// APPROVAL MATRIX & DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY
Who can approve this? Put the answer in writing.
Purchases waiting for a sign-off? Exceptions agreed in a corridor? We set up an approval matrix, delegation of authority and the policies behind them, so everyone knows who can approve what.
DECISIONS & OVERSIGHT
Make authority clear before a decision is urgent.
A purchase sits waiting because nobody is sure who can approve it. A supplier gets two different instructions. An exception agreed over the phone cannot be traced when the same question comes back. These are governance problems, and they cost time every week.
Once decisions move beyond the founder, people need to know which ones are theirs, how far their authority goes and what to escalate. That is what an approval matrix sets out: who may approve purchases, payments, hiring, contracts, refunds and system access, up to what value, and who signs when the owner is away. Your policies then need to match it, and the people using them need to find them.
We look at how decisions are made today, then set up the approval matrix, delegation of authority, policies and review routines. Decisions that the law or your company’s articles reserve to the board stay with the board; the matrix covers the day-to-day decisions below them. You can start with one function, such as purchasing, or cover the whole business.
GOVERNANCE IN PRACTICE
Define authority and put it into practice.
Review current decisions
We list the decisions, commitments and exceptions that keep coming up, how they are approved today, and where nobody is quite sure who owns them.
Define responsibilities
Together we agree who decides, approval limits by value or type, escalation routes and the records to keep. The managers who will use the draft matrix review it first.
Document the arrangements
We write the approval matrix, delegated-authority schedule, policies and review templates, with worked cases such as an urgent purchase or a week when the owner is away.
Introduce and review
We brief the people affected and answer the questions early use throws up. You agree who updates the matrix when roles change, and when management reviews it.
GOVERNANCE OUTPUTS
- A review of how decisions and approvals work today in the areas included
- Your approval matrix and delegated-authority schedule
- The agreed policies, approval steps and escalation routes
- Templates to record decisions, exceptions and review actions
- A plan for rollout and review, with named owners
RELATED CAPABILITIES
An approval limit written into a policy means little if the expense application still sends every request to the founder. Adviserve can bring in technology work to change those routes and permissions, and workforce input to update the role descriptions behind them. The written rules and the systems people use then say the same thing.
QUESTIONS
Common questions.
What does this service set up?
An approval matrix that shows who can approve purchases, payments, hiring, contracts, refunds and system access, with limits and cover for when the owner is away.
Who is it for?
Small businesses where decisions are moving beyond the founder and approvals are stalling, unclear or inconsistent.
Does it replace board decisions?
No. Decisions reserved to the board by law or the company’s articles stay with the board. The matrix covers day-to-day decisions below that level.
Can we start with one area?
Yes. The scope can be one function, such as purchasing, or the whole business.
Which decisions keep stalling?
Tell us which approvals get stuck or which decisions nobody owns.