Delegated requests: authority, approvals and reporting

In brief

• Effective delegation separates what may be gathered, prepared, recommended or committed.
• A change of date, provider, recipient or confidentiality level may require approval even without additional cost.
• Silence is not authority to incur an expense.

Practical steps

1. 1

   Name the principal and the outcome

   The brief should identify the person or structure giving instructions, the operational beneficiary and the intended outcome. This prevents a preference expressed along the way from being treated as authorisation.

   The scope also records exclusions, internal contacts and an end or review date. ORION coordinates the defined request without taking over governance functions or regulated advice.

2. 2

   Establish levels of authority

   A simple matrix can separate four actions: gather information, prepare an option, recommend a choice and commit expenditure. For each, it names who may act and who must be consulted.

   Financial thresholds are not always enough. A change of date, provider, recipient or confidentiality level may also require approval even when there is no additional cost.

3. 3

   Design the approval path

   Each proposal should state the decision required, useful options, known external costs, constraints and response deadline. The approver can then decide without reconstructing the file.

   If no answer arrives, the agreed rule applies: pause, hold an option where possible or escalate to a named alternate. Silence is not authority to incur an expense.

4. 4

   Match reporting to governance

   A report separates completed actions, approved commitments, schedule risks and pending decisions. Its frequency follows the assignment rather than the number of messages exchanged.

   A concise record of approvals supports oversight and a handover to an assistant or another responsible person. Distribution remains limited to the agreed recipients and level of detail.

Information to prepare

• The instructing person or structure, operational beneficiary and intended outcome.
• Exclusions, internal contacts, the end or review date and the people authorised to act or be consulted.
• Each proposal’s decision required, options, known external costs, constraints and response deadline.

Limits to keep in mind

• ORION coordinates the defined request without taking over governance functions or providing regulated advice.
• No expenditure may be committed without the applicable authority or approval.
• Reporting should be limited to the agreed recipients and level of detail.