Field notes
Practical notes on reading procurement approval applications — authority limits, late signatures, and cost coding.
Short pieces from our review practice. Each note stays close to the approval file itself.
Three quotes, one approved amount — what the file should show
Attaching quotes is not the same as documenting why one total became the approval amount.
Cost codes that tell a different story than the purpose line
When the narrative on an approval form and the budget code disagree, finance inherits the contradiction.
Reading authority matrices without the org chart mythology
Authority limits only help if the matrix matches the titles people actually use when they sign.
When the signature arrives after the purchase order
Late approvals are common in busy quarters. Here is how we treat them in a financial reading of the application file.