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Reporting Architecture

The following diagram illustrates the architecture of the reporting functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

1. A user requests a report.
Assume that a user clicks a menu item in the Microsoft Dynamics AX client. The menu item is bound to a SQL  Server Reporting Services report.
After the user clicks the menu item, a parameters form is displayed to the user. The user enters parameters to filter the data that will be displayed on the report.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX client then requests the report from Reporting Services. (The request includes the parameters entered by the user.)

2. Reporting Services receives the request and asks the Microsoft Dynamics AX server for the report data.
Reporting Services receives the request and examines the report on the server. The report is stored as an .rdl file. The .rdl file indicates the report’s data source. (The data source could be a Microsoft Dynamics AX query, a report data provider class, or an external data source via report data methods.)
In cases where a Microsoft Dynamics AX data source is used for the report, Reporting Services will use the Microsoft Dynamics AX data extension to retrieve the data.
At this point, Reporting Services asks Microsoft Dynamics AX for metadata about the data source. Reporting Services then requests the data for the report.

3. The Microsoft Dynamics AX server receives the request and sends the report data back to Reporting Services.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX services examine the query in the AOT to return the requested metadata. The services also execute the query to generate the data for the report.

Microsoft Dynamics AX returns the metadata and data to Reporting Services.

NOTE: Microsoft Dynamics AX enforces security on all data returned. If the user who is running the report is not allowed to see a specific field, the data for that field is not returned.

4. Reporting Services renders the report and sends it to the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX customization extension formats the report.
The customization extension uses metadata to provide automatic formatting of data and can affect the positioning and layout of elements in the report.
Reporting Services then renders the report into a visual representation and sends that to the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.

5. The report is displayed to the user.
The Microsoft Dynamics AX client displays the report to the user in the report viewer control.

Prepare a legal entity for use in the consolidation process [AX 2012]

In a consolidation, you gather transactions from several sets of legal entity accounts into a single set of legal entity accounts.

Note : We recommend that you use Management Reporter for Microsoft Dynamics ERP to combine the financial results for multiple legal entities in a consolidated format. Management Reporter lets you create consolidated financial reports across legal entities, use Microsoft Excel to import consolidation data from other sources, and translate amounts into any number of reporting currencies without having to run the consolidation process in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

 

For more information about how to consolidate transactions by using Management Reporter, see Financial consolidations and currency translation.

You can print reports, such as financial statements, from the consolidated legal entity. However, you cannot use the consolidated legal entity for daily transactions.

You can consolidate data from legal entities that use different databases than the database for the consolidated legal entity. This consolidation process is referred to as an import consolidation. Alternatively, the legal entities can use the same database as the consolidated legal entity. This consolidation process is referred to as an online consolidation.

The consolidated legal entity collects the results and balances of the subsidiaries. To prepare a consolidated legal entity for a consolidation, you must follow these steps:

1. Click General ledger > Setup > Organization > Legal entities.

2. Click New to create a new legal entity that will be the consolidated legal entity.

3. Select the Use for financial consolidation process check box, and then enter information about the consolidated legal entity. Enter this information exactly as you want it to appear on financial statements for the consolidated legal entity.

4. Close the form.

5. In the lower-right corner of the Microsoft Dynamics AX workspace, click the Current company field to open the Select company form. Select the consolidated legal entity, and then click OK.

6. Click General ledger > Setup > Ledger.

7. Select the chart of accounts, the fiscal calendar, the accounting currency, an optional reporting currency, and the default exchange rate type for the consolidated legal entity. For more information, see Ledger (form).

8. Click General ledger > Setup > Currency > Currency exchange rates.

9. Set up currency exchange rates in relevant periods for the currencies of the subsidiary legal entities. For more information, see Currency exchange rates (form).

10. Close the form.

11. If the consolidated legal entity has subsidiaries that use foreign currencies, open the Accounts for automatic transactions form. (Click General ledger > Setup > Posting > Accounts for automatic transactions.) In the Posting type field, select an appropriate account:

    • If the legal entity has foreign subsidiaries that are financially or operationally interdependent with the parent legal entity, select an appropriate account for the Profit and loss account for consolidation differences posting type.

    • If you are consolidating a subsidiary that is financially and operationally independent from the parent legal entity, or a legal entity that contains the results of several subsidiaries that are financially and operationally independent from the parent legal entity, and if you are using translation methods to consolidate the data, select an appropriate account for the Balance account for consolidation differences posting type.

12. In the Main account field, select the main accounts that will be used for foreign currency revaluation adjustments.

13. Close the form.

If you create the consolidated legal entity early in a period, you can revalue the foreign currency amounts as exchange rates change during the consolidation period.

The consolidated legal entity is now set up for the Consolidate periodic job. You can specify whether to perform either an online consolidation or an import consolidation:

Click General ledger > Periodic > Consolidate > Consolidate [Import from].

–or–

Click General ledger > Periodic > Consolidate > Consolidate [Online].

Note : Before you can process the consolidation, prepare the subsidiary legal entities for consolidation. For more information, see Set up a subsidiary legal entity for consolidation.