The answer is AWS CloudFormation StackSets, as it provides the most scalable cross-account read-only role deployment by automating the creation of an IAM role with a trust policy and read-only permissions across all target accounts in a single operation. This approach leverages StackSets to deploy identical stacks to multiple accounts and regions, ensuring consistency and eliminating manual per-account configuration, which is critical for a multi-account strategy with a dedicated audit account. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of centralized governance and automation at scale, often appearing as a trap where candidates might choose manual role creation or AWS Organizations service control policies instead. Remember that StackSets are ideal for deploying infrastructure consistently across accounts, while SCPs only set permission boundaries. Memory tip: think "StackSets for stacks of stacks" — it stacks roles across accounts automatically.
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 has a multi-account strategy with a dedicated audit account. The audit account needs to have read-only access to all resources in all other accounts. The security team wants to use IAM roles. What is the MOST scalable way to set up this cross-account access?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy a stack containing an IAM role with the required trust and permissions.
Option D is correct because AWS CloudFormation StackSets allows you to deploy a consistent IAM role with a read-only policy and a trust policy that grants the audit account access across all target accounts in a single, automated, and scalable operation. This approach eliminates manual effort, ensures consistency, and scales to hundreds of accounts without requiring per-account configuration.
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.
✗
Use AWS Single Sign-On (SSO) to grant the audit team access to each account.
Why it's wrong here
SSO grants access but does not set up the roles; you still need to create roles.
✗
Create an IAM user in the audit account and allow that user to assume a role in each account.
Why it's wrong here
The user still needs roles in each account; StackSets better automates role creation.
✗
Manually create an IAM role in each account and attach a read-only policy.
Why it's wrong here
Manual process is not scalable for many accounts.
✓
Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy a stack containing an IAM role with the required trust and permissions.
Why this is correct
StackSets can deploy to all accounts in an organization automatically.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose manual role creation (Option C) because it seems straightforward, but they overlook the scalability and automation benefits of StackSets, which is the most efficient solution for managing cross-account roles across many accounts in a multi-account strategy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudFormation StackSets uses a self-managed or service-managed permission model to deploy stacks across accounts and regions. The IAM role deployed includes a trust policy that specifies the audit account's principal (e.g., `arn:aws:iam::audit-account-id:root`) and a permissions policy like `arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/ReadOnlyAccess`. StackSets can automatically deploy to new accounts added to an AWS Organization when using service-managed permissions, ensuring continuous compliance without manual intervention.
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: Use AWS CloudFormation StackSets to deploy a stack containing an IAM role with the required trust and permissions. — Option D is correct because AWS CloudFormation StackSets allows you to deploy a consistent IAM role with a read-only policy and a trust policy that grants the audit account access across all target accounts in a single, automated, and scalable operation. This approach eliminates manual effort, ensures consistency, and scales to hundreds of accounts without requiring per-account configuration.
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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