Access to SAP R/3 system is controlled through user authorization. For a overview of how access is controlled through authorizations, I suggest you see this article. In its simplest form, auhorization profiles are nothing but group of access privileges. Users in SAP can have various types of profiles in SAP depending upon the nature of their job functions. Let us today discuss what are composite profiles and how composite profiles work within SAP R/3.

Composite profiles are sets of authorization profiles both simple and composite. As a concept, composite profile can have a infinite number of profiles attached to it. Composite profiles are also referred to as 'reference profiles'. So where are composite profiles used you may ask? Well, composite profile is suitable in case users have different responsibilities or tasks in SAP R/3.

There are however, two important things you need to remember with composite profiles in SAP R/3.

First, any changes made to the list of profiles in the composite profile will have a direct impact on access privileges of users having that composite profile attached to their authorization profile. Secondly, though I am repeating myself, use composite profiles only in case of SAP users, having multiple functions.

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