Systems and methods for managing and reporting financial information

Abstract

Methods and system consistent with the present invention facilitate the management of financial information. Such methods and systems may receive transaction data, store the transaction data as a line item in a day ledger, receive a request for a report, the request indicating a financial figure, such as an average daily balance, to be generated over a specified time interval, and generate, substantially in real-time or during run-time per the request, a report with the financial figure over the specified time interval using data from the day ledger.

1 .- 39 . (canceled) 
     
     
         40 . A computer-implemented method for generating customized financial reports, the method comprising:
 receiving data including line items indicative of transactions performed by customers;   storing, in a database, the received data;   periodically generating, with at least one processor, an end-of-period balance by accumulating the line items over a predetermined time period;   determining a change in the end-of-period balance caused by a specific transaction posted by the customers;   determining time periods affected by the change in the end-of-period balance;   adjusting, with the at least one processor, end-of-period balances corresponding to the affected time periods according to the change in the end-of-period balance;   updating the data stored in the database with the adjusted end-of-period balances;   receiving a request for a report from a user, the request indicating key figures and characteristics selected by the user; and   generating the report based on the data stored in the database according to the key figures and characteristics selected by the user.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the predetermined time period is one of a day, a week, a month, a quarter, or a year. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the affected time periods are later in time than the specific transaction posted by the customers. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the key figures include at least an average balance and the characteristics include a user-specified time interval. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , further comprising:
 calculating the average balance by dividing an aggregate balance over the user-specified time interval by a number of time periods in the user-specified time interval.   
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 44 , wherein generating the report comprises providing a comparison of the average balance over the user-specified time interval with an average daily balance over a different time interval. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 44 , further comprising adjusting the aggregate balance over the user-specified time interval according to the change in the end-of-period balance. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , further comprising determining a beginning-of-period balance for the predetermined time period. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising storing the end-of-period balances, the average balance, and the beginning-of-period balance without the line items in a database. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the report is generated in substantially real time. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the characteristics further include one or more of a currency type, a business entity, an account number, or a business area selected by the user. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the request further indicates one or more of a form type, a form name, a structure, or an output type selected by the user for the report. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the structure is a hierarchical structure. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 52 , wherein the hierarchical structure includes a plurality of notes and leaves, the leaves being associated with a plurality of accounts. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the output type indicates at least one of a graphical report, a classic drill-down report, an object list report, or a spreadsheet report. 
     
     
         55 . A system for generating customized financial reports, comprising:
 a tangible storage medium that stores instructions;   a processor that executes at least part of the instructions to:
 receive data including line items indicative of transactions performed by customers; 
 store, in a database, the received data; 
 periodically generate an end-of-period balance by accumulating the line items over a predetermined time period; 
 determine a change in the end-of-period balance caused by a specific transaction posted by the customers; 
 determine time periods affected by the change in the end-of-period balance; 
 adjust end-of-period balances corresponding to the affected time periods according to the change in the end-of-period balance; and 
 update the data stored in the database with the adjusted end-of-period balances; and 
 receive a request for a report from a user, the request indicating key figures and characteristics selected by the user; and 
 generate the report based on the data stored in the database according to the key figures and characteristics selected by the user. 
   
     
     
         56 . The system of  claim 55 , wherein the request further indicates one or more of a form type, a form name, a structure, or an output type selected by the user for the report. 
     
     
         57 . The system of  claim 56 , wherein the structure is a tree structure including a plurality of notes and leaves, the leaves being associated with a plurality of accounts 
     
     
         58 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method for generating customized financial reports, the method comprising:
 receiving data including line items indicative of transactions performed by customers;   storing, in a database, the received data;   periodically generating an end-of-period balance by accumulating the line items over a predetermined time period;   determining a change in the end-of-period balance caused by a specific transaction posted by the customers;   determining time periods affected by the change in the end-of-period balance;   adjusting end-of-period balances corresponding to the affected time periods according to the change in the end-of-period balance;   updating the data stored in the database with the adjusted end-of-period balances;   receiving a request for a report from a user, the request indicating key figures and characteristics selected by the user; and   generating the report based on the data stored in the database according to the key figures and characteristics selected by the user.   
     
     
         59 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 58 , wherein the request further indicates one or more of a form type, a form name, a structure, or an output type selected by the user for the report.