CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation
An organization is implementing an ERP system and is concerned about segregation of duties conflicts. What is the most effective control to address this risk during implementation?
⚠ Common exam trap
CISA often tests the difference between controls that directly enforce SoD (RBAC) and those that are supportive but not directly addressing SoD, and the trap is choosing a testing or assessment activity instead of a preventive control.
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
✓
Implementing role-based access controls
Role-based access controls (RBAC) are the most effective control to address segregation of duties conflicts during ERP implementation because they allow the organization to define roles with specific permissions and assign users to roles, preventing conflicting access. RBAC enforces SoD by design, ensuring that no single user has incompatible duties.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Implementing role-based access controls
Why this is correct
Role-based access controls assign permissions by job function rather than individual, preventing any single user from holding conflicting duties such as creating a vendor and approving its payment. This directly addresses the segregation of duties conflicts the ERP implementation raises.
- ✗
Performing a data migration risk assessment
Why it's wrong here
A data migration risk assessment addresses completeness and integrity of transferred data, not conflicting access rights within the ERP. It is tempting because migration is a major implementation activity, but segregation of duties is controlled by designing role-based access rules and running conflict analysis against those roles.
- ✗
Reviewing vendor SOC 2 reports
Why it's wrong here
A SOC 2 report evidences the vendor's own control environment, not the segregation of duties conflicts created by how the organisation assigns ERP roles to its users. It is tempting because vendor assurance is a normal implementation control, and it would be correct when assessing the ERP provider's security, availability and confidentiality controls.
- ✗
Conducting user acceptance testing
Why it's wrong here
User acceptance testing validates functional fitness and business workflows, not permission design, so it cannot detect toxic combinations of access rights. It is tempting because UAT is a standard implementation gate, and it would be the right control when confirming that ERP transactions and processes meet business requirements before go-live.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
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