow pulling of closing statement balances.  The balances can then be mapped to the sub-system for period-end reconciliations.

Steps to Enable

For specific steps, see the Administering Data Management for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management guide.

Key Resources

• Integrating Bank BAI and SWIFT MT940 Files with Account Reconciliation in Administering Data Management for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud.

Auditing Details Retained for Filter or Column Changes in Saved Lists

Auditing enhanced by logging when the filter or columns associated with a Saved List has changed.

Key Resources

• Audit Report in Administering Account Reconciliation.

Service and Tenant Information Added to Email Notifications

Email notifications now contain service and tenant information in the footer to help identify where an email is coming from.

Key Resources

• Services in Administering Account Reconciliation contains information about email notifications.

Financial Consolidation and Close

Search Capability for Templates

In Task Manager, when you add tasks to templates, you can now search for templates from a list in the selection dialog.  This is useful when you have a large list of available templates.

Key Resources

• Adding Tasks to Templates in Administering Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close Cloud

Task Manager Email Notifications Include the Service Name

Task Manager email notifications now include the service name in the footer of the email.  For example:  “Note:  This is an automated email notification generated from EPM Task Manager on efim.arcs”.

Key Resources

• Enabling Email Notifications in Task Manager in Administering Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close Cloud

Task Manager Audit Includes Changes in Filter Condition and Column Selection

In Task Manager Audit, audit records are now available for changes in the filter condition and column selection of Task Manager published lists.

Key Resources

• Auditing Information Overview in Administering Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close Cloud

@XREF Function Supported in Configurable Calculation Rules

The @XREF function is now supported in Configurable Calculation rules.

Key Resources

• Supported Essbase Functions in Administering Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close Cloud

Performance Substitution Variables

The EnableSimpleAggregation, OptimizeDBRefresh, and OptimizeYTDCalculation substitution variables can be enabled to improve performance:

• EnableSimpleAggregation

This Substitution Variable improves the way that child entities are aggregated into parent entities. This Substitution Variable should be used in conjunction with the OptimizeYTDCalculation to improve consolidation performance.

• OptimizeDBRefresh

This Substitution Variable improves the way that exchange rates are pushed to the consol cube during the database refresh.

• OptimizeYTDCalculation

This Substitution Variable avoids redundant and repetitive calculations.  This Substitution Variable should be used in conjunction with EnableSimpleAggregation to improve consolidation performance.

In order to enable the Substitution Variables, set the parameter Cube = Consol, in addition to setting Value = true.

NOTE: The degree of performance improvement varies widely across different applications as it is purely driven by the application design and data distribution.

Metadata Validation Errors in the Activity Report

The Activity Report now contains a table that lists errors and warnings from the most recent metadata validation that occurred in the last 24 hours in Financial Consolidation and Close. The title of this table indicates the time when you ran metadata validation, which maybe different from the time at which the Activity Report was created.

Most Recent Metadata Validation Errors and Warnings

Key Resources

• About the Activity Report in Getting Started with Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud for Administrators

Narrative Reporting

Ability to Load US GAAP 2020 and SEC 2020 Extension

Using Taxonomy Manager, you have the ability to load US GAAP 2020 and SEC Reporting Taxonomy 2020 extension.

NOTE: Both US GAAP 2020 and SRT 2020 are still in DRAFT status. Until the DRAFT status is upgraded to PUBLISHED status, the user will encounter the "forbidden file use detected" error message, if attempting to extend taxonomy.

Key Resources

• Working With Taxonomy Manager in Working with Disclosure Management for Narrative Reporting
• Performing Administrative Tasks in Working with Disclosure Management for Narrative Reporting

Planning

Model to Model Data Maps in Strategic Modeling

You can push data from a Strategic Modeling Model (Source) to multiple Strategic Modeling Models (Target) controlled by different properties specified at the account level.

This allows you to:

• Move data from a Source Strategic Modeling Model to one or more Target Strategic Modeling Models.

• Use the Data Map Architecture to define the source and target model details including Account and other parameters.

• Create data maps between models, which can be run on demand and can also be associated with source models so that data updates are automatically done as and when models are checked in.

• Export/Import Data Maps to and from Excel to facilitate ease of use for all types of users.

Key Resources

• Pushing Data from a Strategic Modeling Model to Multiple Strategic Modeling Models in Administering Planning Modules

New Functions in ASO

Four new ASO functions are now available in Calculation Manager.

• @ANCESTOR (Member Name, Index | Layer) given the input member, returns an ancestor at the specified index or layer.
• @LAYERGEN (Member Name, Index) returns the generation based layer for the member specified.
• @LAYERLEVEL (Member Name, Index) returns the level based layer for the member specified.
• @PARENT (Member Name) returns a member's parent.

Key Resources

• Creating a Point of View Component in Designing with Calculation Manager for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Groovy Business Rules Tutorials

It’s now easier to access documentation, videos, and tutorials about Groovy business rules. This helps you discover and use the power of Groovy business rules for your applications. You can now link to all of the videos and tutorials on designing Groovy business rules in the Creating a Groovy Business Rule section of Designing with Calculation Manager for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud. You can also find links to Groovy rules resources on the Administer tab of the Planning help center. In addition, you can now find Groovy rules videos in a convenient playlist on the Oracle EPM in the Cloud YouTube channel. As before, you can also find Groovy rules tutorials and videos in the Tutorials and Video tabs of the help center.

Key Resources

• Designing with Calculation Manager for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud:
  • Groovy Business Rules Tutorial Videos
  • Groovy Business Rules Tutorials
  • Creating a Groovy Business Rule

New Calculation Manager Planning Expressions

In Calculation Manager, two new functions, getSubVarValue (plan type name, substitution variable name) and getSubVarValue (substitution variable name), allow you to use substitution variables in Planning Formula Expressions.

• getSubVarValue(plan type name, substitution variable name) returns the substitution variable value for a given substitution variable at the plan type defined by the plan type name

• getSubVarValue(substitution variable name) returns the substitution variable value for a given substitution variable at the application level for all plan types

Key Resources

• Scenarios in Designing with Calculation Manager for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

Profitability and Cost Management

Application Design Best Practices

A new Application Design Best Practices appendix has been added to the Administering Profitability and Cost Management Cloud guide. This appendix discusses:

• Managing Application Scalability
• Managing Dimension Design
• Managing Application Logic Design

Key Resources

• Application Design Best Practices in Administering Oracle Profitability and Cost Management Cloud

Tax Reporting

Task Manager Email Notifications Include the Service Name

Task Manager email notifications now include the service name in the footer of the email.  For example:  “Note:  This is an automated email notification generated from EPM Task Manager on efim.arcs”.

Key Resources

• Enabling Email Notifications in Task Manager in Administering Tax Reporting

Task Manager Audit Includes Changes in Filter Condition and Column Selection

In Task Manager Audit, audit records are now available for changes in the filter condition and column selection of Task Manager published lists.

Key Resources

• Auditing Information Overview in Administering Tax Reporting

Search Capability for Templates

In Task Manager, when you add tasks to templates, you can now search for templates from a list in the selection dialog.  This is useful when you have a large list of available templates.

Key Resources

• Adding Tasks to Templates in Administering Tax Reporting

Upcoming Changes

NEW EPM CLOUD INTERFACE

Happy sixth birthday EPM Cloud family! We’re celebrating with a fresh look and feel, enhanced navigation, and an improved homepage experience.

• Preview EPM Cloud's Fresh New Look and Feel

In the April 2020 update, there will be an enhanced interface with improved navigation and new themes including the default Sky Blue.

The following EPM Cloud business processes will adopt the new themes and enhanced interface:

• Planning
• Financial Consolidation and Close
• Tax Reporting
• Profitability and Cost Management
• Account Reconciliation
• Strategic Workforce Planning
• Sales Planning
• Narrative Reporting

NOTE: The new theme will be adopted by Enterprise Data Management in the May 2020 update.

The enhanced interface retains existing functionality and enhances your experience with a more modern look and feel and responsive design. The Welcome Panel and the Global Header readjust after resizing, which means less scrolling. An updated Welcome Panel features Announcements and Notifications. Arrows are available on the Home Page to help you navigate easily between the Springboard and infolet dashboard pages. A bigger Navigator Menu has improved usability, more themes for customization are included, and a bigger work area has more space to maneuver and provide better visibility. The interface is also more consistent with other Oracle products, such as Fusion Applications.

After the interface is released, all new customers will use the new lighter-colored Sky Blue theme, and existing customers will keep their current theme. You can switch themes using Tools, and then Appearance.

Watch this Cloud Customer Connect Webcast replay session to hear more highlights of important upcoming enhancements to EPM Cloud, including an updated user experience and other platform updates that are coming soon.

NOTE: If you are using third-party automation software to run regression tests on EPM Cloud, you may need to reassess, reconfigure, and retest your software’s test flows when this new interface is introduced.

REMOVAL OF INSTANCE NAME FROM PREDEFINED ROLE NAMES

Currently, the predefined role names displayed in the Access Control screens of EPM Cloud environments prefix the instance name to the role name in INSTANCE_NAME ROLE_NAME format. They are also stored in this format in the snapshots, making it difficult to migrate snapshots from one instance to another.

To facilitate the migration of security across EPM Cloud environments, Oracle plans to rename predefined role names displayed within EPM Cloud applications by removing the instance name prefix. For example, if the instance name is Planning1, predefined role names are Planning1 Service Administrator, Planning1 Power User, Planning1 User, and Planning1 Viewer, the new role names will be Service Administrator, Power User, User, and Viewer.

NOTE: This change does not affect how the role names are displayed in the MyServices customer portal.

This change won't impact customers who currently use predefined roles for managing application-level provisioning and access to artifacts. Oracle will ensure that all application role assignments and artifact security assignments are automatically updated after the roles are renamed. This change makes it easy to migrate EPM Cloud artifacts across environments.

This change is being implemented to address customer feedback. If you have any concerns about this change, please contact Oracle Support.

PLANNER ROLE TO BE RENAMED AS USER

In an upcoming update, Oracle will rename the Planner EPM Cloud predefined role as User. This change will have no functional effect.

Subscriptions that were provisioned prior to the May 2016 update used the Planner role, which has been maintained in subsequent updates to provide continuity. In subscriptions that were activated after May 2016, the Planner role was already replaced by the User role.

NOTE: This change will affect Planning, Financial Consolidation and Close, and Tax Reporting only.

PREDEFINED ROLE NAMES AS EPM CLOUD KEY WORDS

Starting with an update in the near future, Oracle plans to treat the following predefined role names as EPM Cloud key words, which should not be used in the name of any custom artifacts that you create; for example, as a group name in Access Control.

• Service Administrator
• Power User
• User
• Viewer
• Planner
• System Administrator
• Application Administrator
• Library Administrator
• Reports Administrator

If you have any groups or artifacts named using these keywords, Oracle requests that you rename or delete them; else Oracle will rename them to ensure that there is no impact because of this change. For example, a group named Power User will be renamed as Power User1 without affecting the current role assignments. If you do not want Oracle to automatically rename such groups, you must rename them.

This change is being implemented to address customer feedback. If you have any concerns about this change, please contact Oracle Support.

Key Resources

• Modifying Groups in Administering Access Control for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud

UPDATE TO THE EXCEPTION RESPONSE IN REST APIS FOR PLANNING AND PLANNING MODULES

Oracle will remove the internal package and class names from the following fields in the exception response in REST APIs for Planning and Planning modules in an upcoming update in early 2020:

• message
• localizedMessage

NARRATIVE REPORTING LEGACY (ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE REPORTING CLOUD) ENVIRONMENTS TO SUPPORT STANDARD EPM CLOUD PREDEFINED ROLES

Oracle will, in an upcoming update, change the non-conforming Narrative Reporting predefined roles in existing environments to the following predefined roles.

• Service Administrator
• Power User
• User
• Viewer

Current role assignments in legacy environment will be remapped automatically as follows to the common set of predefined roles.

Current Non-Conforming Roles	Common Remapped Roles
System Administrator	Service Administrator
Application Administrator	Power User
Library Administrator	Power User
Reports Administrator	Power User

REMOVAL OF .XLS FORMAT AS REPORT EXPORT OPTION

Currently, the following report export options are available: csv, xls, xlsx, pdf and html.

In an upcoming update, the option for xls will be removed for Account Reconciliation and Tax Reporting. Customers who have built custom reports must ensure that their reports will export as desired to one of the remaining formats: csv, xlsx, pdf, or html.

FUTURE NEW CONNECTION TYPE AND ADVANCED OPTIONS FOR EXTERNAL CONNECTIONS FOR TAX REPORTING

In a future update, Service Administrators for Tax Reporting will be able to use connections created for external Web services, specifying optional query or header parameters. These connections could be referenced or used in a Groovy script to create a communications link between the Groovy script and the external Web resource. Users will be advised when this new feature is to be supported in Tax Reporting.

EPM MOBILE APP STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

EPM Mobile App is a downloadable application for the phone that is purpose built to perform approval actions for iOS and Android based phone devices. It was purpose built to help users perform Approval and Workflow activities. It is currently only supported for Oracle EPM Cloud for the Planning business process.

The terminal release of EPM Mobile App is September 2020.  EPM Mobile App will not be available for download in the Apple and iOS App Stores effective October 2020. Oracle’s strategic direction is to have customers use the Approval and workflow capabilities using the mobile browser interface on mobile devices.

Oracle will continue to support Oracle EPM Mobile App in its current supported versions until September 2020.  Oracle recommends that users using Oracle EPM Mobile App prepare to instead use the approval functionality using supported mobile browser in tablet devices.

CHANGE IN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR OUTGOING EMAILS

Starting with a future update, emails originating from EPM Cloud applications will use no.reply@oraclecloud.com instead of oraclecloudadmin_ww@oracle.com as the from address.

Emails from other Oracle Cloud sources, for example, New Account email sent from the Identity Domain, will continue to use the current From email addressses, for example, oraclecloudadmin_ww@oracle.com.

MIGRATION OF SUPPLEMENTAL DATA MANAGER ARTIFACTS

Due to a large number of changes to Supplemental Data Manager artifacts planned for Financial Consolidation and Close and Tax Reporting in release 20.05, backward compatible migration will not be supported from 20.05 to 20.04 during the two week window when test systems are upgraded ahead of production. The changes in migration for Supplemental Data Manager artifacts do not affect the current release. This does not affect any artifacts other than Supplemental Data Manager artifacts.