Delegation
of Authority.

It is the formal answer to who may decide what, on behalf of the organization, up to what limit and under which conditions. A complete DoA framework covers financial and non-financial decisions, sub-delegation, absence and acting arrangements, and the way exceptions are handled, and it is enforced through the same systems where the decisions are executed.

The authority matrix is the central artifact: the table mapping decisions to roles and limits. The framework is everything that keeps the matrix alive: the governing policy, sub-delegation rules, system enforcement, exception handling and the amendment process. Together, they make authority usable and maintainable.

A board-approvable DoA policy, the full authority matrix covering financial and non-financial decisions, reconciliation of the matrix against ERP and workflow configurations, an exception and acting-arrangements procedure, and briefings for the approvers themselves. Where clients use Mosaic, the matrix is delivered as a living connected model rather than a spreadsheet.

From evidence. We analyze the actual distribution of transactions and approvals, find where senior time is being spent ratifying decisions that carry no real risk, and set thresholds that concentrate senior attention where exposure genuinely lives. Limits should be reviewed as the organization and its exposure change.

It can happen when the approved framework and system configuration are maintained separately. The paper gets updated and the system does not, or vice versa. Reconciling the two, and assigning ownership for keeping them reconciled, is a standard part of every engagement we run.

For a single entity, design through approval typically runs six to ten weeks, with system reconciliation following in parallel with your IT team. Group structures with subsidiaries take longer because the interesting questions sit at the boundaries between board, group and entity authority.