The answer is that service control policies (SCPs) can be used to centrally restrict permissions across accounts, and AWS CloudTrail should be configured from the management account to log management events for all accounts in the organization. SCPs act as a guardrail by defining the maximum permissions for every account within an organizational unit, ensuring that even if an IAM policy grants broad access, the SCP can block it at the root level. CloudTrail, when set up from the management account with organization-wide settings, automatically aggregates logs from all member accounts, centralizing audit data without manual per-account configuration. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this tests your understanding of governance at scale—common traps include assuming SCPs grant permissions (they only deny) or that CloudTrail must be deployed individually per account. Remember the mnemonic: SCPs set the ceiling, CloudTrail captures the floor.
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is designing a multi-account AWS Organizations architecture. Which TWO considerations should be taken into account when designing the organizational structure?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS CloudTrail can be configured to log management events across all accounts from the management account.
Option C is correct because AWS CloudTrail can be configured from the management account to log management events for all accounts in the organization. This is done by creating a CloudTrail trail that applies to all accounts in the organization, which centralizes logging and eliminates the need to configure CloudTrail individually in each account.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Accounts cannot be moved between OUs once created.
Why it's wrong here
Accounts can be moved between OUs.
✗
Each organizational unit (OU) should contain only one account for security isolation.
Why it's wrong here
OUs can contain multiple accounts; isolation is achieved via SCPs.
✓
AWS CloudTrail can be configured to log management events across all accounts from the management account.
Why this is correct
CloudTrail can be enabled for all accounts via Organizations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Service control policies (SCPs) can be used to centrally restrict permissions across accounts.
Why this is correct
SCPs are a key feature of Organizations for central governance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
SCPs can only be applied to root accounts, not OUs.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs can be applied to OUs and individual accounts.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse SCPs with IAM policies, thinking SCPs can only be applied to the root account, when in fact they can be attached to any OU or account within the organization.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Service control policies (SCPs) are JSON-based policies that define the maximum permissions for accounts in an organization. They work by filtering the permissions available to IAM users and roles, but they do not grant permissions themselves. When an SCP is applied to an OU, it affects all accounts within that OU, and SCPs can be inherited from parent OUs, allowing fine-grained control over permission boundaries across the hierarchy.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS CloudTrail can be configured to log management events across all accounts from the management account. — Option C is correct because AWS CloudTrail can be configured from the management account to log management events for all accounts in the organization. This is done by creating a CloudTrail trail that applies to all accounts in the organization, which centralizes logging and eliminates the need to configure CloudTrail individually in each account.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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