Zum Hauptinhalt springen

Financial Statement Structure

The Financial Statement Structure (also called a hierarchy) controls how your G/L accounts are grouped and subtotalled in the Financial Statement report. Without a hierarchy, your financial statement would just be a flat list of accounts. With one, you get a structured Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss with meaningful sections like "Current Assets", "Operating Expenses", or "Revenue from Sales".

How it works​

A financial statement hierarchy is a tree structure with two types of nodes:

  • Structural nodes — these are headings or groupings (e.g. "Assets", "Current Liabilities", "Cost of Sales"). They do not have their own balance — instead, their total is the sum of everything below them.
  • G/L account nodes — these are leaf nodes that reference an actual G/L account. The balance of the G/L account feeds into the hierarchy at this point.

The hierarchy rolls up from bottom to top: each G/L account contributes its balance to its parent structural node, and each structural node sums up its children.

Example structure​

Balance Sheet
├── Assets
│   ├── Non-Current Assets
│   │   ├── 100100 - Land & Buildings
│   │   ├── 100200 - Plant & Equipment
│   │   └── 100300 - Accumulated Depreciation
│   └── Current Assets
│       ├── 110100 - Trade Debtors
│       ├── 110200 - Prepayments
│       └── 110300 - Bank Accounts
├── Liabilities
│   ├── Current Liabilities
│   │   ├── 200100 - Trade Creditors
│   │   ├── 200200 - VAT Payable
│   │   └── 200300 - Accruals
│   └── Non-Current Liabilities
│       └── 210100 - Long-Term Loans
└── Equity
    ├── 300100 - Share Capital
    └── 300200 - Retained Earnings

In this example, the "Non-Current Assets" subtotal is the sum of accounts 100100, 100200, and 100300. The "Assets" total is the sum of "Non-Current Assets" and "Current Assets". And so on up to the top-level "Balance Sheet" node.

Creating a financial statement hierarchy​

Step 1: Create the hierarchy​

  1. Navigate to Chart of Accounts > Structure > Hierarchies.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Enter a code (e.g. BS for Balance Sheet or PL for Profit & Loss) and a name.
  4. The hierarchy type is set to Financial Statement.
  5. Optionally set Valid From and Valid To dates if this hierarchy applies to a specific time range.
  6. Click Save.

Step 2: Add structural nodes​

Structural nodes are the headings and groupings in your hierarchy.

  1. Open the hierarchy you just created.
  2. Click Add Node (or use the tree view to add a child node).
  3. Enter a code and name for the node (e.g. code: ASSETS, name: "Assets").
  4. Set the parent node if this is a sub-section. Leave it blank for top-level sections.
  5. Set the sort order to control the display sequence among sibling nodes.
  6. Click Save.

Repeat this for all the sections you need. Build from the top down: create your main sections first (Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenue, Expenses), then add sub-sections under each.

Step 3: Assign G/L accounts to nodes​

Once your structural nodes are in place, assign G/L accounts to the appropriate leaf nodes.

  1. In the hierarchy tree view, select the structural node where you want to add an account (e.g. "Current Assets").
  2. Click Add Account (or add a child node of type G/L Account).
  3. Select the G/L account from the dropdown or enter the account number.
  4. Set the sort order to control the display sequence among sibling items.
  5. Click Save.

The G/L account now appears as a leaf node under the selected structural node. Its balance will roll up to the parent.

info

Each G/L account should appear only once in a hierarchy. If an account is not assigned to any node, its balance will not appear in the financial statement report.

Managing the hierarchy with the tree view​

The hierarchy is displayed as an interactive tree. You can:

  • Expand and collapse nodes to navigate the structure.
  • Add nodes by selecting a parent and clicking the add button.
  • Reorder nodes by changing the sort order.
  • Move nodes by changing the parent node to reorganise your structure.
  • Remove nodes by deleting them from the tree.

The tree view gives you a visual overview of your entire financial statement structure, making it easy to spot gaps (unassigned accounts) or structural issues.

How subtotals are calculated​

The financial statement report processes the hierarchy from the leaves upward:

  1. For each G/L account node, Ayiza retrieves the account balance for the selected company code, financial year, and period.
  2. For each structural node, Ayiza sums the balances of all its children (both G/L account nodes and child structural nodes).
  3. The process repeats up to the root node, giving you a fully calculated financial statement.

This means:

  • If you add a new G/L account and assign it to a node, its balance automatically appears in the next report run.
  • If you reorganise the hierarchy (e.g. move "Prepayments" from "Current Assets" to a new "Other Current Assets" node), the subtotals adjust accordingly.

How the Financial Statement report uses this hierarchy​

When you run the Financial Statement report (under General Ledger > Financial Statement):

  1. You select the hierarchy to use.
  2. You select the company code, financial year, and period.
  3. Ayiza renders the hierarchy as a formatted report, with:
    • Section headings from the structural nodes.
    • Individual account balances from the G/L account nodes.
    • Subtotals at each structural node.
    • A grand total at the root.

You can click on any line to drill down — from a subtotal to its child nodes, and from a G/L account to the individual accounting document lines that make up its balance.

For more details on running the report, see General Ledger Reports.

Tips for building your hierarchy​

  • Start with your statutory requirements. Your hierarchy should produce a Balance Sheet and P&L that meets the reporting standards applicable to your organisation (e.g. UK GAAP, IFRS).
  • Use meaningful codes. Node codes like ASSETS, CUR_ASSETS, OPEX are easier to work with than numeric codes.
  • Keep it balanced. Make sure every G/L account with a balance is assigned to a node. Unassigned accounts will not appear in the financial statement.
  • Review periodically. When you add new G/L accounts, remember to add them to the hierarchy as well.
  • You can have multiple hierarchies. For example, one for management reporting with more detail and one for statutory reporting with the legally required format.