Draft a delegation of authority and approval matrix
An approval matrix that sets who can commit spend, sign contracts, and approve transactions, with limits by role.
The prompt
Help me draft a delegation of authority (DOA) and approval matrix.
Company size and structure: [entities, departments, management layers]
Decision types to cover: [e.g. purchase orders, contracts, capex, hiring, pricing and discounts, write-offs, payments, bank accounts, intercompany, legal settlements]
Current practice and pain points: [e.g. "everything goes to the CFO", "no limits on contract signing"]
Board-reserved matters, if known: [e.g. debt, M&A, budgets]
Rough approval levels to start from: [ROLES and AMOUNTS - or ask me to propose]
Requirements:
- Separate the authority to commit (sign or order) from the authority to pay.
- Build in segregation of duties: no one approves their own request, and the person who sets up vendors does not release payments.
- Use cumulative contract value, not annual value, and prohibit splitting purchases to avoid limits.
- Include what happens when an approver is absent (named delegates).
Return:
1. A matrix: Decision type | Threshold | Initiator | Reviewer | Approver | Board required?
2. Policy wording covering purpose, scope, principles, exceptions, and review frequency.
3. Controls to enforce it in our systems.
4. A rollout and training checklist.
Treat as a draft for review by legal counsel and, where relevant, the board or audit committee. Mark proposed amounts [CONFIRM].
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Finance & Accounting prompts
What to fill in
- entities, departments, management layers
- e.g. debt, M&A, budgets
- ROLES and AMOUNTS - or ask me to propose
- CONFIRM
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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