ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) required assurance that their recently implemented SAP Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) solutions were meeting operational and regulatory needs. As a critical regional organization, ECOWAS depends on robust systems to enhance governance, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance across its diverse operations.

IRSL was engaged to conduct a comprehensive Post-Implementation Review (PIR) to evaluate the effectiveness of ECOWAS’s SAP GRC modules, including Access Control, Process Control, Risk Management, and Audit Management. The objective was to ensure that the systems delivered on their intended purpose and aligned with the organization’s governance framework.

Client:

ECOWAS

Website:

ecowas.int

Date:

2021

Category:

SAP Audit, Post Implementation Review (PIR)

01. Сhallenge

After implementing SAP GRC solutions, ECOWAS faced concerns about whether the systems fully met operational and compliance requirements. There were questions about the alignment of these solutions with ECOWAS’s governance structures, operational workflows, and evolving regulatory demands.

Key challenges included:

  • Ensuring that the SAP Access Control module provided adequate security and role-based permissions.
  • Verifying the operational functionality of SAP Process Control to monitor compliance effectively.
  • Evaluating the integration of SAP Risk Management and Audit Management modules for risk assessment and audit tracking.
  • Identifying any gaps in the system that could hinder compliance and operational efficiency.

ECOWAS needed an independent and thorough review to validate the implementation and optimize the usage of these critical systems.

02. Solutions

IRSL conducted a detailed Post-Implementation Review (PIR) to assess the SAP GRC solutions’ alignment with ECOWAS’s requirements. The review process covered:

  • SAP Access Control: Evaluated role-based access permissions, identifying gaps and recommending optimizations to enhance security.
  • SAP Process Control: Assessed compliance workflows, ensuring that the module was effectively monitoring and reporting compliance processes in real time.
  • SAP Risk Management: Reviewed the configuration and usage of risk assessment tools to ensure alignment with ECOWAS’s operational risks.
  • SAP Audit Management: Verified the system’s capability to track and report audits efficiently, providing actionable insights for decision-making.

Key Activities Undertaken:

  • Comprehensive system audits to identify functional gaps and misalignments.
  • Collaborative workshops with ECOWAS staff to understand pain points and gather feedback.
  • Recommendations for system enhancements to improve usability and compliance tracking.
  • Delivery of a detailed audit report with actionable insights for optimization.
03. Results

The Post-Implementation Review provided ECOWAS with valuable insights into the performance and functionality of their SAP GRC systems. Key outcomes included:

  • Enhanced System Usability: Identified and resolved system configuration issues, ensuring smoother workflows and better user experience.
  • Improved Security: Optimized access controls to provide robust protection against unauthorized access.
  • Effective Risk Management: Strengthened the functionality of the SAP Risk Management module, enabling ECOWAS to proactively identify and address risks.
  • Streamlined Compliance Monitoring: Recommendations improved the efficiency of the SAP Process Control module, ensuring seamless tracking of compliance metrics.
  • Optimized Audit Capabilities: The SAP Audit Management module was fine-tuned to deliver real-time insights and actionable audit reports.

The PIR not only validated the implementation but also positioned ECOWAS to leverage its SAP GRC systems fully, ensuring compliance, mitigating risks, and enhancing governance processes.

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