Ensuring Regulatory Compliance: Expert Tips for Aligning Your SAP System with MCA Requirements

It’s been almost a year since the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) , India introduced a new set of guidelines to companies on April 1, 2023, aiming to bring transparency and restrict or reduce data manipulation of books within the company. This prompted SAP clients to initiate new processes such as enabling audit trails and change logs. However, many customers are still unsure about what they need to do.

A survey conducted by ToggleNow between September 2023 and March 2024 found that 7 out of 10 customers attempted to implement the rules, but they might not have completed all the necessary steps. Here’s how companies are dealing with the situation:

What the Requirement says?

Enable audit trail of every transaction.

How are companies handling it today?

Companies are enabling the SM19/SM20 audit logs.

What is the Challenge?

Enabling SM19/SM20 audit logs will not only occupy lot of space, but also impacts the system performance.

Requirement:

Creating an edit log of each change made in books of account along with the date when such changes were made.

How are companies handling it today?

This is a standard feature of SAP where the change logs are captured in the following tables:

• CDHDR: Change document header table
• CDPOS: Change document item table
• SCDO: Change document object table
• SCDO2: Change document object table (newer version)
• TCURR: Exchange rates table (used for currency conversion)
• T000: Clients table (tracks changes to client-specific data)
• T001W: Plant parameters table (tracks changes to plant-related data)
• T001L: Storage locations table (tracks changes to storage location data)

Challenge:

While this is a standard feature, users in SAP can still delete these logs, which need to be secured. Many of the clients haven’t implemented additional security features to protect the edit/change logs.

Know more

In conclusion, the management of audit logs such as SM19/SM20 presents challenges, as enabling them may consume significant storage space and affect system performance. Despite being a standard feature, users in SAP can still delete these logs, highlighting the necessity for enhanced security measures.

Many clients have not implemented additional safeguards, leaving the system vulnerable to unauthorized alterations. Furthermore, users with administrative privileges can easily disable or erase audit trails, while wider authorizations enable the posting of backdated entries. Debug authorizations are often overlooked, granting users access to SE16 with debug capabilities, compromising data integrity. Moreover, changes made through RFMs and in debug mode lack timestamp records, necessitating stricter controls. The deletion of change and edit logs underscores the imperative for robust authorization controls. To mitigate risks, RFMs and RFCs must be secured to prevent unauthorized access and alterations.

Absolutely! Evaluating your SAP system to ensure compliance with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) requirements is crucial for maintaining transparency and data integrity within your organization. Our team of experts specializes in SAP systems and regulatory compliance, and we’re here to assist you every step of the way.

Here’s how ToggleNow can help:

1. Comprehensive Assessment:

Our team will conduct a thorough assessment of your current SAP system to identify any gaps or areas that need improvement to meet MCA requirements.

2. Customized Solutions:

Based on the assessment findings, we’ll tailor solutions specifically for your organization to ensure compliance with MCA guidelines while optimizing system performance and security.

3. Implementation Support:

Our team will provide hands-on support during the implementation phase such as authorization adjustments, guiding you through the process of configuring your SAP system for additional changes to align with MCA requirements effectively.

Read more:

https://togglenow.com/blog/expert-tips-for-aligning-your-sap-system-with-mca-requirements/

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