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APPLICATION ANSWERS · L-1A FIELD GUIDE

What records explain delegated authority?

Sources checked:

THE DIRECT ANSWER

Use the records that actually govern the business: relevant resolutions, reporting structures, role descriptions and examples of decisions. Have the company identify which documents are current and who can explain them.

Record the effective date

A proposed resolution and an effective appointment are different facts. Keep their dates and status clear so the reviewer can separate the current structure from planned changes. Ask for the documents in their governing order: the instrument that creates the authority, the record confirming it took effect, and then the evidence that it has been used.

A signed resolution creating a role, minutes recording the appointment, and three approvals bearing that person's signature make a coherent set. Where the company keeps approvals in a system rather than on paper, an export showing the approver, the date and the amount is often workable evidence of practice, but confirm with counsel what form the file needs. Retain the version history as well.

A role description edited during preparation raises a question about which version was in force, and that question is easier to answer honestly when the earlier version was never deleted. Ask who in the company can speak to each document without preparation. A record nobody can explain in a short conversation tends to generate more questions than it answers, and identifying that gap early leaves time to find a better source.