B14 216: Section 1, step 6 - 8

Emil Amante

1. Click on [...] at the right end of the "Currency" Entity to apply a dynamic selection based on a Cube.
2. Select the "ACT - DF - Profit and Loss Statement LC" Cube from the drop-down "Cubes" list.

Can I get some help understanding the logic here? What exactly is a dynamic selection doing using that P&L LC cube? What is it doing?

John Williams

@Emil Amante

Hello! That is an excellent question about data modeling logic.

The dynamic selection on the "Currency" Entity using the ACT - DF - Profit and Loss Statement LC Cube is a key technique for ensuring the report is both accurate and user-friendly.

Here is an explanation of the logic and what it is doing:

What Dynamic Selection is Doing

Dynamic selection is telling the system to populate the list of available currencies not from a static, master list, but directly from the actual data inside the specified Cube.

The logic is as follows:

1. The Source Cube: The ACT - DF - Profit and Loss Statement LC (Local Currency) Cube is where the system stores the actual financial results for the Profit & Loss statement. Crucially, this Cube is structured to include the Currency dimension along with Month, Store, and Account. This means every data point in this Cube is tagged with the local currency it belongs to (e.g., EUR, USD, CAD).
2. The Action: By setting the "Currency" Entity to dynamically select members based on this P&L LC Cube, you are instructing the system to look through that Cube and compile a list of only the currencies that currently have data entries.
3. The Result: The selection dropdown or filter for Currency on the report (Screen) will only show the currencies that are actually present in the Local Currency P&L data for the current selection context.

Why Use This Logic (The Benefits)

• Accuracy and Relevance: It prevents a user from selecting a currency that is irrelevant or has no data. For example, if your P&L Cube only has actuals loaded for USD, EUR, and JPY, a static selection might also show AUD (if it's in the master list). The dynamic selection ensures AUD is automatically excluded until data for it is actually loaded into the P&L LC Cube.
• Data Integrity: It ties the currency selection directly to the reported P&L data. The user can only filter the report by a currency that exists in the core financial results being displayed.
• Ease of Maintenance: If a new currency is introduced and data for it is loaded into the Cube, it will automatically appear as a selectable filter option on the screen without any manual configuration changes to the "Currency" entity itself.

In short, it creates a data-driven filter, ensuring the selectable Currencies are always a current, relevant subset of what is contained in the actual Local Currency financial reporting Cube.