Who may authorize this decision?
A lookup guide for employees seeking an approval
Northstar Group is a fictional multi-region organization used as the example throughout this page. In your own organization, the approved local delegation schedule and the governing policy decide who has authority. This page only shows how to find them.
Use it to classify your decision, find the source that governs it, check for exceptions and know when to ask a specialist before you commit the organization to anything.
Owner: Legal and Compliance. If a category, source or route here looks out of date, tell Legal and Compliance so it can be corrected.
How to find the right authority
Four checks, in this order, before you ask anyone to approve
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1
Classify the decision
Match what you want to do to a decision category in the table below, for example a contract variation or a cross-region commitment. If it fits more than one, check the approved sources for each applicable category. If they conflict or do not identify the authorized role, ask Legal and Compliance before committing.
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2
Identify the entity and jurisdiction
Note which legal entity would be bound and which countries or regions are affected. Authority is granted to roles within an entity, not to the group as a whole.
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3
Check the current authority source
Open the delegation schedule or policy named for your category and read the version in force today. A forwarded email or an old approval is not a source.
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4
Confirm the role, then seek authorization
Ask the role named in the source, not simply your manager. A job title or seniority alone does not establish authority. If the source is unclear or conflicts with another, pause and escalate.
Decision categories and where authority comes from
Illustrative Northstar Group examples. The roles and limits that actually apply are in your entity's approved schedule.
| Decision category | Example | Check this source | Escalate when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routine supplier engagement | Renewing an existing supplier's standard order on current terms | Procurement policy and the entity's delegation schedule | Terms differ from the standard agreement |
| Contract variation | Extending a supplier's scope or delivery dates | Entity delegation schedule and the original contract's change clause | The change affects price, liability or more than one entity |
| Cross-region commitment | One agreement that binds teams in two or more regions | Group delegation schedule plus each region's local addendum | Addenda disagree or a region has no addendum |
| Budget reallocation | Moving approved project funds between cost centres | Finance policy and the budget holder's delegation | The transfer crosses entities or changes the funding source |
| External statement | Naming Northstar in a customer case study | Communications and external-disclosure policy | It includes contract terms or non-public information |
| Sharing data with a third party | Giving a vendor access to employee or customer records | Data protection policy and the local privacy addendum | Data leaves the region or the category of data is unclear |
Worked example: a supplier contract variation across two regions
How a project lead applies the four checks
Situation. A project lead in the Northern region wants to extend a logistics supplier's scope. The extension would also cover deliveries in the Southern region, and the original contract was signed by the Northern entity.
What the project lead does
- Classifies it. It is a contract variation, and because two regions are affected it also touches cross-region commitment. Both categories need to be checked against their approved sources; no priority between them is established by this guide.
- Identifies entity and jurisdiction. The contract names the Northern entity, but the Southern region would receive the service. The lead notes both.
- Checks the sources. The lead reads the Northern entity's delegation schedule, the Southern regional addendum and the contract's change clause. The two schedules do not clearly say which entity's role approves a variation that benefits the other.
- Escalates before committing. The sources are unclear, so the lead pauses the request and asks Legal and Compliance which source governs. The lead does not tell the supplier the extension is agreed.
Why this is the right outcome
Asking the budget holder or a senior manager would not have settled the question, because neither role was named in a governing source for this situation. Once Legal and Compliance confirms the governing source, the lead asks the role it names. The decision remains unapproved until that role authorizes it.
Exceptions and escalation triggers
Stop and ask a specialist when any of these apply
The decision does not fit a category
You cannot say which category applies, or it seems to fit none.
- Describe the decision in two sentences to Legal and Compliance.
- Hold any commitment until you have a written answer.
Sources conflict
A policy, schedule or local addendum names different roles or conditions.
- Quote both references when you ask for a ruling.
- Where an approved local process exists, it takes precedence over this general guide.
More than one jurisdiction is affected
The decision binds more than one entity, or touches more than one country or region.
- List every entity and jurisdiction involved.
- Ask the relevant policy owner about each one.
It exceeds your confirmed delegation
The proposed decision is outside the authority recorded for your role.
- Do not split the decision into smaller parts to stay within a limit.
- Ask the next role named in the authority source.
Common questions
Practical answers for situations that often come up
What if the decision spans more than one region?
Treat it as a cross-region commitment. Check the group schedule and each region's local addendum. If they do not agree on who authorizes it, ask Legal and Compliance which source governs before you proceed.
What if the role listed in the source is unavailable?
Look in the same source for a named alternate or deputy. If none is recorded, ask the policy owner for a ruling. Do not accept informal cover, such as a colleague saying they will sign instead.
Does my manager's approval count?
Only if your manager holds the role the authority source names for this decision. Being your manager does not by itself give authority, and your manager's agreement is not a substitute for checking.
What if I cannot tell which source applies?
Treat that as an escalation trigger. Send Legal and Compliance a short description of the decision, the entities involved and the references you have already read. Pause any commitment until you have an answer.
The request is urgent. Can I go ahead and sort out approval afterwards?
No. Urgency does not grant authority. Tell the requester you are confirming who may authorize the decision, and ask the specialist for an expedited ruling. An approved local process for urgent decisions, where one exists, takes precedence over this general guidance.