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Compliance & Governance

Segregation of Duties (SoD)

Also known as: SoD, Separation of duties

Segregation of duties is a control that splits key steps of a transaction among different people so no single individual can complete a purchase alone.

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In procurement, SoD means the person who requests a purchase should not also approve it, and the person who approves it should not also process the payment. Separating these roles makes fraud and error far harder, because collusion would be required to bypass the controls.

SoD is a foundation of financial governance and audit. Procurement systems enforce it through role-based permissions and approval workflows, ensuring, for example, that requisition, approval and payment are handled by distinct users.

Frequently asked questions

What is segregation of duties?
Segregation of duties splits key steps of a transaction — such as requesting, approving and paying — among different people, so no one individual can complete a purchase alone.
Why is segregation of duties important?
It prevents fraud and error by requiring more than one person to complete a transaction, making misuse much harder and supporting audit and financial governance.

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