Margin analysis in SAP S/4HANA is directly integrated with the Universal Journal (table ACDOCA). When a goods issue is posted for a sales delivery, a financial accounting document is generated in real time. This document debits the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) account and credits the inventory account. Because margin analysis is based on these G/L account postings in the Universal Journal, it is updated with the COGS value at the precise moment of delivery (goods issue). This provides a real-time, event-based view of profitability.

B. Combined profitability analysis: This approach uses both types. Since costing-based CO-PA updates at billing, the COGS update does not happen only at delivery.

C. Costing-based: This type of profitability analysis traditionally updates its value fields, including COGS, at the time of billing, not at goods issue/delivery.

D. Both margin analysis and costing-based: This is incorrect because, as stated, costing-based CO-PA updates COGS at the time of billing, which contradicts the condition "at the time of delivery only".

1. SAP S/4HANA Help Portal

"Margin Analysis": "The key benefit of margin analysis is that the accounts and margin analysis are always reconciled. This is because margin analysis is directly integrated with the general ledger... For example

when you post a goods issue for a sales order

the cost of goods sold is posted to the corresponding account and immediately visible in margin analysis." (This describes the real-time update at goods issue).

2. SAP S/4HANA Help Portal

"Costing-Based Profitability Analysis - Flow of Actual Data": "When you post a billing document in Sales and Distribution (SD)

the data is transferred to Profitability Analysis (CO-PA)... The system creates a line item in CO-PA for each billing item and writes this to the segment level." (This confirms that the update to costing-based CO-PA occurs at billing).

3. SAP Learning Hub

Course TS4F04 - "Controlling in SAP S/4HANA": Unit 5: Profitability Analysis

Lesson: "Data Flow to Margin Analysis". The course material explains that the goods issue posting (movement type 601) triggers the COGS posting

which is immediately reflected in Margin Analysis via the Universal Journal. In contrast

the lesson on "Data Flow to Costing-Based CO-PA" specifies the transfer of the billing document as the trigger point for updating COGS value fields.