The Problem with Traditional Approval Hierarchies
Many organizations still operate under the illusion that requiring CFO or CEO approval equates to strong financial oversight. However, real-world cases of fraud and inefficiencies tell a different story. These hierarchical approvals:
- Create bottlenecks – Senior leaders are often overwhelmed with approvals, leading to delays and inefficiencies.
- Encourage superficial reviews – Executives rarely have time to deeply analyze each request, turning approvals into a formality.
- Do not effectively mitigate risk – Fraud often happens at executive levels, where transactions are approved under the guise of authority, bypassing real scrutiny.
- Give unchecked power to human bias – Approvals become a tool for reinforcing personal agendas, favoritism, and misallocation of company resources.
- Preserve budget control at the top – Budget allocation is the ultimate power in corporations, and those in senior roles are reluctant to relinquish control, even if AI can distribute resources more fairly and efficiently.
Instead of safeguarding company resources, traditional approval hierarchies often consolidate power among a few individuals who may have their own financial interests in mind.
Read more...