SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The central team wants to deploy a CloudFormation template that creates an S3 bucket with default encryption in every member account. Which THREE steps are required to accomplish this?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse SCPs with IAM policies, assuming SCPs can grant permissions to CloudFormation, when in fact SCPs only restrict permissions and the actual execution relies on an IAM role assumed by StackSets.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Write a CloudFormation template that includes an S3 bucket resource with default encryption enabled.
Option C is correct because the template itself must define the AWS::S3::Bucket resource with encryption enabled (for example, BucketEncryption with SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS) so that every deployed bucket has default encryption. Option D is correct because CloudFormation StackSets are the AWS Organizations-integrated mechanism for deploying a single template across many accounts from the management account. Option E is correct because a StackSet requires you to specify the target accounts (or organizational units) and regions, and to supply an IAM execution role that CloudFormation assumes in each target account to create the resources. Option A is not required as a separate step because StackSets use a single execution role (often created automatically or supplied via the StackSet configuration) rather than manually creating a role in each member account. Option B is not required because an SCP is a permissions guardrail, not a deployment mechanism; CloudFormation StackSets handle the cross-account deployment, and no SCP specifically allowing S3 bucket creation is needed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create an IAM role in each member account that allows CloudFormation to create resources.
Why it's wrong here
CloudFormation uses the caller's permissions or a service role, and StackSets assume a role in each target account automatically, so hand-creating roles per account is unnecessary. Explicit per-account roles suit cross-account access outside StackSets' managed model.
- ✗
Create an SCP that allows CloudFormation to create S3 buckets.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs define the maximum permissions for accounts in an organisation; they grant nothing, so an allow SCP does not authorise CloudFormation to create buckets. SCPs are the right tool for restricting services or regions across accounts, not for enabling deployment.
- ✓
Write a CloudFormation template that includes an S3 bucket resource with default encryption enabled.
Why this is correct
The template must define the S3 bucket resource with default encryption configured, since StackSets deploy whatever the template declares. Without this resource and its encryption property, no bucket with default encryption would be created in member accounts, so this step is essential.
- ✓
Create a CloudFormation StackSet in the management account.
Why this is correct
A StackSet created in the management account provides the mechanism for multi-account deployment, using service-managed permissions to target accounts within AWS Organizations. This satisfies the requirement to reach every member account from one central place rather than deploying templates individually.
- ✓
Configure the StackSet with the target accounts and regions, and specify an IAM role for execution.
Why this is correct
Specifying target accounts and regions plus an IAM execution role determines where the StackSet deploys and what permissions CloudFormation assumes in each account. This satisfies the requirement to reach all member accounts across the desired regions with sufficient privileges to create the S3 buckets.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
Go deeper
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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