A policy mapping types of decisions and thresholds to the people or roles authorised to approve them. It turns “who needs to sign this off?” into a clear set of rules, including when more than one decision is required.
An example
An example policy lets a sales manager approve discounts up to 10%, requires finance review above 10%, and sends departures from the contract playbook to legal. A 15% discount with a changed liability clause therefore needs both relevant decisions.
What to check
Include overlapping exceptions, backups, escalation and version changes. Being consulted is different from having approval authority.
In practice
A useful matrix names the decision, threshold, approver, backup and escalation route. Explain whether approvals can run together and what happens if the quote changes. Being copied into the conversation or giving advice is different from approving the proposal.