Fund Approval Hierarchy Example

The following example describes one way that you can use a fund approval hierarchy during the approval process. In this example, you use the Edit Test Results page to search for the results you want to review at your approval role level. In this scenario, you use a fund approval hierarchy that can include up to four role levels of approval for a given edit test. You do not use require use of dual approval in this example.

You are reviewing results raised when a transaction's settlement date differs from the transaction's trade date by a specified number of days. The edit test you set up determines the conditions under which an error occurs that requires manual approval, and determines the highest level for a user or users in the fund approval hierarchy that has the ability to approve the results.

As a Preparer (role 1), you can review a result that has an Unapproved status at the Preparer level. You can also obtain additional information about the results such as their history of former approvals and unapprovals. You can then approve or unapprove results that require manual approval at your user role level and below.

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Sample Transaction Edit Test

For this example, you approve transactions that raise an error as a result of your company's version of the Edit trade date settlement date (ETDSD) edit test, which has a Non-Core-FAH edit test category. Your company created its own non core copy of the core edit test, and updated it to reflect your business needs.

Tolerances Defined at User Role Levels

This edit test result occurs when the transaction's settlement date is greater than the trade date by more than the set tolerance. For tolerance-related edit tests, you may have two, three, or four role levels with different tolerances assigned. For these tests, you identify the highest role level that breaks tolerance. The system uses this information to determine which level of user approval can clear a raised edit. If you use a fund approval hierarchy, you must specify tolerance values for all approver role levels that participate in the edit test.

In this example, you set up the following rule for a transaction with an investment type of Equity when the settlement date is greater than the trade date:

If the result is greater or equal to a tolerance value of 1 day, then an approver at Preparer (role 1) or higher can approve the result.
If the result is greater or equal to a tolerance value of 2 days, then an approver at Reviewer (role 2) or higher can approve the result.
If the result is greater or equal to a tolerance value of 3 days, then an approver at Accounting Manager (role 3) or higher can approve the result.
If the result is greater or equal to a tolerance value of 4 days, then an approver at Unit Manager (role 4) or higher can approve the result.

Thus as the number of days between the trade date and settlement date increases, you need an approver with an increasingly higher user role to approve the result.

The following figure shows the rules you set up based on your non core FAH version of the edit test. According to these rules, a Preparer can clear edits raised when the settlement date is greater than the trade date by 1 day. As the difference between the trade date and settlement date increases, however, Eagle users with high user roles must approve the results.

Rules workspace for edit test with fund approval hierarchy

For more information about setting up edit tests when you use a fund approval hierarchy, see Manage Approval Levels for FAH Edit Tests.

Error Severity and Tolerance Levels Defined

When you set up edit tests for use with a fund approval hierarchy, you can set the error severity for the raised edit test results at the Errors Dictionary level, at the edit test rule level, or at the individual error tolerance level. This determines whether the error of High (red failure) or Low (yellow warning) apples at a general or more granular level.

In this example, you use an error severity of Low that applies to user role 1, 2, 3, and 4 tolerances alike. For more information, see Understand Error Severity When Using a Fund Approval Hierarchy.

Search for Results

In this example, you select the Edit Test Results view. In the Edit Test Results workspace's search criteria, you can choose results based on various criteria. For example, you select a specific entity, accounting date, and status map component. You can also select:

A Query Based On field value of Unapproved, Approved, Finally Approved or Cleared. This allows you to quickly identify results based on their approval status
A user role in the Approval Level Hierarchy View field. This allows you to identify results associated with a specific user role level.

To search for edit test results:

From Control Center's Control Center workspace, click View Edit Test Results.
You see the Edit Test Results page.
Ensure you see the Search Details pane. Otherwise, click the chevron to the right of the workspace to expand the Search Details pane.
Complete the required search criteria, or use the default values provided.
Required fields include Query Based On, Composite\Lists\Entity ID, Accounting Date, Component Name, Security Query Based On, Max Items, and related fields.
Complete the remaining optional search criteria, or use the default values provided.
Click the Search button in the Search Details pane.
Your search criteria appear at the top of the page. The Search Details panel collapses. You see the results that met your criteria in the grid.

Review Results

In the Edit Test Results grid, you can review detailed edit results that met your search criteria. You can review the edit's approval history, and can research and troubleshoot the edit details.

In columns named for each level of the fund approval hierarchy, here Preparer, Reviewer, Accounting Manager, and Unit Manager, you see the edit test result's approval status of Cleared, Approved, Unapproved, or N/A. Cleared and Approved results have a green background in the approval level column. Unapproved results have a red background. The grid also includes Last (Un)Approval columns that describe details of the last note entered when an Eagle user approved or unapproved the edit. Also notice the Error Original Detail column, which provides additional information about the error.

Edit Test Results grid example

In the first row, the result was raised because the Trade Date was 02/20/18 and the Settlement Date was 02/27/18. The difference was greater than or equal to the 4 days specified by the edit test rule's tolerance. As a result, the result requires manual approval at the Preparer, Reviewer, Accounting Manager, and Unit Manager user role levels.

In the second row, the result was raised because the Trade Date was 02/26 and the Settlement Date was 02/27. The difference was greater than or equal to the 1 day specified by the edit test rule's tolerance. As a result, the result requires manual approval at the Preparer user role level.

In the third row, the result was raised because the Trade Date was 02/22 and the Settlement Date was 02/27. The difference was greater than or equal to the 3 days specified by the edit test rule's tolerance. As a result, the result requires manual approval at the Preparer, Reviewer, and Accounting Manager user role levels.

To review edit test results:

In the Edit Test Results page, review the edit test result information for a selected row.
In each row, you see the Target Name for the status map level, fund name, edit test, and error origin details, among other information. Once you select a row, it has a green background.
Review the edit test result's current approval status at each applicable level of the fund approval hierarchy.
For example, you can see the first row is unapproved at all four levels.
To view an edit's approval history, click the row you want to review, and click Show Approval History.
You see the approval time, user name and role level, and approval notes for the Eagle users who approved and/or unapproved the edit. If no one approved the results yet, no history is available.
You can drag any column header to the grey area at the top of the grid to group the results by that column value.
The column name you selected appears in the grey area, and you can expand and collapse your results by each value of that column. Drag the column name back to the grid to undo your selection.
You can click any column to sort the test results by that column's value.
Research and/or troubleshoot the edit test results.
After you select a row, you can use the options in the Manage group on the Home tab for this purpose. The available options vary based on the type of raised edit you selected.
After you research and troubleshoot an edit test result, you can approve and/or unapprove the edit details.

Approve Results

Now, in your role as a Preparer, you are ready to approve a transaction where the settlement date and trade date differ by more than 4 days. After you approve the transaction as a Preparer, the edit test result still requires approval by one or more users authorized to approve at the Reviewer, Accounting Manager, and Unit Manager levels. Those Eagle users can approve the edit test result at their individual user role levels later. Or a single person at the Unit Manager level can approve the results at their user role level along with any lower user role levels at once.

To approve edit test results at an approval role level:

Click the row in the grid that you want to approve.
Click the Approve As option, and then click the user role at which you are approving the result.
In this example, you select Preparer. Or you can right-click the row, point to Approve As, and then click the user role at which you are approving the result.

The system displays the Validation Approval Notes box.
Enter a comment about the approval you are making at the Preparer level, and then click OK.

The row's cell in the Preparer column changes from Unapproved to Approved, and changes from a red background to a green background. The information you entered for the most recent approval (or unapproval) note appears in the columns named Last (Un)Approval Note, Last (Un)Approval User, and Last (Un)Approval Time.

For information about using the Approve As option, along with using additional approval options that certain Eagle users are authorized to use, see Approve Results at Multiple Levels.

Unapprove Results

After you review results, you can unapprove results that you or another Eagle user previously approved, so long as you have a user role at the fund approval hierarchy level that is equal to or higher than the Eagle user who initially approved the result. For example, if you approve results at the Preparer level (role 1), someone at the user role 1, 2, 3, or 4 level can later unapprove the Preparer-level approval.

While you are reviewing the results, you can select a row and then click the Show Approval History option. This allows you to display the approval and unapproval history for the results, so you can see who previously approved or unapproved the results, their user role level, when they approved, and the notes they entered.

To unapprove edit test results at an approval role level:

Click the row in the grid that you want to unapprove.
Click the Unapprove As option, and then click the user role at which you are unapproving the result.
You are approving as a Preparer in this example. Or you can right-click the row, point to Unapprove As, and then click the user role at which you are approving the result.
TIP: The Unapprove As option is not available until you select a test result approved for at least one level of the fund approval hierarchy. When you select test results unapproved at all valid levels, the Unapprove As option does not appear in the ribbon or as a right-click option.
Enter a comment about the unapproval you are making at the Preparer level, and then click OK.
You see the Validation Approval Notes box.

The row's cell in the Preparer column changes from Approved to Unapproved, and changes from a green background to a red background. The information you entered for the most recent approval (or unapproval) note appears in the columns named Last (Un)Approval Note, Last (Un)Approval User, and Last (Un)Approval Time.

For information about using the Unapprove As option, along with using additional unapproval options that certain Eagle users are authorized to use, see Approve Results at Multiple Levels.