You can use dual control to provide more security when changes are made to sensitive data in your customer and vendor master records.

This function can be used for changing customer master records (FI-AR) and vendor master records (FI-AP).

You must define the required sensitive fields in the customer or vendor master record in Customizing (IMG) for Financial Accounting. To do so, choose Financial Accounting ® Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable ® Customer Accounts ® Master Records ® Preparations for Creating Customer Master Records ® Define Sensitive Fields for Dual Control.

You must be authorized to change master records. You also define authorizations in Customizing (IMG) for Financial Accounting. To do so, choose Financial Accounting ® Financial Accounting Global Settings ® Maintain Profiles. The person who makes the changes is never allowed to confirm his or her own changes.

You can define the required master data fields as sensitive in Customizing.

When an authorized accounting clerk changes a sensitive field in the customer or vendor master record (such as Alternative payee), the relevant account is automatically blocked for the payment run.

The account remains blocked until a second authorized person confirms the master data changes. However, it is still possible to make a further change to an account that is already blocked.

The second authorized person is informed of the changes by mail or by other means, and then uses the function Master records ® Confirmation of change ® Single (or ® List) to edit the changes.

If the second authorized person cannot confirm the change to the master data, the master data object is returned to the clerk. Where this happens, the reply contains an explanatory text requesting that the clerk alters his or her change, or resets the master data.