SAP GRC Interview Questions (With Sample Answers And Tips)

Updated 14 October 2022

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SAP governance, risk and compliance, or SAP GRC, is an enterprise resource management tool that provides solutions that can help an organisation build trust, lower compliance costs and minimise risks. Companies often look for candidates that have hands-on SAP GRC knowledge for roles like SAP security consultants. Knowing some interview questions and preparing answers to them in advance can help you perform well in the interview and increase your chances of getting the job.

In this article, we list SAP GRC interview questions and some sample answers, explore a list of additional questions and review tips to help you prepare better for your upcoming interview.

5 SAP GRC Interview Questions With Sample Answers

Here are five SAP GRC interview questions that you can prepare for your own interview along with sample answers:

1. State the difference between a role and a profile

Interviewers may start the discussion with basic questions. They may ask this to assess your knowledge and understanding of a basic component of SAP. You can provide a straightforward answer to this question by defining both terms in brief.

Example answer: 'A role in SAP works as a job description. Programmers can use roles to define what job each role may perform. A profile contains all the authorisation for a user to perform tasks. It provides permission to perform system functions. You can create a role and then generate a profile under that role. Depending on the requirements, you can change what job a role does and what permissions a profile may grant.'

2. What are role templates? How do you change a role template?

This can be a follow-up to the previous question. The purpose of asking this question is to assess your extended working knowledge of the basics of SAP. To answer this question accurately, define role templates and then explain the process to change them.

Example answer: 'Role templates are predetermined task groups that contain web addresses, reports and transactions. You can use these role templates to assign predefined authorisations to your roles as per your requirements. You can modify a role template using Perfectly Functionally Coordinating Group (PFCG). In transaction PFCG, you select Single Role and assign a name to it. After that, you can switch to Authorisation and select Change Authorisation Data. Here you can take authorisation data from other templates by selecting Insert Authorisations in the Edit tab and then selecting the From Template option.'

3. What is a derived role in SAP?

This is another important question interviewers may ask you. There are different types of roles in SAP. The knowledge of each type can be vital if you wish to work as an SAP professional. To answer this question, define what a derived role is and explain its characteristics.

Example answer: 'A derived role is basically a role that already exists. It derives or inherits its structure and functions like web addresses, reports and transactions from the role you reference. A derived role can only inherit these characteristics if you have not assigned any transaction code to it before. The higher-level role, or the master role, passes its authorisations to the derived role. You can change these authorisations later. It does not pass any user assignments or organisational definitions. You can create them as per your requirements.'

4. Explain composite role

The interviewers may ask this question as a follow-up to the previous one. This can help them further assess your knowledge of roles. In your response, precisely define a composite role and explain its uses.

Example answer: 'A composite role serves as a container in SAP. It can store multiple single roles and derived roles. Composite roles do not store any authorisation data. You can retain the authorisation data of the roles that you add to a composite role and utilise them. This type of role can be useful if you want to grant multiple permissions to a single user. For example, if an employee requires approval or authorisation from multiple seniors, you can add them as roles under a single composite role and assign the employee to that group.'

5. What is a buffer? What are the different types of buffering in SAP?

This is an advanced question that the interviewers may ask you. They may try to assess your in-depth understanding of SAP GRC. You can concisely define a buffer and state its types.

Example answer: 'A buffer in SAP allows you to store your recent data and make it available to the local application server instance. This can help speed up data retrieval as it reduces the number of times you require accessing the database. There are three main types of buffering in SAP, which are single-record buffering, generic buffering and full buffering.

You can use single-record buffering for large tables from which you require accessing multiple single records. Generic buffering allows you to access specific areas of a table. You can use full buffering if you require accessing a table frequently. You can do this for all tables regardless of their sizes.'

15 Additional Interview Questions

Here are 15 additional interview questions that you can explore to help you prepare:

What is the difference between check and unmaintained?
Can you use wildcards in authorisations?
What happens to change documents when you transport them to the production system?
What is the function of a profile generator?
How many authorisations can you assign to a profile?
What is a ruleset?
How do you update a risk ID in a ruleset?
What are the different types of risks in SAP GRC?
What is SAP GRC audit management?
What is SAP GRC fraud management?
Please explain the authorisation object and authorisation object class.
Can you lock every user at the same time in the SAP system?
What is a user management engine? How does it work?
What activities can you perform in internal audit management in SAP?
Please explain audit risk rating.

Tips For A SAP GRC Interview

Here are some useful tips that can help you prepare better for your interview:

Read the job description carefully. Reading the job description carefully can help you better understand the duties of the role and the expectations of the company. This can help you prepare suitable answers to some questions.
Use keywords in your responses. Reading the job description thoroughly can also help you identify keywords that are relevant to the job. You can use them in your responses to potentially increase your suitability for the job.
Research the company. Researching the company can help you display your genuine interest in the job and the company. Check the company's website, social media accounts and reviews to find out more about its mission and vision and use that information during the interview.
Practice your responses. Research some interview questions in advance and prepare answers to them. Practice speaking those responses out loud so that you can assess your speech and body language to prepare better for the actual interview.
Give mock interviews. List some interview questions in a sequence and practice answering them like you might in an actual interview. You can ask a friend or a family member to ask you questions and assess your responses and body language.
Prepare relevant questions. Prepare relevant questions to ask your interviewers in advance. This can help you show your interest in the job and in the company.
Arrive early. Arrive at the venue of the interview at least 30 minutes early. This can help you get comfortable with the place and relax before the interview.
Follow up with the interviewer. Consider emailing the hiring manager after the interview and thanking them for their time. You can follow up with them to learn the status of your application if they do not respond in a week.

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