Many, many times over the years during my numerous SAP implementation projects I faced this constraint that in non-Productive SAP environments like DEV or QA; the Accounting Period (Transaction OB52) cannot be edited in DEV or QA and those records have to be transported.
Similar to some other tables like Currency rates (TCURR), the Accounting period; is part of a group of tables that are denominated "current settings". This means that even though these Tables are transportable, once you are in Production, these tables content will be allowed to be maintained directly without the need for a new configuration transport all the way from DEV.
Of course this would not make any sense. These tables like Accounting period, Exchange rates, Costing Sheet rates and many more, are key and central to the Financial operations. How would you be able to operate if any time you need to change these tables, you would need a new configuration transport. It would be insane !
For this reason, tables that are part of "current settings" can be updated in Production directly.
But now ... during an SAP Implemenation project, us Consultants and people doing testing in DEV and QA would also need to maintain and change values in these tables. You will need new exchange rates and to close and open your Accounting periods; among many other things. But if you try to do this in an out of the box DEV or QA environment, you will not be able to do it because you cannot do configuration directly in those environments. You will need to do it via a Transport request.
But it does not make any sense either. For this, with a simple small change in the configuration of the Table, you will be able to allow changes in DEV and QA without the need for a transport.
** Attention: this is a Table change, it will require a Workbench transport. If you are not sure what you are doing, please get it done by an Abap developer or Basis Consultant that will understand what he is doing.
Access Tcode: SE54
Table/View: V_T001B_COFIB (for the OB52 Accounting period table. This is your table in case you are in S/4 HANA with New/GL active).
Select "Generated Objects" then "Create / Change"
Once in this screen change from "Standard recording routine" to "no, or user, recording routine". Then save it and assign a Transport number.
Source for this Blog post was: OSS Note "2269677 - OB52 TK430 Client XXX has status 'not modifiable' in test system"
