Finit solutions he terminal release webinar feb 2012 final

www.finitsolutions.com

Hyperion Enterprise: The Terminal Release, Sustaining Support, and Developing a Plan for the Future

February 24, 2012Rob [email protected]

www.finitsolutions.com‐ 2 ‐

The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

Hyperion Enterprise: The Terminal Release

Finit IntroductionFinit Solutions specializes in consulting services in the Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management Solutions suite of products:

Financial Close and Consolidation– Financial Management (HFM)– Hyperion Enterprise– Financial Close Management– Disclosure Management

Integration– Financial Data Quality Management

(FDM)– Oracle Data Integrator (ODI)– Enterprise Performance Management

Architect (EPMA)– Data Relationship Management (DRM)– Other (ERPi, EIS, etc)

Planning and Business Intelligence– Planning

– Core Planning– Modules (Workforce, CapEx)

– Essbase (ASO / BSO)

Reporting Tools– Financial Reporting– Smartview– OBIEE– Web Analysis– Essbase Excel Add‐in




We take client service very seriously and the results of our intense focus on customer success and service are

unmatched in the industry:

Our client service approach has led to 100% customer satisfaction for every Finit client (154 and counting) for every Oracle Hyperion project (over 275 and counting).

Finit’s Client Service




Finit’s Values




We take client service very seriously.

I can expect some kind of response back within the same day. We don't have the Finance group complaining about our Hyperion support anymore.

The project to implement an automated constant currency calculation saved 28 working days a year and much of that time was spent working in the off hours. Having that free time in the evenings has been a huge benefit now that we have 2 small children.

After spending an extended period of time with Finit, it helped me to develop my skill set with HFM, thereforeallowing my role in the company to expand.

The new implementation has helped us replace so many manual systems and steps that were not only cumbersome but error prone as well. This has resulted in huge saving of time and increased efficiencies.

... our monthly closing is quite a bit less harried.

…our applications are now running better and faster which has returned some of our personal lives to us.

There is no question that FINIT solutions have provided value to our IS staff and internal customers;when our staff and customers are happy, all aspects of our jobs improve. Your success was mine as my

recommendation to use Finit reflected well on my knowledge and judgment.Over the years I have learned so much from Finit such as custom scripting, Logic groups, switch and conditional mapping. You make me look brilliant!

Finit has brought the in‐depth know how that would take us years to gain. They have the ability to help cut through the "red‐tape“ …. saving me time and effort.




•

Some Finit Clients




About the Presenter

Rob Cybulski([email protected])

• Co‐Founder of Finit Solutions• 13 years of experience

implementing Hyperion products• Frequent presenter at Hyperion

conferences• Serves as the Hyperion Enterprise

and HFM Domain Lead for the Oracle Hyperion Special Interest Group




How to Ask a Question




Purpose of this Webinar• Provide you with facts and an overview of what the announcement

means:– Announcement Details– Premier vs. Sustaining Support

• Provide you with details and considerations for helping you build your Hyperion Enterprise strategy:– Support dates for recent Hyperion Enterprise versions.– Overview of the 6.5.1.1 release– Sustaining Support Considerations and Finit Answers overview– Suggested Next Steps– Hyperion Enterprise Migration Considerations

• Tribute to Hyperion Enterprise


Hyperion Enterprise Announcement and Version Details

The Finit Solutions Series




• Oracle released a ‘Statement of Direction’ on Hyperion Enterprise in January 2012. The announcement mentioned a few key items:• Version 6.5.1.1, released in Oct 2011, will be the last release of Hyperion Enterprise

(it is the terminal release).• Starting in December 2012, Hyperion Enterprise will move to controlled availability.

Starting in December 2012, sales related to Hyperion Enterprise licenses will be limited to existing customers only.

• Hyperion Enterprise and Enterprise Reporting versions 6.5.1.1 and 6.5.1.0 will move from Premier Support to Sustaining Support in April 2013. Sustaining Support will continue indefinitely (as long as you are current with your Oracle support maintenance).

• This announcement does not mean that Hyperion Enterprise will become ‘un‐supported’ in April 2013. Hyperion Enterprise will move to Sustaining Support with no end date and you can keep running it for some time.

• This is a major difference and worth noting. Hyperion Application Link (HAL) did become ‘un‐supported’ in June 2010 (Sustaining Support End Date) but this is not the case with Hyperion Enterprise in that no Sustaining Support End Date exists.

Hyperion Enterprise Announcement




• Premier Support for Hyperion Enterprise and Enterprise Reporting 6.5.x (6.5.1.0 / 6.5.1.1) expires in April 2013.

• All versions of Hyperion Enterprise and Enterprise Reporting 6.4.x and lower (i.e. 6.3.1, etc.) are currently on Sustaining Support.

• Oracle’s Lifetime Support Policy can be found here: http://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/lifetime‐support‐applications‐069216.pdf

Hyperion Enterprise Releases




• Premier Support – Premier support is the most comprehensive support level that Oracle provides. Premier Support includes some of the following items:

• Active Development by Oracle – Oracle will work to certify and create patches for versions on premier support for new third‐party or Oracle products. This will also include development for product bug fixes or enhancements.

• Technical Support – Oracle will assist you with technical troubleshooting.• Premier support runs for 5 years on a version from its general availability date (GA)

• Sustaining Support – Sustaining Support includes the following items: • Products on Sustaining support can receive the technical support from Oracle as long as

maintenance is current. With this, Oracle will answer and address your support tickets (SR’s).• The big difference is that Oracle has halted development on the product version. This means no

development for any reason (new 3rd party components, bug fixes, enhancements, etc.) • With Hyperion Enterprise, since 6.5.1.1 is the terminal release of the product, no new

development will exist on the product for any reason when it moves to Sustaining support in April 2013.

Oracle Support




• Hyperion Enterprise and Enterprise Reporting version 6.5.1.1 was released in October 2011. The 6.5.1.1 release focused on providing new third party component support and did not release any new functionality in the product.

• The following new third party component support was offered in 6.5.1.1:• Support for Retrieve and Smart View for Microsoft Office 2010 (32 bit mode only)• Support for Microsoft Server 2008 R2 operating system• Support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and FireFox 3.6 for Hyperion Enterprise

Web and Hyperion Enterprise Web Reporting• Windows 7 client operating system support (32 bit and 64 bit)

Hyperion Enterprise 6.5.1.1




• Complete third party support with version 6.5.1.1:

Hyperion Enterprise 6.5.1.1 Cont.

Item Version

Microsoft Server Operating System (32 bit)

‐ Server 2008 (sp1)‐ Server 2003 (sp2)

Microsoft Server Operating System (64 bit)

‐ Server 2008 (R2)‐ Server 2008‐ Server 2003

Microsoft Client Operating System (32 bit or 64 bit)

‐ Windows 7‐ Vista‐ XP Pro (SP3)

Microsoft Excel ‐ Office 2010 (32 bit only)‐ Office 2007‐ Office 2003

Web Browsers (for Web) ‐ Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8‐ Firefox 2.0.0.3, 3.5.x, 3.6.x




• Complete key Hyperion support with version 6.5.1.1:

Hyperion Enterprise 6.5.1.1 Cont.

Item Version

Financial Data Quality Management (FDM)

‐ 9.3.3‐ 11.1.1.3‐ 11.1.2.1

Smart View for Office ‐ 9.3.1.2‐ 9.3.3‐ 11.1.1.3‐ 11.1.2.1




• A few key things were released in 6.5.0 / 6.5.1.0 related to end user functionality:• You can see both the Label AND Description in Database / Data Entry.

• Hyperion Enterprise drill‐back to FDM• Can view from a Database grid cell back to FDM detail (FDM versions 11.1.1.x and higher)

• Smart View for Office for Hyperion Enterprise

• Hyperion Enterprise Extract utility for HFM

• Application Backup and Restore Utility

• Single administration for managing all Enterprise servers

Hyperion Enterprise 6.5.1.0 / 6.5.0


Hyperion Enterprise Considerations





• Hyperion Enterprise moving into Sustaining Support provides your company with the ability to stay on Hyperion Enterprise for some time. However, since no development will be occurring on Hyperion Enterprise beyond April 2013, the risk grows the longer companies stay on Hyperion Enterprise.

• Based on the announcement and the support situation, a few things are valid:• You don’t need to panic and try to rush a migration from Hyperion Enterprise before the April

2013 date. If you had already planned to migrate off of Hyperion Enterprise – great. If you are not ready – you have time and you don’t need to rush. You can expect to continue to stay on Hyperion Enterprise for years to come.

• If you do decide to stay on Hyperion Enterprise after April 2013, you should work to minimize risk as much as possible. Your Hyperion Enterprise environment is very dependent on third‐party components and you should work to have a controlled environment.

• This announcement does mean that you will have to move off of Hyperion Enterprise eventually. Staying on Hyperion Enterprise for the next few years can be a viable strategy. Staying on Hyperion Enterprise to 2020 carries more risk. Eventually the third party components will drive your need to move off of Hyperion Enterprise.

Key Considerations




• Hyperion Enterprise is very dependent on third party products and the biggest risk that exists is that new third party fixes or patches may cause an incompatibility or issue in your Hyperion Enterprise application.

• If this occurs while Hyperion Enterprise is on Sustaining Support, no new Hyperion Enterprise fix (Patch Set Exception – PSE or Patch Set Update – PSU) will be released. Your only remediation will be to ‘roll‐back’ the associated third party fix that is causing the issue.

Key Risk of Sustaining Support




• Determine internal controls policies related to Hyperion Enterprise and Sustaining Support.• Some Finit clients have internal controls policies that prevent their Production

Financial Consolidation systems from being on Sustaining support. For these companies, they usually have a window where they can stay on sustaining support, but they need to upgrade to a premier support version within that window.

• You should meet with your internal controls team and determine how Hyperion Enterprise is classified if you are not sure. As you decide your Hyperion Enterprise strategy, you will want to make sure that if you decide to stay on Hyperion Enterprise in the medium‐term, there should be no issues from a controls and compliance standpoint.

Key Next Steps – Review policies




• Use two Server Environments at a Minimum• If you decide to stay on Hyperion Enterprise while it is on Sustaining Support, you

should have two server environments (Production and then a second environment (Development / QA / Test)).

• Part of moving to a more ‘controlled’ environment is having a server environment where all patch updates can be applied and thoroughly tested prior to pushing them to Production.

• It is recommended that this environment contain at least 1 server of each major component from your Production environment. For example, if you have 2 Citrix servers, 1 Application server and 1 Data server, then your Test environment should contain a minimum of 1 Citrix server, 1 Application server and 1 Data server.

• The servers do not need to match the full specifications of your Production environment as the goal is not large concurrency testing, but admin team / power user testing. For example, if your Production Application server has 4 processors and 8 GB of RAM, your Test environment could have 2 processors and 4 GB of RAM.

Key Next Steps – Control your Environment




• Develop controlled ‘Maintenance’ policies• Once Hyperion Enterprise is on Sustaining Support, it is important to keep in mind

that the responsibility to test all third party patches now lies solely on your organization (as Oracle will not be doing it). Therefore, you should develop a very controlled ‘Maintenance’ policy if it does not exist today.

• This Maintenance policy should be a joint IT / Finance set of procedures that are followed every month to minimize risk in your Production environment. A few key items of this should include:

• IT / Finance teams review all potential third party patches and upon agreement, apply them to the Development / Test environment.

• The patches should be applied off‐hours and preferably over a weekend when users will not be in the system. This is to minimize potential user down time if something goes wrong.

• Reboots should only occur outside business hours and preferably over weekends. • Hyperion Enterprise admins / key users run through set of tests after the patches have

been applied to verify that the patches did not ‘break’ anything.• All of these steps should be completed with sufficient time prior to the next close starting.

This will give time to apply the patches to Production and then retest in that environment.

Key Next Steps – Control your Environment




• IT Rollout Plans for Third Party Products• Your IT department likely has plans in place currently to upgrade to Windows 7,

Internet Explorer 8 and / or Office 2010 if you are not currently on these versions. • In addition to those client based components, you will want to see if they plan on

moving off of Server 2003 for server operating systems and only using Server 2008. • You will want to find out what their deployment schedules are for these products as

it may impact your timing and plans for upgrading to Hyperion Enterprise 6.5.1.1.• This level of communication is also important in the future. Windows 8 is expected

to come out late this year and Office will have another release in the next few years. If your IT group plans on implementing those soon, you will want to know that as those new versions will not be compatible with Hyperion Enterprise 6.5.1.1 and that may drive the timing of a Hyperion Enterprise project.

Key Next Steps – Determine IT Rollout Schedules




• Should you upgrade to 6.5.1.1?• If your company is planning on moving to Office 2010, Windows 7 and / or Server

2008 and you plan to stay on Hyperion Enterprise for some time, then you will have to upgrade to 6.5.1.1. Without upgrading, you will not be able to support these new third party technologies.

• Even if your company is not planning on moving to those third party components, but your company is planning on staying on Hyperion Enterprise for a few years, then you may want to perform an upgrade. This would allow you to go into Sustaining Support with the latest application version.

• A few key items related to the upgrade:• 6.5.1.1 is a full installation. It is not just a ‘DLL copy & paste’ patch approach.• No conversion is needed going from 6.5.1.0 to 6.5.1.1. You can just open the application in the new

version.• Previous releases would require an upgrade.• A Patch Set Update (PSU) exists for 6.5.1.1 (PSU 101).

Key Next Steps – Upgrade to 6.5.1.1?




• Should you buy more licenses in 2012?• Based on our understanding, you will be able to buy additional Hyperion Enterprise

licenses if you are an existing customer past April 2013. • As a result, you don’t have to rush to buy licenses this year if you do not need them.

You could buy them next year or in future years. • One item to note – if you stop paying your Oracle maintenance support, you will

probably not be able to buy additional licenses without first paying back maintenance fees.

• Terms of your licensing and the license cost will be based on your contractual terms with Oracle and you should contact your Oracle sales rep for any questions regarding licensing.

Key Next Steps – Licensing




• Determine your Support Needs• The support provided by Oracle under the Sustaining Support tier is available to all

customers that continue to pay their maintenance fees. This is a set, yearly fee paid to Oracle and the volume of your usage of support does not affect your licensing fees.

• As a part of developing your Hyperion Enterprise strategy, many companies are thinking through their support needs and you should evaluate this.

• Part of this support evaluation is whether your company will require primary or supplemental support services and your plans for continuing Oracle support.

Key Next Steps – Support Plans




• Finit has been providing primary and supplemental support to clients on all Oracle Hyperion EPM products for the last 10 years (since inception). Our support team, Finit Answers, provides clients with the following benefits for Oracle Hyperion EPM product support:

• Time and Materials Support – you only pay for what you use at an hourly rate. No fixed fee contract or minimums. This can translate into significant savings per year (in the thousands).

• Guaranteed Response Times – New tickets for Production issues will have response times no later than 8 business hours after the ticket is opened.

• Technical and Functional Support – Answers and support for technical issues as well as product functionality or design questions.

• ‘Insurance Policy’ for your Hyperion Environment – Finit provides a safety net with access to highly experienced Hyperion product SME’s in a timely manner.

• Hyperion Product Expertise – Finit has been providing solutions and support on Hyperion EPM for 10 years.

• Customer Service Focus – The Finit Answers team and Finit consultants are measured and compensated on your satisfaction with their work, not on the number of tickets they close. They are incentivized to make you successful and happy.

Finit Answers Support Services




• Finit is providing a unique pledge for Hyperion Enterprise customers as a sign of our partnering approach: If you enter into a Finit Answers support contract, all Hyperion Enterprise support fees you pay to Finit will be applied as a credit to a future project in which you use Finit consulting services to replace Hyperion Enterprise. For example, if you spend $25,000 over the next 3 years for Hyperion Enterprise support, we will credit a future replacement project for Hyperion Enterprise by that amount.

• Support contracts are generally set for 12 month terms. • Please contact Joe Mizerk for more information regarding Finit Answers support.

• Joe Mizerk• [email protected]• 919.349.5029

Finit Pledge for Hyperion Enterprise Support




• Determine Short‐Term / Long‐Term Strategy• After reviewing and discussing the key items internally, you should develop a short‐

term / long‐term strategy for Hyperion Enterprise. • This would include whether you will stay on Hyperion Enterprise as it moves into

Sustaining Support in April 2013. If you do plan on staying on Hyperion Enterprise for a few years, then you will want to make sure that you develop and finalize your plan for how to make Hyperion Enterprise a ‘controlled’ environment.

Key Next Steps – Finalize Strategy


Migration Considerations





If you are beginning to think about your strategy for migrating off of Hyperion Enterprise (either now or in the next few years), there are a few things that you will want to consider:• What is your organization looking to get out of the migration from Hyperion Enterprise?

Are you looking to make process and application enhancements as a part of the migration or are you simply trying to get on a better supported product as quickly as possible?

• The answer to this question will largely affect your overall scope of the project.

• What is your timeline for the migration? Is there a hard date that the conversion must be completed by? Project timeline will ultimately go hand in hand with project scope.

• As we have mentioned in this webinar, unless you have internal policies prohibiting being on a Sustaining Support product, you do not have to rush to implement by April 2013.

• What resources will be available internally to help with the migration? • The more internal involvement your organization has, the lower the overall external need will be.• Additionally, the more your admin(s) and power users are involved during the migration, the better

positioned your organization will be to take ownership of the new application after the project.

Migration Items – Key Considerations




The ‘Lift and Shift’ approach is basically just building the same processes and capabilities that currently exist in Hyperion Enterprise into the new application. This approach is the fastest and least costly, as you do not spend time re‐designing activities. However, it does not materially change processes or reporting capabilities. • This approach works well when the scope is smaller and the driving force of the

migration is to just get onto a better supported application.• The downside is that your new application will ‘inherit’ legacy items. Here are

few examples:– Your Chart of Accounts, including labeling, level of detail and parent / child relationship will

match what currently exists. – No new levels of detail will exist in any ‘dimension’ (Account, Entity, Custom dimensions). Your

future application will only capture the current level of detail in your Hyperion Enterprise application.

– Some companies did not have advanced calculations such as Cash Flow inside Hyperion Enterprise and your converted application will not improve on those processes.

Migration Approaches – ‘Lift and Shift’




The ‘Full Transformation’ approach is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the ‘Lift and Shift’ approach. This approach focuses more on ‘What can we do better and what do we want to get out of the system’? Typically with this approach, new users or scope is included (Management Reporting, Tax Reporting, etc.). A few items that this approach may entail include: • A new Chart of Accounts (CoA) ‐ The CoA may include new levels of detail for tax detail,

new labeling, new alignment (Parent / Child rollups).• New Entity Hierarchies and Detail ‐ This can include new rollups (Tax, Guarantor,

Management), changes to existing hierarchies (merging / breaking out entities) and even more detailed analysis (Cost Center / Departmental).

• Income Statement Detail – Addition of more detail for Income Statement accounts such as Functional Area, Product, Channel, Line of Business, etc.

• Balance Sheet Detail – Addition of movement detail, Foreign Exchange analysis by Account (and even categorization of this FX detail).

• New Calculations – Cash Flow Enhancements, Minority Interest / Ownership, Statistical Calculations.

• Process Improvements – Improved submission and data validation components.

Migration Approaches – ‘Full Transformation’




Most companies tend to scope and plan for their migration projects somewhere between the ‘Lift and Shift’ and ‘Full Transformation’ approach. This Midway approach allows companies to make some improvements, but not address all items included in a Full Transformation. A common scope that some companies take are the following:• Update the Chart of Accounts (CoA) – update for some new levels of detail in certain

areas, delete unused members and maybe make updates to labeling. Overall, the level of detail is maybe 80 – 90% the same as previously stored in Hyperion Enterprise.

• Clean up Entity Hierarchies (remove old entities, minor re‐alignment). • Add some detail that can be easily obtained (Balance Sheet Movements, Functional Area)• Design for future growth into detail not currently captured (maybe Product, Channel,

etc.)• Make process improvements to the closing schedule (timing, validations) and add key

calculations that are very important to the organization (Cash Flow).• With this approach, it is very important to make sure your stakeholders are on board on

what will or will not be included in the scope. We recommend breaking out your business requirements using the ‘MOSCOW’ method: Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, Won’t Have.

Migration Approaches – ‘The Midway’


Tribute to Hyperion Enterprise –Some Greatest ‘Hits’





Hyperion Software Press Release




• Prior to this release, Security was a separate .EXE file. Starting with this release, you could access security inside the application.

• Database AND Data Entry can be secured separately.• New tasks were created to allow security to Clear Error Log, Load Posted

Journals, Manage Report sets, Export in Retrieve• Hyperion Common Logon is introduced. You no longer have to sign into

Hyperion Enterprise Reporting when you launch it from within Hyperion Enterprise. It automatically logs you in!

• You can set the application to Read Only Mode.• You can use a Table Editor to write Logic, instead of just text based.

Enterprise 5




• You can send Broadcast messages to all Hyperion users.• Data Server is introduced. This now allows the Administrator to place

the application in one of three modes (Read Only, Client, Single User)• Password Expiration can now be set on user accounts!• Un‐owned entities can now be both purged and completed removed

from the system.• New Auto‐Pilot features were added: loading journals, posting journals,

extracting journals, extracting security, extracting formulas and extracting applications.

Enterprise 5.5




• Hyperion Enterprise can now be deployed via the Web.• Application Server and Data Server move from separate EXE files to the

Application Module.• The ‘users in the application’ report allows administrators to view what

users are logged into the system and where they currently are.• Single Sign‐on for Enterprise Web and Enterprise Web Reporting

Enterprise 6.0 – 6.2




• External Authentication now exists with Hyperion Enterprise! You can now setup Hyperion user accounts to integrate with LDAP, MSAD or NTLM authentication.

• Server 2003 and Office 2003 becomes supported.• Ability to view both the label AND description in the Entity Module.• ‘Enhanced’ Logging was introduced. This allowed you to attach an

external database (such as Access, SQL, Oracle) to Hyperion Enterprise to use that for logging detail. You were then able to store a lot more detailed logging than previously captured (Data Logging, Meta‐data, Security and Reports).

Enterprise 6.3 / 6.4




• You can Finally view both the label AND description in the Data Entry and Database Modules.

• You can do drill‐back into FDM detail making up a balance directly from a cell in Hyperion Enterprise Database module.

• Smart View is now available with Hyperion Enterprise.• Enterprise is available on Server 2008 and is supported with Office 2010,

Internet Explorer 8 and Windows 7.

Enterprise 6.5.x




• The original ‘Drag and Drop’. The ability of Hyperion Enterprise to drag and drop entities and have the data come with it was breakthrough.

• Data Extend – the ability to store textual information in an Access database.• Spiderman – Hyperion Enterprise Web Reporting’s original name before the

lawyers for the real Spiderman jumped on Hyperion.• Auto‐Pilot – Ahead of its time with task automation functionality. • Schedules – Schedules for data entry and schedules for keying data into a form

that could be run as a report.• Hyperion – the name of the IMRS product became so popular that it became

the name of the future company (Micro Control became Hyperion).• CHART, TRANS, CONSOL – The different logic methods.• KEDIT – KEDIT developed a cult like following from Enterprise admins due to its

ability to update and modify the .ASC files.• Rollovers – Many people will not miss this activity, of having to ‘roll’ categories

each year.

Terms Enterprise Gave Us




Hyperion Enterprise was a true breakthrough application for finance and business users and many of the application concepts that Hyperion Enterprise pioneered were adopted into HFM. HFM used some of the following main Hyperion Enterprise concepts:• Logic categories – the Hyperion Enterprise CHART, TRANS and CONSOL logic method categories

became Calculate, Translate and Consolidate sub‐routines in HFM.• The ability to write No Input logic and Dynamic Accounts moved to HFM.• The ability to enter data into Schedules (via Data Entry or Reports) became the basis of HFM Web

Forms.• The ability to enter in textual information via Data Extend (which was stored at an Enterprise

intersection) became the basis of HFM Cell Text.• The Metadata attributes, including tagging Entities as Intercompany, became the basis of HFM

Metadata attributes.• The Consolidation logic moved to HFM.• Sub‐Entities and the SCE engine in Enterprise became the basis of the Value dimension.• Database, with the ability of users to view data became the basis for Data Grids.• Security classes and security tasks became the basis for HFM roles and classes.• Entity ‘drag and drop’ became the basis for HFM metadata maintenance.

Hyperion Enterprise Impact on HFM




Questions?

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link to the recording.

Finit Contacts

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Finit solutions he terminal release webinar feb 2012 final