How to merge these patches EBS: R12.1 Oracle Financials Recommended Patches

Question

Dear Experts,
Please note that we have implemented the following modules on E-Business Suit 11.5.10.2 .
SCM Modules:
1.     Inventory
2.     Purchasing
3.     Order Management
Finance Modules:
1.     General Ledger
2.     Fixed Assets
3.     Accounts Receivables
4.     Accounts Payables
5.     Cash Management
We have also upgraded our database from 9.2.0.6 to 11g R2 as per the latest metalink interoperablity notes. Currently our EBS Version on test Enviroment is 11.5.10.2 with 11g R2
please note that as per the metalink note id EBS: R12.1 Oracle Financials Recommended Patches [ID 954704.1], We are in process of analysing the patches.
Please let us know how to merge these patches and proceed with our R12.1 upgrade driver.
Please also let us know are there any steps which needs to be performed after the below steps.
Run the Accounting Health Check and resolve data issues (Note 416699.1)
Complete all Period Close Actions/Processes. Validate and account as much data as possible and make sure everything is transferred to GL.
Run your standard reconciliation and account balance reports after period close and resolve issues.
Run the Accounting Health Check again. Resolve all remaining data issues (Note 416699.1)
If upgrading to R12.0.x, apply Patch 7653100 (Note 557869.1)
If upgrading to R12.1.x, apply Patch 8773483:R12.FIN_PF.B (Note 880275.1)
Proceed with the next steps of the upgrade.
Your quick action in this regards will be highly appreciated.
Regards
Mohammed.

Answer 1

Mohammed,
I am not an expert although I have significant experience upgrading the database and applications from 11.5.10.2 to 12.1.1 and 12.1.3 in both test and production environments. The following are a few thoughts as you continue down the upgrade path:
Patch 8773483 will need to be installed in pre-install mode along with a number of other pre-install mode patches. If you haven't looked at the following note you will need to since it contains information you need:
Oracle Applications Release Notes, Release 12.1.1 [ID 798258.1]
Pay particular attention to the README.txt instructions for patch 9179588 since it wants you to merge other patches with it before applying.
Another note you need to be aware of, especially if you want reconcile past the 6 month window used for accrual write offs during the upgrade, is:
R12.0 and R12.1: FAQ for the SLA Upgrade: SLA Pre-Upgrade, Post-Upgrade, and Hot Patch [ID 604893.1]
Other good sources of information for financials are:
Impact of R12 Design in Procure To Pay Accounting Flow [ID 429105.1]
Projects Uptake of the TCA Architecture in Release 12 [ID 417511.1] <--- AR/TCA (HZ) table join information that is very good
Payments In Order Management In R12 [ID 1164613.1]
If you don't have XLE and ZX currently licensed in your 11.5.10.2 instance, you will need to license them so the tax conversion runs successfully.
If you have legal entity identifications that are more than 30 characters, you will want to be aware of the size limitation imposed on the column LEGAL_ENTITY_IDENTIFIER in the table XLE.XLE_ENTITY_PROFILES, The following job will fail if the combined values exceed the LEGAL_ENTITY_IDENTIFIER column length which is shortened in R12:
xleupg01.sql
There are lots of potential pitfalls in an R12 upgrade. You simply need to test, test, and test again everything you use, read the RCD's and R12 documentation as much as possible, etc ... Having said that, there are many good things about an R12 upgrade too, from both the functional and technical perspectives.
Riley