ERP in the Classroom: Three SAP Exercises Focused on Internal Controls

Three short exercises are presented that introduce certain functional aspects of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. The objective is to provide students with an introduction to the functionality that is incorporated in a typical ERP software solution that supports an evaluation of internal controls and segregation of duties as part of the Information Technology Audit (IT Audit) function. We have developed three hands-on step-by-step exercises using a widely implemented ERP system (i.e., SAP) and provide access to SAP on the cloud so that students can learn how to verify internal controls embedded in the system and identify control weaknesses such as a lack of segregation of duties.