conversion from DEM to EUR

Herbert Thoma tma@iis.fhg.de
Mon, 04 Sep 2000 15:11:35 +0200


Poldi Winkler wrote:
> >
> > Hi all!
> >
> > First: I did the current (very limited) EURO suport in GnuCash.
> > I want to improve the EURO/multiple currency suport. However,
> > I want this since at least 3 months, but I have been to busy at
> > work to actually do it :-(.
> >
> > As dave said, it should not be too difficult to write some scheme
> > code which converts all amounts to EURO (and link to the other
> > account via an appropriate currency account).
> >
> > However, I think, I will not convert any old transactons to EURO.
> > These were DEM (or IRP, or whatever) transactions and the account
> > statements (paper, from the bank) are DEM. I don't think that
> > I want this converted to EURO. Instead I will create a new
> > set of accounts in EURO. The day the bank account is converted
> > to EURO (most probably 1.1.2002), I will transfer the DEM balance
> > to the corresponding EURO account.
> >
> > This is my personal opinion only! You are free to do it any
> > other way.
> 
> Hallo Herbert,
> I see some problems:
> 1. When gnucash is able to make a budget, we need or we should have
> the figures of the last years to use as the right basis for the
> budget. That's why I think we need the historical figures and we
> need them with the same currency or the program can convert the
> currencies.

The budgeting/reporting engine must be able to convert the currencies,
the accounts don't need to be converted.

> 2. The bank accounts were already converted for stock/mutual fonds
> and in other cases they are using both currencies - the national and
> EURO - already today.

You are right. In fact, I have EURO and DEM (and USD) accounts. I
don't have mixed accounts and I don't believe that such accounts
exist. An account has one currency. You can write a
cheque in EURO and debit your DEM account with this cheque,
but then the bank does an explicit conversion.

> 3. In the reports over several years we would have figures with 2
> differnt currencies. How can we calculate the profit (or loss) for
> the shares, when we are working with 2 currencies? Manually?

With the new upcomming file format it might be possible to
store the metadata that an account is the "successor" of another
account after a currency conversion. (Any comments of the people
who work on the new file format?)

> Perhaps I see it to complicated ?!?

It is complicated!

 Herbert.
-- 
Herbert Thoma
FhG-IIS A, Studio Department
Am Weichselgarten3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Phone: +49-9131-776-323
Fax:   +49-9131-776-399
email: tma@iis.fhg.de
www: http://www.iis.fhg.de/