Governance
Who decides what
Roles and decision rights for the budget, payables, the ledger and the statements, the delegations and limits the gate enforces, and the guardrails that stop agents.
Roles
| Role | Kind | Responsibilities | Decision rights |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACCOUNTABLE_OFFICER Accountable officer | INTERNAL | The general manager or accountable authority who certifies and publishes statutory reports. | Publication of performance reports and the annual report. |
| AP_OFFICER Accounts payable officer | INTERNAL | Works the invoice queue and resolves small exceptions. | Resolves invoice exceptions to $25,000; cannot resolve an exception on an order they raised. |
| CFO Chief financial officer | INTERNAL | Certifies the financial figures in a report. | Financial certification. |
| CFO_DELEGATE CFO delegate | INTERNAL | Approves manual journals above the threshold and larger invoice exceptions. | Journal approval to $250,000; invoice exceptions. |
| EXECUTIVE Executive | INTERNAL | Releases positions for consultation; adopts operational policies; clears for the minister or council. | Release for consultation; executive clearance; adoption of executive policies. |
| FINANCE_OFFICER Finance officer | INTERNAL | Releases payments against approved milestones, in arrears. | Fund release. |
| MANAGEMENT_ACCOUNTANT Management accountant | INTERNAL | Prepares manual journals and the close. | Posts journals under the threshold; prepares above it for approval. |
| SUPPLIER Supplier | EXTERNAL | Lodges invoices against orders and checks payment status. | None. |
| TREASURY_OFFICER Treasury officer | INTERNAL | Releases payment batches and manages the bank. | Payment release. |
Delegations
| Role | Decision | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| CFO | financial certification | Certify the financial figures in a report. | |
| CFO | budget approval | Endorse the budget before the executive approves it. | |
| EXECUTIVE | budget approval | Approve the budget after CFO endorsement. | |
| CFO | budget reallocation | 500,000 | Re-allocate between appropriations to $500,000. |
| EXECUTIVE | budget reallocation | Re-allocate above $500,000. | |
| CFO_DELEGATE | journal approval | 250,000 | Approve manual journals to $250,000. |
| CFO | journal approval | Approve manual journals of any size. | |
| AP_OFFICER | invoice exception | 25,000 | Resolve invoice exceptions to $25,000. |
| CFO_DELEGATE | invoice exception | Resolve invoice exceptions of any size. | |
| TREASURY_OFFICER | payment release | Release a payment batch of matched invoices. | |
| ACCOUNTABLE_OFFICER | statement signoff | Sign the financial statements after the CFO certifies them. |
Guardrails
GL-FN-01 The budget is the CFO's and the executive's; re-allocations by delegation
The budget agent builds from the program plan; the CFO endorses, the executive approves; re-allocations hold for the CFO to $500,000 and the executive above.
GL-FN-02 No spend without appropriation
A commitment beyond the available appropriation, or against an unapproved budget, is refused in code.
GL-FN-03 Three-way match before payment
Every invoice is matched to its order and receipt within 2% of price, from a valid ABN, once; exceptions are resolved by a person with reasons within delegation; duplicates and invalid ABNs cannot be accepted.
GL-FN-04 Every posting has a source; journals above the threshold are approved
System and agent postings carry the service record they came from and post once; manual journals at or above $50,000 hold for the CFO delegate.
GL-FN-05 The period closes only when the reconciliations balance or are owned
Bank, receivables, payables, grants, payments, assets and programs are reconciled to their source; an unexplained difference keeps the period open.
GL-FN-06 Statements from the postings, certified and signed
Every figure lists the journals it is drawn from; the CFO certifies, then the accountable officer signs; a balance sheet that does not balance cannot be signed.
GL-FN-07 Suppliers paid within terms
Every invoice carries its due date from its terms (20 days by default); a batch records what went past terms.
GL-FN-08 Depreciation from the register
Straight-line depreciation is posted each period from the asset register and reconciled to the ledger.
GL-FN-09 Segregation of duties
The officer who raised an order cannot resolve its invoice exception; the preparer cannot approve their own journal; the certifier is not the signer.