# Find unnecessary approvals in a workflow and simplify sign-offs

Reviews every approval in a workflow, flags the ones that add delay without reducing risk, and proposes a leaner sign-off design with thresholds.

- Topic: Projects & Operations
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Legal, Leadership, Finance, Rewrite & Edit, Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/find-unnecessary-approvals-in-a-workflow-and-simplify-sign-offs

## Prompt

```text
Identify unnecessary approvals in this workflow and help me simplify them.

**Workflow:** [e.g. "purchase requests", "marketing content", "discount requests", "travel"]
**Current approval steps:** [LIST who approves what, in what order, and any value or risk thresholds]
**Volume and delay:** [e.g. "300 requests a month, approvals add 6 days on average"]
**Why approvals exist:** [policy, audit requirement, past incident, habit - if known]
**Rules we can't change:** [legal, regulatory, audit, or delegation-of-authority requirements]

For each approval, check:
1. What risk it is meant to control, and what happens if it's skipped.
2. How often the approver actually rejects or changes the request. Rubber-stamp approvals (rarely rejected) are candidates for removal.
3. Whether another step already covers the same risk (double approval).
4. Whether the approver has the information to judge, or just signs.
5. Whether a threshold, pre-approved standard, budget, or after-the-fact review would control the risk with less delay.

Return:
1. A table: Approval | Approver | Risk it controls | Rejection rate (if known) | Duplicate of | Recommendation (keep / remove / threshold / combine / delegate / sample review after) | Time saved.
2. A proposed new approval flow, with value or risk thresholds that route only exceptions to senior approvers.
3. Controls to keep in place so risk doesn't rise (spot checks, audit trail, reporting).
4. A short note to approvers explaining the change.

Never recommend removing an approval required by law, regulation, audit, or financial controls; mark those [REQUIRED - CONFIRM WITH OWNER]. Changes to delegation of authority need sign-off from finance or compliance.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "300 requests a month, approvals add 6 days on average"
- policy, audit requirement, past incident, habit - if known
- REQUIRED - CONFIRM WITH OWNER

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