Patent ID: 8645357

Claim:
A method comprising: storing, by a computer system, a unified hierarchy for an enterprise, the unified hierarchy including: a first set of nodes, each node in the first set representing a node in a reporting structure hierarchy of the enterprise; a second set of nodes distinct from the first set, each node in the second set representing a node in a cost structure hierarchy of the enterprise; and a third set of nodes distinct from the first and second sets, each node in the third set representing, as a single node, distinct nodes in the reporting structure hierarchy and the cost structure hierarchy respectively, wherein the unified hierarchy is configured to represent a hierarchy that combines the reporting structure hierarchy and the cost structure hierarchy together with nodes common to the reporting structure hierarchy and the cost structure hierarchy are collapsed into a single node within the third set of nodes, and nodes that are unique to the reporting structure hierarchy and the cost structure hierarchy are carried over into the unified hierarchy unmodified; generating, by the computer system, a visual representation of the unified hierarchy for display to a user; and allowing, by the computer system, the user to make modifications to the first set, the second set, or the third set based on a role assigned to the user.