Organization Rules in SAP GRC: Understanding and Effective Use

SAP Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) helps companies manage risks, ensure regulatory compliance, and streamline internal controls. A vital part of the GRC suite is Access Control, where the concept of Organization Rules plays a crucial role in managing Segregation of Duties (SoD) risks.

What are Organization Rules?

Organization rules in SAP GRC act as filters within your risk analysis. They are designed to eliminate false-positive SoD conflicts that might arise due to the way your company’s authorization structure is set up. During the risk analysis process, these rules work by factoring in organizational restrictions, such as company code or plant.

Why Use Organization Rules?

Here’s a common scenario to illustrate their importance:

• The Problem: Your company may have employees who need access to sensitive transactions in different business units (e.g., different company codes). Without organization rules, a standard SoD risk analysis would flag this as a risk.
• The Solution: Organization rules allow you to specify that a risk should only be considered if the conflicting transactions can be performed within the same organizational unit. This adds context and helps you focus on actual conflicts.

Critical Considerations Before Using Organization Rules

• Exception-Based Reporting: Treat organization rules as a tool for exception handling, not as your primary SoD management method. Most businesses control access primarily through a well-designed role structure.
• Careful Analysis: Thoroughly analyze your company’s business processes and risk sensitivity before implementing organization rules.
• Performance Impact: Organization rules can impact the performance of risk analysis, so use them judiciously and only where necessary.

How to Create Organization Rules in SAP GRC

1. Access the Rule Architect: Navigate to the Rule Architect within the SAP GRC Access Control module.
2. Create a New Rule: Select the “Organization Level” rule type and create a new rule.
3. Define the Rule: Specify the organizational field (e.g., Company Code, Plant) and use Boolean operators (and) to create logical conditions for the rule.
4. Save and Apply: Save your rule and apply it to relevant risk analyses.

Example: Organization Rule for Company Code

Let’s say you want a risk to be flagged only if an employee can perform conflicting transactions within the same company code:

• Rule ID: ORG_RULE_COMP_CODE
• Organization Field: Company Code
• Condition: Company Code (Transaction 1) = Company Code (Transaction 2)

Best Practices

• Limited Use: Employ organization rules selectively. Overuse can mask actual risks.
• Documentation: Thoroughly document your rules and the reason for their creation.
• Align with Business Processes: Ensure your organization’s rules mirror your business processes and risk tolerances.
• Regenerate SoD Rules: Regenerate your SoD rules after creating or modifying organization rules.

Conclusion

Organization rules are a powerful tool in SAP GRC that gives you more refined control over risk analysis. Remember, responsible and strategic use of organization rules leads to more accurate SoD reporting and improved risk management within your organization.