Case study · Approval design
Simplifying finance approvals
I helped simplify a finance approval matrix from 144 rules to 18, working through the exceptions and ownership questions that shaped the workflow design.
The challenge
A complex approval model was one of the obstacles uncovered during an accounts payable transformation. The team needed to clarify how approval authority should work before translating it into a new workflow.
My contribution
As the Finance Systems SME, I reviewed the existing approval process and helped translate finance requirements into the proposed design. I facilitated stakeholder discussion around practical cases, including temporary delegation, exceptions and notifications.
Those details mattered. A rule could look straightforward on paper and still leave a question unanswered when someone was away or a transaction needed different treatment. Working through those cases helped make the approval model explicit enough for the project team to use.
The outcome
The work contributed to simplifying the approval matrix from 144 rules to 18 and informed the wider procure-to-pay design. My contribution connected the accounting and control requirements with the decisions needed to design the workflow.