Organising responsibilities and decision-making authority

A purchase request moves between departments and waits for approval. Is its owner identified, and does that person have authority to decide?

The organisation chart shows functions and reporting lines. Job descriptions define duties, deliverables and limits. Delegations establish the powers actually granted. These documents complement one another.

A RACI matrix identifies who performs an activity, who has final accountability, who is consulted and who is informed. Under the convention used here, each activity has one person with final accountability. The matrix creates no legal or banking authority.

A small organisation can allocate duties among its leader, operations and finance. A larger one may distinguish accounting, treasury and management control. Choices depend on needs and risks.

Mistakes to avoid

A reporting line does not automatically grant signing authority. A functional relationship supports information and analysis exchange; it does not make the management controller the teams’ line manager. Grouping several functions in one box can also conceal sensitive combinations of duties.

Recommended actions

Assign each activity to a named holder and deputy. Check delegations, bank signing authority and software access. Identify decisions requiring another authority when the requester is the leader or beneficiary. Obtain approval under the applicable powers and test the workflow on a file.

Do your written responsibilities match the powers and access actually used?