Quick Answer
The answer is separation of duties. This policy enforces the principle by ensuring that no single individual can both approve a purchase order and receive the goods, which are two conflicting tasks that, if combined, could enable fraud or error. In access control, separation of duties distributes critical responsibilities across multiple people to prevent any one person from having excessive control over a sensitive process, thereby creating a system of checks and balances. On the Systems Security Certified Practitioner SSCP exam, this concept often appears in scenario-based questions about financial or operational controls, testing your ability to identify when a policy is designed to reduce the risk of insider threats or collusion. A common trap is confusing this with least privilege, which limits access rights rather than splitting tasks. Remember the memory tip: “Two hands for one task—separate to stay safe.”
This SSCP practice question tests your understanding of access controls. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 wants to implement a policy where no single individual can approve a purchase order and also receive the goods. Which access control principle does this enforce?
Rotation of duties
Why wrong: Rotation changes assignments over time, but does not prevent a single person from doing both.
Separation of duties
This principle splits critical functions among different individuals.
Need to know
Why wrong: Need to know limits access to information, not tasks.
Least privilege
Why wrong: Least privilege is about minimal rights, not task separation.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Separation of duties
This policy enforces separation of duties by ensuring that no single individual has the authority to both approve a purchase order and receive the goods. This control prevents fraud and errors by requiring two different people to complete related but conflicting tasks, which is a fundamental access control principle in financial and operational systems.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Rotation of duties
Why it's wrong here
Rotation changes assignments over time, but does not prevent a single person from doing both.
Separation of duties
Why this is correct
This principle splits critical functions among different individuals.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Need to know
Why it's wrong here
Need to know limits access to information, not tasks.
Least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege is about minimal rights, not task separation.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse separation of duties with least privilege, but least privilege focuses on minimizing permissions per role, whereas separation of duties mandates that conflicting tasks be split across multiple roles to prevent fraud or error.
Detailed technical explanation
Separation of duties is often implemented through dual-control mechanisms in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, where purchase order approval and goods receipt are assigned to different roles with distinct access control entries (ACEs) in the system's discretionary access control list (DACL). This principle is also codified in standards like NIST SP 800-53 (AC-5) and is critical for compliance with SOX and PCI DSS, where audit trails must show that no single user can complete a high-risk transaction chain.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
What to study next
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Access Controls — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Access Controls — This question tests Access Controls — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Separation of duties — This policy enforces separation of duties by ensuring that no single individual has the authority to both approve a purchase order and receive the goods. This control prevents fraud and errors by requiring two different people to complete related but conflicting tasks, which is a fundamental access control principle in financial and operational systems.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This SSCP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SSCP exam.
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