Extending Finance Case Management: Adding a General Accounting Case Table in ServiceNow

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Audience: ServiceNow Developers & Technical Consultants  

Product: Finance Case Management (FCM) | sn_fin_ops framework

Why Extend FCM for General Accounting?

Out of the box, ServiceNow Finance Case Management ships with a shared Finance Case table (sn_fin_ops_finance_case) that covers common workstreams — AP, AR, Treasury, and Procurement. In larger GBS or shared services deployments, General Accounting teams often have distinct requirements:

• Dedicated case numbering (e.g. GA prefix)
• Role separation between GL specialists, requesters, and task owners
• Custom case types such as GL Coding Review, Journal Entry Query, or Period-End Adjustment
• Controlled visibility — an accountant should not see a Treasury case

The cleanest way to solve this is a scoped child table that extends the Finance Case table, with its own roles, ACLs, catalog item, and Employee Center wiring. This post walks through exactly that.

What You're Building

Artefact	Detail
Scoped App	GA Case Management (scope: x_snc_ga_case_m_0)
Case table	x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_case → extends Finance Case
Task table	x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_task → extends Finance Task
Roles	admin, specialist, requester, task_owner
Case type	GA Inquiry (value: ga_inquiry)
Catalog item	Copied from Finance inquiry, pointed at GA Case table
ACLs	Allow-If + Deny-Unless pattern, 11 on case / 9 on task
Employee Center	Request filter + open/completed to-do lists
Cross-scope	Write access granted from Finance Case Management scope

Licensing Considerations

Finance Case Management (sn_fin_ops) is a separately entitled ServiceNow Store application — it is not a capability unlocked purely by assigning roles. Before installation, your instance must carry valid entitlements for the application and its associated Store applications. The Store listing is the authoritative source for subscription requirements and release compatibility.

⚠  Important: Licensing metrics, package inclusions, and what is or is not bundled vary by contract, product tier, and ServiceNow release. Nothing in this section should be treated as a definitive licensing model. Always validate with your ServiceNow account team and your order form before activating in production.

What sn_fin_ops Installs

Installing Finance Case Management (sn_fin_ops) also installs or depends on the following applications. Confirm all are covered by your entitlement before activating in production:

• Finance Operations Workspace (sn_fin_ops_ws): The agent-facing workspace where specialists route, update, and resolve cases.
• Common Service Delivery (sn_spend_sdc): Shared platform services underpinning FCM case and task handling. Several ACL scripts in this guide call sn_spend_sdc.ServiceTaskUtil — this dependency must be present for those scripts to work.

Role-to-Access Mapping

The sn_fin_ops roles below describe access levels within the application. They do not define or determine license consumption — that is governed by the commercial metric in your order form.

Role	Access granted	Typical user
sn_fin_ops.requester	Creates finance cases via Employee Center	Employee submitting a finance request
sn_fin_ops.specialist	Views and updates finance cases; includes Finance Operations Workspace access	GL analyst, finance ops team member
sn_fin_ops.task_owner	Works tasks associated with finance cases	Accountant assigned to a task
sn_fin_ops.admin	Administrative access including Finance Operations Workspace	FCM application administrator

ℹ  Note: Your scoped GA roles (x_snc_ga_case_m_0.*) each inherit one of the above sn_fin_ops roles via the Contains Roles configuration. The access boundaries above therefore apply equally to your GA extension.

Questions to Ask Your Account Team

Before activating sn_fin_ops or your GA extension in production, get written answers to the following from your ServiceNow account team:

Area	Question to ask
Entitlement package	Which SKU or subscription covers Finance Case Management on our order form, and does it include a GA extension?
Subscription metric	How is consumption measured — by employee headcount, named Fulfiller users, case volume, or another metric?
Dependent applications	Are Finance Operations Workspace (sn_fin_ops_ws) and Common Service Delivery (sn_spend_sdc) included, or separately entitled?
Requester access	How is access for employees submitting finance requests (sn_fin_ops.requester) licensed — is it included, a lower tier, or a separate SKU?
Integrations and Store apps	Are any integrations or dependent Store applications separately entitled under our contract?
Non-production instances	Are there any constraints on activating sn_fin_ops in development, test, or UAT instances?
Release compatibility	What ServiceNow release versions are supported under our current subscription, and are there upgrade constraints?

Before You Go Live — Three Steps

1.   Verify the entitlement in the instance.

Check Application Manager or the Store application listing to confirm the entitlement is valid on the target instance before activation.

2.   Separate requester and fulfiller access.

Do not assign sn_fin_ops.specialist (or x_snc_ga_case_m_0.specialist) to employees who only need to submit requests. Requester and fulfiller roles must be kept separate for both least-privilege security and licence hygiene.

3.   Test with least-privilege roles in non-production.

Validate end-to-end access in a non-production instance before promoting to production. Do not assume an existing Employee Center, CSM, or HRSD subscription automatically includes sn_fin_ops — confirm explicitly.

Step 1 — Create the Scoped Application

Navigate to App Engine > ServiceNow Studio and create a new App.

• Name: GA Case Management | Scope: Scoped
• On the roles page, delete the two default roles — you'll create precise ones next.
• Select Continue, then Go to app dashboard.

ℹ  Note: Verify the app scope x_snc_ga_case_m_0 is active in the top-right scope switcher before proceeding. Every table, role, and ACL must land in this scope.

Step 2 — Create Roles

Navigate to System Security > Users and Groups > Roles and create four roles with the following suffixes. The platform prepends the scope prefix automatically.

Suffix	Full Role Name	Contains Role
admin	x_snc_ga_case_m_0.admin	x_snc_ga_case_m_0.specialist + sn_fin_ops.admin
specialist	x_snc_ga_case_m_0.specialist	sn_fin_ops.specialist
requester	x_snc_ga_case_m_0.requester	sn_fin_ops.requester
task_owner	x_snc_ga_case_m_0.task_owner	sn_fin_ops.task_owner

For each role, open it, navigate to the Contains Roles tab and add the mapped sn_fin_ops role via Edit. This cascades the OOB FCM permissions correctly — your custom roles sit on top of the framework without duplicating logic.

Step 3 — Create Case and Task Tables

3.1 GA Case Table

In Studio, create a new Table file under GA Case Management:

Field	Value
Label	GA Case
Name	x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_case (auto-filled)
Extends table	Finance Case
Auto-number	Enabled
Prefix	GA
User role (Controls tab)	x_snc_ga_case_m_0.specialist
Accessible from	All application scopes
Can read / create / update	All selected

Extending Finance Case gives your table the full FCM data model — short description, priority, assignment group, state machine, work notes, and SLA fields — with no custom schema work.

3.2 GA Task Table

Field	Value
Label	GA Task
Name	x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_task (auto-filled)
Extends table	Finance Task
Prefix	GATSK
User role	x_snc_ga_case_m_0.specialist

3.3 Related List and New Action

1.   Navigate to All > GA > GA Cases, open a new case form, right-click the title bar and go to Configure > Related Lists.
2.   Remove Finance Task -> Related case from Selected. Add GA Task -> Related case to the top of Selected. Save.
3.   Navigate to Now Experience Framework > Declarative Actions > Related List Actions and create a New action:

• Implemented as: UXF Client Action
• Specify client action: Create New Record
• Table: GA Task [x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_task]

Step 4 — Create the GA Inquiry Case Type

1.   In Studio, open the GA Case table and search fields for case_type.
2.   Open the side panel gear icon → Choices > Edit > See all choice configurations.
3.   On the Choices tab of the Dictionary Entry, select New and add:

Field	Value
Label	GA Inquiry
Value	ga_inquiry
Table	GA Case [x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_case]

ℹ  Note: The value ga_inquiry must match exactly in both this Choice record and the catalog item script below. A mismatch creates cases with a blank case type.

Step 5 — Create the Catalog Item

1.   Navigate to Service Catalog > Catalog Definitions > My Catalogs > Service Catalog.
2.   Search for Finance inquiry in the Catalog Items tab and open it.
3.   Select Copy and update the copy:

Field	Value
Name	GA Inquiry
Table name	GA Case [x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_case]
Short description	Raise a General Accounting inquiry

4.   In the Scripts section, update lines 18–19:

//Setting case type as "GA Inquiry"
current.case_type = "ga_inquiry";

5.   Save, then scroll to Assigned Topics > Add and assign to the Finance topic under the Employee taxonomy.

Step 6 — Configure Access Controls

Elevate to security_admin first via Avatar > Elevate role.

The ACL Pattern

FCM uses a two-layer ACL model:

• Allow-If ACLs — grant access based on role + data condition (e.g. requester can only read their own cases)
• Deny-Unless ACLs — lock out anyone without a recognised role, even if an Allow-If somewhere else would have passed

Both layers are required. Skip the Deny-Unless ACLs and users with unrelated roles may still read GA cases through inherited Finance Case ACLs.

GA Case Table — Target: 11 ACL Records

Operation	Decision Type	Role(s)	Condition / Script
read	Allow If	requester	Opened by = Me (dynamic)
read	Allow If	task_owner	Script: task assigned to user or group
write	Allow If	requester	State not in: Closed Cancelled/Rejected/Completed
write	Allow If	task_owner	Script: task assigned to user + state not closed
create	Allow If	specialist	(no condition)
write	Allow If	specialist	Auto-created on table creation
read	Allow If	specialist	Auto-created on table creation
delete	Allow If	specialist	Auto-created on table creation
create	Deny Unless	specialist	(no condition)
read	Deny Unless	specialist + requester + task_owner	(no condition)
write	Deny Unless	specialist + requester + task_owner	(no condition)

Advanced Condition script for the task_owner read ACL:

var table_name = 'x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_task';
var isAnyTaskAssignedToTheUser = function(caseRecord) {
    var tasks = sn_spend_sdc.ServiceTaskUtil.getTasks(
        'service_request=' + caseRecord.getUniqueValue() +
        '^assigned_to=' + gs.getUserID(), table_name);
    return tasks.hasNext();
};

var isAnyTaskAssignedToTheUserGroup = function(caseRecord) {
    var tasks = sn_spend_sdc.ServiceTaskUtil.getTasks(
        'service_request=' + caseRecord.getUniqueValue() +
        '^assignment_groupDYNAMIC<YOUR_ONE_OF_MY_GROUPS_SYS_ID>',
        table_name);
    return tasks.hasNext();
};
answer = isAnyTaskAssignedToTheUser(current) ||
         isAnyTaskAssignedToTheUserGroup(current);

ℹ  Note: Replace <YOUR_ONE_OF_MY_GROUPS_SYS_ID> with the sys_id of the "One of my groups" dynamic filter on your instance. Navigate to System Security > Dynamic Filter Options, search for "One of my groups", and copy the sys_id from that record.

GA Task Table — Target: 9 ACL Records

4 auto-created ACLs for specialist, plus:

Operation	Decision Type	Role	Condition
read	Allow If	task_owner	Assigned to = Me OR Assignment group = One of my groups
write	Allow If	task_owner	Assigned to = Me OR State not in closed states
create	Deny Unless	specialist	—
read	Deny Unless	specialist + task_owner	—
write	Deny Unless	specialist + task_owner	—

De-elevate security_admin when done.

Step 7 — Configure Employee Center

Request Filter

Navigate to Service Catalog > Catalog Administration > My Request Filter and create a new filter:

Field	Value
Title	GA Cases
Table	GA Case [x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_case]
Applies to	Desktop/Service Portal
Filter condition	Opened by = Me OR Requested by = Me
Primary field	Short description
Secondary fields	Priority, Number

To-Do Lists

Navigate to Employee Center > Administration > To-dos Configuration and create two records:

GA Tasks — Open

• Tab: Open
• Conditions: State is one of Pending/Open/Work in Progress AND Assigned to = Me AND Task type = GA Task
• Title row: Short description | Detail row: Number
• Task Configuration: Name = GA Task | Common Info fields = Number, Priority, Due date, State
• Primary Info title = Description | Action group = Finance Task Actions
• Tab Configuration: Type = Activity Stream | Source = Task | Display name = Activity

GA Tasks — Completed

• Tab: Completed
• Conditions: State is one of Closed Complete/Incomplete/Skipped AND Assigned to = Me AND Task type = GA Task
• Same Title row, Detail row, Task Configuration, and Tab Configuration as above

Step 8 — Cross-Scope Access

Switch scope to Finance Case Management, then navigate to System Applications > Application Cross-Scope Access and create:

Field	Value
Target Scope	GA Case Management
Target Name	x_snc_ga_case_m_0_ga_case
Target Type	Table
Operation	Write
Status	Allowed

This allows the Finance Case Management scope (where the catalog item script runs) to write to your scoped GA Case table. Without it the record producer fails silently on the current.case_type assignment.

Verification

Follow these steps to confirm the implementation end to end:

• Assign x_snc_ga_case_m_0.requester to a test user.
• Assign x_snc_ga_case_m_0.specialist to a specialist user.
• As the requester, navigate to Employee Center > Finance and submit a GA Inquiry.
• Confirm the case number carries a GA prefix.
• As the specialist, open Finance Operations Workspace > All work > Cases, sort by Number descending — the GA case should appear with Case type = GA Inquiry.
• Assign to the specialist, save, and confirm My assigned cases by type on the workspace home now shows the GA Inquiry slice.

Key Things to Get Right

Risk	What to check
Wrong scope on artefacts	Confirm x_snc_ga_case_m_0 is active in the scope switcher before creating tables, roles, or ACLs.
Entitlement not confirmed	Do not activate sn_fin_ops in production without written confirmation of your SKU and subscription metric from your account team.
Specialist role over-assigned	Do not assign sn_fin_ops.specialist (or the GA equivalent) to requesters. Requester and fulfiller access must be separated for least privilege and licence hygiene.
Missing Deny-Unless ACLs	Without them, users with unrelated roles may read GA cases through inherited Finance Case ACLs.
Cross-scope write missing	The catalog item script runs in the Finance Case Management scope — without the privilege, case_type won't populate.
ga_inquiry value mismatch	The Choice record value and the catalog item script must match exactly. A typo creates cases with a blank case type.
DYNAMIC GUID is instance-specific	The group filter GUID in the task_owner ACL script must be replaced with your instance's correct value.
Group role assignments are instance data	Script them or document as a post-deploy step — they are not captured in update sets.
sn_spend_sdc dependency	The ACL scripts call sn_spend_sdc.ServiceTaskUtil. Confirm Common Service Delivery is installed and entitled before deploying.

Licensing information is provided for guidance only. Always validate entitlements with your ServiceNow account team and order form before activating in production.