Current state review
Your existing delegations, board charter, reserved matters and approval practice, including how decisions are actually approved in practice.
Limits of Authority Design and Review
A limits of authority matrix is the control between a decision and a payment. Most organisations have one. Fewer have one that is current, understood, built into the payment system and hard to get around. We design or review yours so unauthorised spending gets stopped rather than discovered.
Limits of Authority Design & Review
What it is
A design or review engagement for your limits of authority, also called delegation of authority. We set or test who may approve what, to what value and with what papers, align it with your legal and constitutional approvals, and make sure the payment and procurement process enforces it.
Why organisations need it
Payments made without the required approval are among the most common findings in audit reports and investigations, and in statutory bodies they carry personal consequences: the Statutory Bodies (Discipline and Surcharge) Act 2000 allows an employee to be surcharged for any payment of moneys not duly approved. In companies, the same failure exposes directors, weakens the Section 17A adequate procedures defence, and is where fraud usually starts. A matrix that sits in a policy file does not prevent any of it.
What the engagement covers
We either design a new framework or review and repair the one you have, depending on its condition.
Matrix design
Decision categories, value thresholds, joint approvals, sub-delegation rules, conflicts of interest and the approvals that sit outside the organisation, such as a minister, the Ministry of Finance or a parent company.
Board reserved matters
A clear list of what only the board, or shareholders, may decide, aligned with your constitution and applicable law.
System integration
Building the matrix into procurement, contract and payment workflows so the system blocks what the policy prohibits.
Bypass testing
Data analysis of past payments for split transactions, retrospective approvals, approvals outside the system and payments above authority.
Rollout and training
Communication, approver briefings and a short training module, plus a process to keep the matrix current as the organisation changes.
What the business gets out of it
Unauthorised payments get stopped
Controls built into the payment process prevent the problem instead of documenting it afterwards.
Approvers know their limits
A clear, current matrix removes the ambiguity that leads to well-meaning people approving what they should not.
Officers are protected
When every approval sits within documented authority, the people who give them are protected.
Auditors find less
Approval exceptions are among the first things auditors test. A working matrix shrinks that finding list.
Fraud gets harder
Split payments and retrospective approvals are classic fraud patterns. Bypass testing and system controls close them.
It supports your wider programme
A sound delegation framework is evidence for Section 17A adequate procedures and a foundation for ISO 37001 and ISO 37301.
How it works
How the engagement runs
01
Discovery
Collecting delegations, charters, constitution, organisation chart and system workflows, and interviewing key approvers.
02
Gap assessment
Comparing current practice with the legal and constitutional approvals that apply and with good practice.
03
Design
Drafting the matrix and reserved matters with finance, legal and the company secretary.
04
Data testing
Testing past payments for bypasses and quantifying exceptions.
05
Implementation
Configuring workflows with your IT and finance teams and briefing approvers.
06
Board adoption
Presenting the framework for board approval, with a review cycle.
Deliverables
What you receive
Limits of authority policy
The policy, principles and governance for delegations.
Approval matrix
Decision types, thresholds, approvers and supporting documents required.
Board reserved matters schedule
What only the board or shareholders may decide.
Bypass testing report
Exceptions found in past payments, with values and root causes.
Workflow specification
How the matrix is enforced in procurement and payment systems.
Approver briefing pack
Training material and a quick reference for approvers.
Who it is for
Who this is built for
Industries
Company sizes
Departments
FAQ