GOVERNANCE & RISK
Set Clear Approval Rules So Money and Decisions Stop Depending on One Person's Memory
In many growing businesses the owner approves everything, or approves nothing and trusts the accountant. Payments go out on a phone call, purchase orders are raised after the goods arrive and nobody can say who allowed a discount. Most of the time nothing goes wrong, until the one time it does.
This work sets out simple operating controls: who may approve which decisions, who checks the work, and what evidence is kept. These are management controls for running the business day to day. They are not an audit, and we do not provide statutory audit, tax or legal opinions.
Discuss your business ↗WHAT WE DO
Practical support,
step by step.
- 01List the decisions that carry real money or risk: payments, purchases, discounts, credit, hiring, price changes and write-offs
- 02Draft an approval matrix showing who proposes, who approves and who is informed, with value limits you set
- 03Separate duties where one person currently raises, approves and records the same transaction
- 04Walk through your main cycles such as buying, selling, payroll and petty cash to find where a mistake or misuse could go unseen
- 05Design simple checks: second sign-offs, weekly reconciliations, stock spot-counts and exception reports
- 06Write short procedures people can follow, with forms or message formats for requesting and recording approvals
- 07Agree what happens when an approver is away, so the rules are followed and not bypassed
- 08Set a review rhythm to test whether the controls are being followed and adjust them as the business grows
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
Outputs you
can use.
- A decision rights and approval matrix
- Process notes for your main money-related cycles
- A set of approval request and record templates
- A weekly and monthly control checklist with named owners
- A control review plan for the owner or board
Final deliverables depend on the agreed scope.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Owner-managed businesses, family firms and growing MSMEs where approvals are informal and the owner is anxious about leakage or errors. Useful before adding branches, partners or investors.
LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
