SAP systems sit at the core of most large enterprises. They handle financial transactions, procurement workflows, payroll, inventory management, and sensitive customer data. Yet SAP security consistently ranks among the most neglected areas of enterprise IT.

The gap between how critical SAP is and how little attention its security receives is striking. Many organizations treat SAP as a black box managed by a small team of Basis administrators and functional consultants. Security reviews happen once a year during audit season, if they happen at all. The rest of the time, the system runs with configurations that were set up years ago, user access that has never been cleaned up, and authorization controls that no one fully understands.

This is a problem.

Why SAP Security Gets Neglected

Several factors contribute to the persistent neglect of SAP security.

Complexity deters action. SAP authorization concepts are genuinely complex. The relationship between roles, profiles, authorization objects, and transactions is not intuitive, even for experienced IT professionals. Many organizations lack the in-house expertise to properly assess and manage their SAP security posture. So they defer it.

Functional teams own the system, not security teams. In most companies, SAP is managed by finance, supply chain, or HR teams with support from IT. These teams focus on keeping the system running and delivering business functionality. Security is rarely their primary concern or area of expertise.

Legacy configurations accumulate. SAP environments evolve over years. Mergers bring new systems. Projects add new roles. Employees change positions but keep their old access. Over time, the authorization landscape becomes a tangled web that nobody wants to touch for fear of breaking something.

The "it hasn't happened to us" mindset. Without a visible breach or a failed audit, there is no urgency. SAP security problems are invisible until they become incidents.

The Real Consequences of Weak SAP Security

When SAP security fails, the consequences are tangible and expensive.

Segregation of Duties Violations

Segregation of Duties (SoD) is a fundamental internal control principle. It ensures that no single person can execute an entire critical business process alone. For example, the same person should not be able to create a vendor and approve payments to that vendor.

SoD violations in SAP are extremely common. In our consulting engagements, we regularly encounter environments where 30% to 50% of users have at least one critical SoD conflict. These are not theoretical risks. They represent real opportunities for fraud, errors, and financial misstatement.

Unauthorized Access

When access controls are poorly managed, users end up with far more access than they need. A warehouse clerk might have access to financial postings. A junior accountant might be able to change vendor bank details. These situations create vulnerabilities that can be exploited, whether intentionally or through simple human error.

The damage from unauthorized access is not always dramatic. Sometimes it is a procurement employee who adjusts prices without proper oversight. Sometimes it is a contractor who retains system access months after their engagement ended. The cumulative effect of these small exposures can be significant.

Audit Failures

External auditors increasingly focus on SAP security as part of their IT General Controls (ITGC) testing. Findings related to access management, SoD conflicts, and privileged access are among the most common audit issues in SAP environments.

A single audit finding can trigger costly remediation projects. Repeated findings can escalate to material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting. For publicly traded companies, this has direct implications for regulatory compliance and investor confidence.

Data Breaches and Regulatory Exposure

SAP systems contain some of the most sensitive data in any organization: employee personal information, financial records, customer data, pricing strategies, and trade secrets. A security breach affecting SAP data can trigger obligations under GDPR, the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), and other regulations.

The reputational damage from such a breach extends well beyond the immediate financial cost of remediation and fines.

What Companies Should Do

Addressing SAP security does not require a massive multi-year program. It starts with understanding your current state and making targeted improvements.

Assess Your Current Risk Exposure

Before you can fix problems, you need to find them. A proper SAP security assessment should cover user access reviews, SoD analysis, critical access identification, and a review of system configuration parameters. This gives you a clear picture of where your biggest exposures are.

Clean Up User Access

User access reviews are the single most impactful action you can take. Identify users with excessive access, remove roles that are no longer needed, and establish a regular review cycle. This alone can eliminate a large percentage of your SoD conflicts.

Redesign Your Authorization Concept

If your role design has not been reviewed in several years, it is likely overdue for an overhaul. A well-designed authorization concept aligns roles with actual job functions, minimizes SoD conflicts by design, and is maintainable over time.

Implement Ongoing Monitoring

Security is not a one-time project. You need processes and tools to continuously monitor access risks, detect anomalies, and enforce controls. This includes both preventive controls (blocking risky access assignments before they happen) and detective controls (identifying violations after the fact).

Get Expert Help

SAP security is a specialized discipline. If your internal team lacks the depth of expertise required, bring in consultants who focus specifically on this area. A good SAP security partner will not just identify problems but will help you build sustainable processes to manage security going forward.

Take the First Step

At Meylan Technologies & Consulting, we help organizations across Switzerland and Europe assess, remediate, and strengthen their SAP security posture. Whether you need a one-time risk assessment or ongoing advisory support, our team brings deep expertise in SAP authorizations, GRC, and IT audit.

Learn more about our SAP Security Consulting services and get in touch to discuss your specific situation.