Combination Validations

As discussed in the CGI Advantage – Budget Control User Guide, the configuration put in place for required budget structures and required budget levels serves to provide combination validations of the various chart of account elements and rollups that define those budget structures and levels. CGI Advantage allows the definition of additional valid (and invalid) combinations of any common field to all accounting lines. This includes dates, elements, rollups, and other fields. As these combinations are of accounting line fields, transactions without an accounting line and reference pages with chart of account codes do not edit against these combinations.

There is the ability for valid and invalid combinations to ensure correct data entry. If only a few combinations are valid, they can be entered on the valid page and all others would naturally invalid even if they are not on the invalid page. If most combinations are valid except a few, then they can be listed on the invalid page. There would be no need to enter all the valid ones given the special feature mentioned below. However, there is always the option of listing all valid combinations and not using the invalid page.

A special feature available for the ’valid’ combinations is called a Partial Key Lookup. When the feature is used, there are one or more fields designated in the application code for the page as the partial key. When the system performs a lookup to the page, it first tries to match the partial key. If a match is found, the complete combination must be found or it is considered invalid. If a match is not found on the partial key, then any combination with that partial key is considered valid unless it is entered on the invalid page. Since invalid pages are read first, this second scenario never actually happens in the application, but is included here for clarification. When used in conjunction with an invalid page, the partial key lookup provides a great deal of flexibility. For example:

Fund A is listed with 80% of all Departments on the Valid Fund Department reference page
Fund B is listed with 10% of all Departments on the Invalid Fund Department reference page
Fund C can be used by all Departments so it has no records on either page

Now Fund A can be used with only those Departments. If new Department is created that can use Fund A, that Department will have to be added to Valid Fund Department. However, Fund B can be used with 90% of all Departments and if any Department is created and not added to the Invalid Fund Department page, then that Department is automatically available to Fund B. Fund C will be able to use all existing and any new Departments added.

When a combination is found on an invalid page, error message A1861 is issued that "The specified combination of field values has been excluded via an entry on the specified exclusion list." When a partial key match was found, but not an exact match, or no match was found on an invalid page that did not have a partial key, error message A1862 is issued, indicating that "The specified combination of field values has not been allowed via an entry on the specified inclusion list." In both cases, the short error message will state the fields not valid and the combination page name. There is no page error issued if the same combination is entered on an invalid and a valid page. The invalid combination will take precedence in that case.

All true combination validation pages (note the Disbursement Category page listed below) edit all accounting lines. Those 'true' pages do not have the ability to use wildcard values or leave any of their fields blank.