Is there a way to create a module using the calendar year?

WaelGhrayeb
WaelGhrayeb
edited January 16 in Modeling

My fiscal year starts from September 25 for example, if I need a module to reflect the calendar year as a time scale instead of fiscal, how can I do it?

Answers

  • JFAnaplanner
    JFAnaplanner

    The only method to change this for a model is to change the "Fiscal Year Start Month" in the Time Settings to match the start of the year. The only problem with this is that it is a model wide change, so if you have other calculations that depend on the fiscal year this will not be possible. What is the problem that you are facing?

  • WaelGhrayeb
    WaelGhrayeb

    Thank you for the response, the thing is we usually have a report an excel that is in calendar years not fiscal, and I guess there is no other way than changing the fiscal year for the whole model, which is not an option as it will ruin the data in the whole model.
    I was thinking if I create a list with the fiscal year weeks for example and identify each week to its corresponding calendar week and use that as the time list for the specific module, but I think it is more complicated than that.

  • JFAnaplanner
    JFAnaplanner

    You can change the import settings for the time dimension to read them as calendar items instead of fiscal periods. My screenshot is from the time tab on an import (this import doesn't use the functionality I described as it is a model to model import, however I've put arrows on the parts you should need to change/review).

    image.png
  • luke_e
    luke_e
    edited January 23

    If I'm understanding this, you're looking to have an alternative time scale that doesn't align with your 'model calendar'. We've been through something similar where our fiscal year starts in July, but have requirements to report on calendar as well.

    Unfortunately, Anaplan doesn't allow for multiple calendars in a single model; you'd need to create a fake time list and do a mapping of real time into fake time. It does introduce some maintenance overhead and becomes more complicated if you're expecting to input data against the fake time list as well, but if you're just reporting your fiscal calendar data on a calendar year-basis, it's doable.

    I recall a few Anaplan resources that describe how this is done, so might be best to search for 'Anaplan Fake Time'.

  • seymatas1
    seymatas1

    Hi @WaelGhrayeb,

    As @luke_e mentioned, the solution is to create a "fake time" list or we often call it "dynamic time" or "custom time".

    I was thinking if I create a list with the fiscal year weeks for example and identify each week to its corresponding calendar week and use that as the time list for the specific module, but I think it is more complicated than that.

    You have figured out the dynamic time concept on your own. Congrats!

    Dynamic time is more common than you think. Many models rely on dynamic months or weeks lists to solve similar challenges.

    I hope this helps.

    Seyma 🌷🙂

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