Hiring guide
Temporary payment authority: hand back approvals without leaving a gap
By CFO Index · Published
An interim CFO's mandate ends while payments are still in preparation, approval or scheduled for later execution. Handing over a list of supplier invoices does not establish the state of those bank instructions. Use a cutoff register to assign every unresolved item to a continuing authorised owner. This is a paper control for a transition, not an instruction to change bank access, approve a payment or move funds.
Take a state snapshot at an explicit cutoff
Record entity, bank account reference, payment or draft ID, beneficiary reference, amount, currency, current state, last observed timestamp and intended execution date. Use the bank's actual state labels and keep sensitive account information under existing controls. Separate the underlying invoice from each payment attempt: one invoice can have a failed attempt and a later valid instruction. A prepared spreadsheet is not a bank draft, and a draft is not proof that a transfer has been sent.
Map evidence to the real workflow
Revolut's payment-draft documentation, for example, distinguishes preparation from submission for processing, describes designated approval for team members subject to approval processes and allows a future scheduled date. Those features illustrate why the handover needs state evidence; they do not determine another bank's rules. Confirm how pending approvals, edits and scheduled instructions behave under the company's actual arrangements. Do not assume an outgoing approver's pending action automatically transfers to a replacement or that an approved item has already settled.
Assign the existing queue, not new blanket authority
Have management identify the continuing owner under an existing valid delegation for each unresolved item. Record who checks supporting documents, who can approve or release, and who follows execution. A name in this register does not create signing rights. If no authorised owner is available, mark the item blocked and escalate the consequence. Do not borrow credentials, use the outgoing person's session or bypass a co-approval because the due date is close.
Work three instructions across the cutoff
Hypothetical Friday 16:00 UTC handover: three distinct valid obligations total €27,000. The register below assigns follow-up without performing any bank action. Status names are illustrative; use verified bank records in a real case. None of the three is counted as paid at cutoff merely because someone prepared or approved it.
| Instruction | Cutoff evidence | Continuing responsibility | Completion evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: €6,000 | Draft, not submitted | Named preparer rechecks details; authorised owner decides next step | Actual submission/approval and later execution reference |
| B: €9,000 | Awaiting required review | Named authorised reviewer checks current workflow; escalate absent authority | Bank evidence of decision and resulting state |
| C: €12,000 | Approved and scheduled for Monday | Named owner verifies existing instruction and follows execution; do not recreate it | Final bank outcome, not schedule alone |
Reconcile changes after the snapshot
At the next agreed checkpoint, compare the live queue to the frozen register by ID. Explain newly prepared items, cancellations, rejections, edits and executions with their evidence and responsible owner. If an amount or beneficiary changes, follow existing verification and approval controls; do not assume the old approval still covers it. Before any resubmission, establish the original instruction's outcome to avoid a duplicate. Unknown status is an exception to investigate, not permission to send a second instruction.
Close only after ownership and outcomes are traceable
Reconcile the €27,000 population by amount and state: prepared, awaiting approval, scheduled, executed or another supported outcome, without counting an item in two closing states. Retain separate instruction references where an original is replaced. The outgoing and continuing owners should acknowledge unresolved exceptions and the next checkpoint. The banking administrator separately confirms any required access changes through normal company controls; this article does not make them. Closure means no payment is orphaned and no schedule is misreported as settled cash, not that every item must be released before the mandate ends.