Dimension-based financial reporting using multiple combinations of dimensions

• US 8,417,594 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Schlueter, Geoffrey Richard, Evans, Michael Ricke, Bush, Michael Allen, Ford, Amy Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): ADE, OGER GARCIA
• Application Number:
  US12/144,608
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,751 Days
• Field of Search: 705/30
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Tools and techniques are described for dimension-based financial reporting using multiple combinations of dimensions. These tools may provide methods that include receiving requests, submitted on behalf of users of dimension-based financial reporting systems. These methods may create reports from the financial reporting systems. In some cases, these requests from the users may reference incomplete account structures, and may also specify customized hierarchies for the reports. In such cases, the methods may determine that these requests reference incomplete account structures, and may transform the incomplete account structures to create fully-qualified requests. In addition, these methods may include identifying dimensions, as maintained by the financial reporting systems, that are responsive to the requests, and may combine these dimensions into responses to the requests.

Claims

1. At least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising:

receiving a request from at least one user to create a report to be populated from a dimension-based financial reporting system, the request specifying a range of members within dimensions of interest for the report, a group of dimensions of interest for the report, and a customized hierarchy specifying how data gathered across a plurality of dimensions is to be filtered or organized in the report, the request referencing at least one or more dimensions that are not fully qualified and one or more dimensions that are fully qualified;

sending a further request, on behalf of the user, to the financial reporting system to create the report; and

receiving from the financial reporting system a response to the further request, wherein the response is a report generated by the financial reporting system according to the request by transforming the one or more dimensions that are not fully qualified into fully qualified dimensions.

2. A computer-implemented method comprising performing computer-implemented operations for:

receiving a request from at least one user at a client computer system to create a report to be populated from a dimension-based financial reporting system;

receiving a representation of at least one customized hierarchy for creating the report at the client computer system, the customized hierarchy specifying how data gathered across a plurality of dimensions is to be filtered or organized in the report and referencing at least one or more dimensions that are not fully qualified and one or more dimensions that are fully qualified;

sending a further request from the client computer system, on behalf of the user, to the financial reporting system to create the report based upon the customized hierarchy; and

receiving a response to the further request from the financial reporting system at the client computer system, wherein the response is a report generated according to the customized hierarchy by transforming the one or more dimensions that are not fully qualified into fully qualified dimensions.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the representation of at least one customized hierarchy for creating the report specifies a plurality of dimensions to be incorporated within the report.

4. The storage medium of claim 2, wherein the request received from the user to create a report further specifies least one group of dimensions to be incorporated within the report.

5. The storage medium of claim 2, wherein the request received from the user to create a report further specifies least one range of members within dimensions to be incorporated within the report.

6. An apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

at least one computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereupon which, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the processors to

receive a request from at least one user of the apparatus to create a report to be populated from a dimension-based financial reporting system, the request comprising a group of selected dimensions to be included in the report, a range of selected members within dimensions to be included in the report, and a reporting hierarchy specifying how data gathered across the selected dimensions is to be organized, at least one of the selected dimensions being not fully qualified,

in response to receiving the request, sending a further request from the apparatus, on behalf of the at least one user, to the financial reporting system to create the report based upon the customized hierarchy, and

receive a response to the further request from the financial reporting system at the apparatus, wherein the response is a report generated by the financial reporting system according to the customized hierarchy by transforming the request into a fully qualified request, identifying one or more dimensions responsive to the fully qualified request, identifying one or more members of the identified dimensions that satisfy the fully qualified request, identifying the intersections between the identified members of the identified dimensions, and querying a general ledger system with the identified intersections.